Franz Liszt ‒ Années de pèlerinage, troisième année, S163

Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886), Années de pèlerinage, troisième année, S163 (1877)
Performed by Jeno Jando
00:00 - No. 1 Angelus! - Prière aux anges gardiens
07:03 - No. 2 Aux cyprès de la Villa d'Este - Thrénodie I
13:22 - No. 3 Aux cyprès de la Villa d'Este - Thrénodie II
22:41 - No. 4 Les jeux d'eaux à la Villa d'Este
30:03 - No. 5 Sunt lacrymae rerum - en mode hongrois
37:18 - No. 6 Marche funèbre - en mémoire de Maximilien I, Empereur du Mexique, d. 19 juin 1867
42:56 - No. 7 Sursum corda - Erhebet eure Herzen
The genesis of the Troisième Année de pèlerinage is very different from that of its two predecessors. The first (Suisse), and the second (Italie) were brought into their published shape in the mid-1850s during Liszt’s time in Weimar, although most of the pieces actually originated during the period of his young wanderings in the company of Marie d’Agoult in the 1830s. They are both volumes of intensely passionate, essentially young man’s music, whatever refinements accrued to them. The third volume, sometimes very mistakenly published with the subtitle of ‘Italie’, is the product of a fundamentally solitary person, written during the later years of his life, when he made an almost annual triangular trip through Rome, Weimar and Budapest. Five of the pieces date from 1877, but Liszt added two earlier works: numbers 5 and 6, from 1872 and 1867. Angelus! also exists in versions for harmonium, for string quartet and for string orchestra and is an innocent diatonic melody in a lilting 6/8. It forms the beginning of the arch which ends in the experience of the seventh piece, Sursum corda-the exhortation to ‘lift up your hearts’ at the Eucharist-where a benign theme endures chromatic rigours and even a burst of whole-tone harmony before the strength of faith brings the cycle to a firm and positive conclusion. Midway lies the mystical comfort of the Fountains of the Villa d’Este-an impressionistic masterpiece, years ahead of its time and much imitated, consciously or no, by Debussy and Ravel. Although this work is pictorial, its very key of F sharp major allies it to a number of Liszt’s most intimate religious reflections, particularly Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude, and its message is spelt out at bar 144 (at the modulation to D major) with a quotation (in Latin) from the Gospel of St John: ‘The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life’ (Authorised Version, John 4: 14).
The four remaining pieces are all elegiac: the two Cypresses are both subtitled ‘Threnody’ although no specific object of lamentation is divulged. And it is clear that Liszt wrote the second under the misapprehehsion that Michelangelo had planted the first cypress at Santa Maria degli Angeli in Rome, and that he changed the title when he discovered his error. Whilst the first of the Cypresses is nominally in G minor/major, the effect of suspended tonality is present from the beginning. There is some attempt here at depicting (in 3/4) the rocking of the trees in the wind, a feature altogether absent in the second threnody which makes an oblique nod towards the traditional funeral march without ever succumbing. The other two elegies refer to Liszt’s personal acquaintances: in a broad sense in Sunt lacrymae rerum and specifically in the Marche funèbre. The first of these, originally entitled ‘Thrénodie hongroise’ refers to the rout of the Hungarian War of Independence (1848-1849) and the subsequent execution of some of Liszt’s patriotically distinguished friends (cf the earlier Funérailles) and the final title comes from words spoken by Aeneas in Virgil’s Aeneid (quoted here in the translation by W F Jackson Knight): ‘… there is pity for a world’s distress, and a sympathy for short-lived humanity.’ The music has several overtly Hungarian characteristics, especially in the matter of augmented seconds in the melodic lines. The hapless quondam archduke who became Emperor of Mexico, mistakenly believing himself to have been popularly elected, who attempted social and economic reforms, and who was eventually executed by the man he replaced, is commemorated in a powerful lament which emerges into triumphant optimism, in line with the quotation from an elegy by Propertius (Book 2, No 10) which Liszt placed at the head of the score: ‘In magnis et voluisse sat est’ (‘To have wished for great things is an accomplishment in itself’).

[@SamiShah2004]

It still amazes me how Liszt wrote Les Jeux D'eaux La Ville D'este. A piece that replicates the dance of water in a fountain years before Ravel was to do with Jeux D'eaux or Debussy was to do with Reflet Dans Leau. He was surely ahead of his time with impressionism.

