Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 10/02/2011, uploaded on 10/02/2011

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Shaken by the death of his son, Daniel, and daughter, Blandine, Franz Liszt took up private quarters in a monastery outside of Rome in the summer of 1863. Over the following years his focus turned inward. The compositions of these years do not hide the pensive and introspective state of Liszt’s mind. A number of these works were sacred or heavily influenced by religious themes. Liszt held deep religious convictions, even expressing a desire to join the Church in his teenage years, however for much of his life they were overshadowed by his extravagant lifestyle. Yet, filled with sadness, his religious sentiments came to the surface in many of his final compositions. Composed alongside his intensely intimate Via Crucis in 1878-79 is the 12 Alte Deutsche Geistliche Weisen, settings of twelve chorale tunes, some Latin and others German. In many ways conventional, the chorale settings also bear the unmistakable mark of Liszt’s late period with interesting harmonic turns and poignant stresses caused by the contrapuntal movement of different voices. Some are composed in a pure four-voice style reminiscent of Bach where one can almost hear in them the sounds of a choir echoing in some ancient monastery. Others are more pianistic with full-voiced chords and octave doublings in order to create the necessary grandeur and weight. Yet, all of them are powerfully intimate and able to spark a feeling of deep personal reflection in its listeners.       Joseph DuBose