Franz LISZT (1811-1886)
Complete Piano Music - Volume 53
Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, S.172a/r[14] (1847) [64:24]
Litanies de Marie, 1st version R.172e (1847) [8:14]
Wojciech Waleczek (piano)
rec. 2018, Concert Hall of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music, Katowice, Poland
NAXOS 8.573773 [72:38]
When Leslie Howard described the history of Franz Liszt’s Harmonies poétiques et religieuses as “long and complex”, that was something of an understatement. Originally inspired by the 1830 publication of Lamartine’s four books of poetry under the same title, Liszt’s interpretation began as a single piece (S.154) in 1834. A decade later, Liszt expanded that to this much more epic scale collection of eleven vaguely related compositions (S.172a), all of which have a religious aspect. Putting the compositions aside for a few years, Liszt then completely revised about half of them and replaced the others for his final set of pieces, catalogued by Humphrey Searle as S.173. That final version simplifies some of the works, and turns others into more virtuosic showpieces.
That final version of Harmonies poétiques et religieuses is quite a warhorse. There are many recordings of the whole or substantial parts of it in the repertoire of many pianists. But the intermediate version from 1847, presented here, is something of an orphan. Never even published by Liszt, it had to be reconstructed in part from Liszt’s sketchbooks by Leslie Howard. Despite the composer’s apparent dissatisfaction with the set, it is nevertheless a quite cohesive and intriguing set that stands up well in its own right.
Unfortunately, its intermediate status means that the 1847 version seems to appear only in complete sets of Liszt’s piano music, such as Howard’s own box set on Hyperion (CDS44501/98). That is a shame, because this music deserves to be better known, and it stands up well to the final version. For the most part, it is quite different, and similarities which remain could certainly be a fruitful area for analysis.
Pianist Wojciech Waleczek turns in a most welcome interpretation of this set. While Howard at times seems to struggle with his rendition of these pieces, Waleczek is nearly always assured and smooth. Howard’s reading by contrast seems a bit more respectful and devoted, apparently taking the word religieuses quite seriously. That is not to say Waleczek is being irreverent; his playing is always quite appropriate to the varied moods of the Harmonies. Indeed, one might say that he gives more attention to the word poétiques in the title than did Howard.
While Lamartine’s verse is full of imagery of birds, zephyrs and waves as tokens of God’s presence, Liszt does not take the bait in these pieces. Aside from some undulation that can be interpreted as the water, there is nothing obviously programmatic. Indeed, although Liszt borrows a number of titles from Lamartine (Invocation, Hymne de la nuit, Hymne du matin, Hymne de l’Enfant à son réveil, Les Morts, and La Lampe du temple) to form the bases of these pieces, there is little I could see in most of these pieces that reflects the actual text of the poems. It seems that Liszt was more than content to use the titles of various poems as a jumping-off point to express his own thoughts on the subjects, whether or not entirely consistent with Lamartine’s actual verses.
One of the most impressive segments of the set is the opening Invocation. Stately and solemn, it puts the listener into the proper devotional frame of mind. While the final version uses the same opening as we have here, it proceeds in a completely different direction. Here that opening is followed by the Hymn of the Night and the Hymn of the Morning (both of which were dropped in the later version). The Hymn of the Night in particular is a treasure. I find it quite beautiful in the simplicity of its opening and close, which foretell the minimalism of Liszt’s later years. In between is the tempestuous virtuosity one expects from Liszt in the 1840s. The Hymn of the Morning is a sparkling brew of action and possibilities, like an echo of Creation in a microcosm.
At the time of these 1847 revisions, Liszt was beginning the second great romance of his life, with Princess Carolyne von Wittgenstein. He was working on these pieces while staying with her at her palace at Woronice in northwestern Ukraine. At the same time, Carolyne was convincing him to return to the Catholicism of his youth. That was no doubt the impetus for the next few selections in the set, Litanies de Marie, Miserere, and Pater noster. They have a more churchly air than the rather freer religion found in the other pieces, and at times seem reminiscent of Gregorian chant in their simplicity.
The Hymn of the Child Wakening is a delightful segment that Waleczek renders beautifully. His rubato is relaxed and confident, the shimmering sounds he produces are quite gorgeous, and the callbacks to the opening Invocation blend very nicely to tie the pieces together.
The original S.154 Harmonies here is transformed into the eighth selection, Les Morts (The Dead). As one might expect, the piece is central to the composition as a whole. Somber and pensive at times, and erupting at others, it was again heavily altered for the 1850s version. Although the piece is teeming with virtuoso moments, Waleczek never loses sight of the melody or the forward motion of the piece, keeping the trimmings safely in the background. It is a statement with massive chords that prefigure Mussorgsky’s piano works. Rendered with aching longing, Les Morts is a highlight of the disc. The one area of disappointment is that Naxos appears to have overused dynamic compression on this disc, which robs us of what should have been some wonderful contrasts. Waleczek is clearly using a different touch but we do not always get the expected difference in volume to match the shift in tonal quality.
La Lampe du temple où l’Âme présente à Dieu (The Temple Lamp where the Soul Offers itself to God) is another largely minimalist piece with a few bravura moments. Waleczek nicely portrays the stillness of the music, providing drama where appropriate. When it does become big, he is up to the task while somehow keeping the simplicity of the earlier portions audible above the tempest.
The last several pieces did not even obtain titles from Liszt, although the final one would eventually, after major surgery, become Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude in the final version of the Harmonies. Here we do get a good deal of wavelike undulation, as if the listener’s solitude is on the shore of a large body of water. The mental image of the sun sinking as the waves calm, allowing one to be as one with Nature in the distant quiet, is at least to me inescapable in Waleczek’s playing.
The package from Naxos is wrapped up with a bonus piece, the first version of Litanies de Marie, S.171e, written shortly before the one found in the 1847 Harmonies. While much shorter and smaller in scope than the second version that serves as number 4 in S.172a, it likewise has a devotional and chant-like air at its opening that Waleczek brings across well. That soon alternates with highly dramatic episodes that resolve back into simple and touching hymns to Mary. Waleczek admirably knits these two attitudes into a cohesive whole.
As a whole, this is very much a disc that fans of Liszt, especially Liszt rarities, should check out. Waleczek’s playing is first-rate. I hope to hear more from him.
Mark S. Zimmer
Previous reviews: Dan Morgan
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Robert Cummings