[@VerlorenMaster]

Beautiful!!!!

[@camilledelorme3853]

@@tifsa 👏👏👏👏👏

[@brkahn]

He was also ahead of Respighi.

[@TheOneAndOnlyZeno1889]

Beethoven already did the water through music in his famous "Brook" movement of the 6th Pastoral Symphony before any of those mentioned

[@segmentsAndCurves]

@@TheOneAndOnlyZeno1889 sounds nothing like impressionism.

[@erikrobinson2547]

The harmony in the first threnody is so modern!! It's clearly and truly Liszt, but it's so futuristic you can hear where composers like Bartok got their inspiration.

[@jdbrown371]

Late Liszt is so different from Liszt that it's like listening to another composer. His piano sonata in b minor, Mephisto walter and Totentanz are more late Liszt than is usually acknowledged.

[@toothlesstoe]

"Mephisto Walter" lol

[@crystalhwang9568]

I prefer late Liszt actually

[@lucasgust7720]

It's pretty unfair to define a composer for his early works, and ignore the works he wrote when he was more mature. It's like judging someone for his defects.

[@babyskunkcat]

walter

[@erykszadkowski1687]

@@toothlesstoe "My name's Walter, Mephisto Walter, and here's my devil-playing license."

[@coolxjl]

Les jeux d'eaux à la Villa d'Este is one of the crowning glories of Liszt's output

[@LegoDonut18]

Chords moving in a parallel motion, whole-tone scales, non-functional harmony, etc, and etc. If you had told me some of these works were composed by Ravel in the 20th century, I wouldn't need much convincing especially with Les Jeux D'eaux La Ville D'este. Although there are still lots of typical Liszt passages and romanticism, these pieces are so Impressionist.

[@mambooooooo917]

00:00 - No. 1 Angelus! - Prière aux anges gardiens 07:03 - No. 2 Aux cyprès de la Villa d'Este - Thrénodie I 13:22 - No. 3 Aux cyprès de la Villa d'Este - Thrénodie II 22:41 - No. 4 Les jeux d'eaux à la Villa d'Este 30:03 - No. 5 Sunt lacrymae rerum - en mode hongrois 37:18 - No. 6 Marche funèbre - en mémoire de Maximilien I, Empereur du Mexique, d. 19 juin 1867 42:56 - No. 7 Sursum corda - Erhebet eure Herzen

[@tacoguy764]

Wow, I didn´t knew Lizst wrote a piece to the second emperor of my country

[@EduardoRamirez-wx6ng]

@@tacoguy764 Mexico?

[@tacoguy764]

@@EduardoRamirez-wx6ng Yup, it's so sad that Juárez killed him, he really wanted the best for México, he became a Mexican even if he wasn't born here, he learnt the language, he respected the native people and their culture, he didn't even wear the crown, but they killed him, Juárez and the liberales, supported by americans. His last words were, "I hope my blood end with the problems of My new country, ¡Viva México!" and after that they shot him. His wife the Emperatriz Carlotta de México, became crazy and nothing was better.

[@EduardoRamirez-wx6ng]

@@tacoguy764 I didn't know that about Him, even though I'm Mexican.

[@tacoguy764]

@@EduardoRamirez-wx6ng Jajajjajaj, pues háblame en Español crack :)

[@toeless_ant7688]

and just like that, another legend stopped

[@MegaCirse]

J'ai cliqué sur tant de vidéos liées, à travers tant de paysages insolites, incroyables et étranges.. Je me sens comme dans un compartiment sur un chemin de fer, à admirer une succession de scènes folles jamais vues auparavant, des musiques importantes et étranges à travers la fenêtre du wagon... il y a tant de choses à explorer, tellement d'endroits où se poser puis rester dans les ambiances proposées. Cet arrêt en particulier est brillant !

[@FirstGentleman1]

Jando never disappoints. Me, he is a first-class pianist.

[@fareastmov]

whole-tone scale used 44:33

[@TiticatFollies]

Excellent, shimmering performance!

[@RedZed1974]

"Fountains of the Villa d’Este-an impressionistic masterpiece, years ahead of its time and much imitated, consciously or no, by Debussy and Ravel." TRUTH!

