Album insights
Liszt's church music holds a significant place in his body of work, symbolizing one of the most crucial aspects of Liszt as a man and musician alongside his freer compositions inspired by religious themes. A glance at Liszt's works reveals oratorios, masses, psalms, hymns, motets, chorales, and pieces like Via Crucis and the setting of Offices chants, also including secular compositions with religious themes such as Légendes and Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, De profundis, pieces within the Années de pèlerinage, and many organ works. In much of this music, Liszt draws from Gregorian chant.
The use of Gregorian chant in liturgical settings has notably dwindled over time. Most community churches now incorporate only portions composed for specific occasions, mostly spoken rather than sung. These daily services, known as Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline, present Psalms, hymns, readings, responsories, anthems, and prayers, either sung or intoned. Liszt’s interest was both religious and musical, evident in his library, which includes breviaries and related volumes used for personal meditation and communal worship in Rome. This material served as a basis for his works, showcasing his familiarity with two Gregorian chant notation styles – the neume system and conventional non-ecclesiastical notation, with the use of the semibreve as a primary unit in his harmonizations.
Regarding the documented specifics of Liszt's intentions with his work, information remains somewhat elusive. He composed it for the Cardinal of Hohenlohe in Rome, displaying care in transcribing the manuscript, possibly indicating its significance to him. The chants are mostly accompanied by four, sometimes three, voices notated on two staves, with the text typically presented in full. Liszt leaves the performance style open, whether for choir or solo voice, with or without keyboard accompaniment. The simplicity and universality of these chants suggest their potential value for personal reflection and possibly therapeutic purposes outside of performance settings. Liszt's use of the piano or organ is purely functional, meant to convey the music without drawing attention to the instrument itself.
It is essential to understand Liszt’s musical approach within the context of Gregorian chant reintroduction efforts and his search for harmonic solutions that express faith simply. His compositions avoid intricate modal harmonies or contrapuntal fantasies, maintaining a straightforward tonal quality. The listener wishing to fully engage with the liturgical context should have access to a Breviary, while a summary following each Office may suffice for some purposes. The Gregorian chants he draws upon are faithfully represented, providing the text and music. The Responsorium structure typically includes a Responsory, Verse, and Repetition of the last part of the Responsory, with clear markers in the chant for identifying repetitions.
For particular occasions like Christmas, Liszt focuses on the matutinal Responsories of the services, comprising various Psalms, hymns, readings, and antiphons tailored to each part of the season. The structure and content of the services for Christmas are meticulously detailed, offering a glimpse into the musical components of these sacred ceremonies. The sections for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday during Holy Week mirror this approach, showcasing Liszt's treatment of the respective matutinal Responsories with attention to the specific Psalms and readings traditionally observed during these solemn days.
In navigating Liszt’s compositions, particularly those rooted in religious themes, one can sense his dedication to reviving traditional chants and crafting harmonizations that maintain a direct aesthetic. The simplicity, clarity, and potential spiritual resonance of his work underscore its enduring value as a source of contemplation and musical expression.