Fenger was born in the town of Lynge to a family of priests, doctors and officials. Her father was the priest and theologian Johannes Ferdinand Fenger [da]. Fenger composed music from a young age, and her family's association with the poet Bernhard Severin Ingemann likely influenced her musical development and interest in composing songs for literary texts.[1]
When her father was given a new parish in Høje Tåstrup in 1854, 18-year-old Fenger was able to travel to Copenhagen by train to receive piano and music theory lessons from Leopold Rosenfeld and Edvard Helsted.[1] She was also musically influenced by her relative Christian Barnekow, who was a composer and the president of the Society for the Publication of Danish Music. From 1866 to 1911, Fenger published 46 songs and two piano pieces, mainly in collections of 6-8 pieces.[2] Almost all of her works were published prior to 1885.[1] Fenger's early works were inspired by Grundtvigian philosophy and were usually based on spiritual or folk-historical texts. Her notable later compositions include Lyriske Sange (Lyric Songs) in 1881 and Digte af Helene Nyblom (Poems by Helena Nyblom) in 1884.[2]
After her parents' deaths, Johanne Fenger lived with her uncle Carl Emil Fenger [da] and taught choir and piano. In 1885, Fenger suffered an apoplectic seizure (stroke), which partially blinded her and caused her to experience delusions. She was admitted to a psychiatric hospital and remained there until 1896. Her last composition, Menneskets Engle (The Angels of Man), was published in 1904.[2]
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