[@toothlesstoe]

Except Ravel and Debussy did it better.

[@klop4228]

I mean, they developed the sound, so it's not surprising. It's like saying that Sweelinck or Buxtehude wrote fugues and paved the way for what we now know as a 'fugue', but Bach did it better, or saying that William Boyce and CPE Bach wrote symphonies but Beethoven did it better. It's not some revelation that the more modern people would be able to build upon the half-developed ideas (Liszt was not an 'impressionist' in the same way as Debussy and Ravel) of older composers, and if the composer is famous for that particular sound/style, it's in fact expected that others wouldn't quite be at the level. I'm personally a fan of obscure composers, and I do believe that a lot of fame is luck, but Bach, Beethoven, Debussy and Ravel, and many (as far as I'm aware) the best at their chosen subgenres of music (though 'fugue' and 'symphony' are not the same kind of genre as 'impressionism', and there are a lot of good symphonists out there, even ignoring (the arguably better symphonists/composers) Haydn and Mozart). So there's my overly long rant about how annoying I found your comment. Apologies if I offend(ed) you. Good day.

[@toothlesstoe]

+klop422 I'm sure some, if not most, would disagree with me, which is why I thought I would divulge my opinion about it. And congratulations―you're triggered.

[@klop4228]

It's not that I disagree with you. I don't. Whether the piece is better or worse than Debussy or Ravels' general output is taste (though it is very good Liszt). It's clearly not nearly as impressionistic as pieces by either, which is what you said (or at least how I understood it). The issue is as I explained - that _obviously_ they did it better - and so at best your comment was pointless/inane, and at worst it's flame-baiting. That said, if I misunderstood and you meant to say that Debussy and Ravel's output is better than this piece, I can disagree with you, but that's all taste, so feel free to keep your opinion. I won't bother you about that. But the implication was that D&R did Impressionism better, and that's barely an observation.

[@toothlesstoe]

I never said the piece in question was impressionistic; the original poster did. I was merely responding to his comment (although the Jeux d'eau movement in this piece does meet an important criterion for qualifying as impressionistic retrospectively, despite the impressionistic movement not being founded during the time of this composition. I never implied that Debussy and Ravel's impressionism were _obviously_ better than Liszt's. That's not so obvious, as that point is not reliant upon fact. That point was never brought up until after my first reply to this thread, so I can't follow your logic about my comment being "pointless/inane" or "flame-baiting." And since you mentioned it, Debussy' s and Ravel's output were miles ahead of Liszt's in terms of putting out consistently sapid music.

[@RedZed1974]

44:37 Do I hear whole tone scales?!

[@trackost39]

Zed O'Haughy late Liszt really sounds 20th century-ish, he's the influence of debussy anyway

[@Danlovar]

Did you find out the answer?

[@ValzainLumivix]

@DÜT DÜÜÜT MÖMEÑT WÎTH CRÖCÖDILE ok

[@derekpintozzi2498]

@̣ which other pieces does he use it?

[@derekpintozzi2498]

@̣ I actually never thought about the alternative chromatic octaves being whole tone scales thanks for that

[@MrGer2295]

Beautiful ! Thank you so much :)

[@vt2637]

This Liszt work is the playable one. Usually I find him impossible. 😅

[@chateauferret]

Quite a bit of Liszt is reasonably approachable. Not all of his works are virtuosic first and foremost.

[@yassinet.benchekroun5087]

Thank you very much for posting.

[@ap6765]

Excellent performance. Truly.

[@eldrake35]

A lot of deep Liszt recently, thank you so much ! ^^

[@Medtnaculuss]

Sad to say this will be the last of the Liszt for some time. Plenty more videos to come from other composers, though!

[@eldrake35]

Medtnaculus I understand : it is already very great videos you have uploaded, I assume it took probably a lot of time and work from you ! I'm sure they will be as perfect as your musical tastes. Love Medtner and some Alkan's (I haven't seen yet this composer on your channel). Anyway, I'm confident for the next uploads !

[@Medtnaculuss]

Funny you should mention Medtner. I'm just now working on finishing up the set of Skazki (as far as I can with the available recordings), and next I want to do all his sonatas (which aren't already up in one part).

[@PieInTheSky9]

Hoping you put up the Tozer recordings. Love Hamelin, but his medtner is not my favorite.

