Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 05/01/1977, uploaded on 10/19/2014

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

The final piece, Les Cloches de Genève (The Bells of Geneva), was composed by Liszt in celebration of the birth of his and d’Agoult’s eldest daughter, who was born in the Swiss city. Prefaced by yet another quote from Byron (“I live not in myself, but I become / Portion of that around me”), this beautiful nocturne opens with imitations of bells in the triadic figurations that first appear by themselves in the introduction, then later accompany the lyrical Quasi allegretto melody. Between statements of the theme, Liszt interjects a remarkable passage imitating deep bell tones. Much of the piece, however, is contained within the beautiful Cantabile con moto section. Abandoning the compound meter of the opening and adopting a simple duple meter, the cantabile melody sings out above an accompaniment of descending arpeggios, pausing occasionally to break forth into brief, florid cadenzas. The music builds in affection until reaching a fortissimo statement marked con somma passione (“with great passion”). Culminating in sweeping arpeggios that span much of the keyboard, the music recedes into the quiet imitations of bells with which the piece opened, bringing the first volume of Années de pèlerinage to a peaceful close.       Joseph DuBose

Recorded in May of 1977