[@Medtnaculuss]

Absolutely! I only wish he had recordings of all the skazki. I've had trouble with certain sets such as 34 (3 and 4) and 35!

[@wellingtonsoaresdacosta5635]

Liszt é magnífico.

[@jackellock7113]

Thank you. This is so good.

[@carmenrubio3786]

Gran pianista Jeno 🌹

[@June_Hee]

The whole set is verging on impressionism, isn't it?

[@rudy3962]

임희준 Sounds like Debussy, I like that Liszt.

[@ruramikael]

And expressionism.

[@user-fu7zf4ck9z]

I don’t think there’s a good reason at all that prevents this set from being called impressionistic. Wouldn’t be wrong to consider the elderly Liszt the first impressionist.

[@ruramikael]

@@user-fu7zf4ck9z The first year of Annes is already quite impressionistic.

[@davidrehak3539]

Liszt Ferenc:Zarándokévek - Harmadik év 1.Angelus! Prière aux anges gardiens (Angelus! Ima az őrangyalokhoz) 00:05 2. Aux cyprès de la Villa d’Este, Thrénodie I., II. (A Villa d’Este ciprusai, I. sirató) 07:05 3. Aux cyprès de la Villa d’Este, Thrénodie II. (A Villa d’Este ciprusai II. sirató) 13:24 4. Les jeux d’eaux de la Villa d’Este (A Villa d’Este szökőkútjai) 22:43 5. Sunt lacrymae rerum, en mode hongrois (Van a tárgyaknak könnyük. Magyar hangnemben) 30:05 6. Marche funèbre (Gyászinduló) 37:20 7. Sursum corda (Emeljétek fel szíveiteket) 42:58 Jandó Jenő-zongora

[@anelamujkovic1633]

22:41 Igra vide u Vili DEste 37:18 Posmrtni mars

[@AlexanderArsov]

You might credit Leslie Howard for the description. Elementary courtesy, you know.

[@groovy-kb8km]

this piece made me realize I knew nothing about Liszt.

[@user-tb8jm3my2e]

21:20 feeling love...

[@christofeles63]

While I prefer the more plush acoustics of Jando's recording, it feels rather casual as an interpretation next to Zoltan Kocsis' version.

[@christofeles63]

Besides Kocsis' recording on Phillips there is his phenomenal concert version: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZ3SaIeAptGpg6M His Angelus is also the gold standard for me.

[@fredericchopin6445]

liszt became more impressionist in his late times :)

[@derekpintozzi2498]

Yes the older he got the more peaceful his music was

[@aakarshitsingh1535]

@@derekpintozzi2498 true

[@user-fu7zf4ck9z]

@@derekpintozzi2498 Peaceful in terms of pianistic writing tools at least. He also wrote pieces like czadras macabre after all

[@GUILLOM]

@@derekpintozzi2498 his late pieces are much more macabre and tormented, not peaceful at all

[@ruramikael]

and expressionistic too.

[@carmen6169]

Lizst ❤️ que no todos conocen. 🤣🇮🇷🙏🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶

[@songforthemute8087]

no 4!!

[@calebhu6383]

24:58

[@none5020]

Good part

[@germanbikbaev3406]

А куда пропал автор канала?..

[@dd8436]

44:42 4 Staves

[@JramLisztfan]

9:30, 26:02

[@user-wn8fr7uu7n]

45:44

[@RollaArtis]

I wonder if Lang Lang is planning to include this in his Liszt repertoire?

[@kelvinluk27]

we all know

[@stephane9261]

N2 Cyprès de la villa d este sounds very Bernard Hermann. Another theme for psychose ?

[@stephane9261]

Yes because one of the chords is augmented. Sounds more Vertigo

[@LegoDonut18]

@@stephane9261 yes you definitely correct, I was just thinking the same I’m sure Herrmann was inspired partly by Liszt.

[@maybeiamcool]

4

[@Kalimaco]

Arrau was the best of xx century without question

[@ShutUpZewenThisIsNotBased]

What does this have to do with arrau lol

[@handledav]

p

[@leerlingen1928]

ik kan dat spelen

[@Danlovar]

Germans.

[@chateauferret]

@@Danlovar It's Dutch. Sort your high Germanic sound shift out. HTH.

[@segmentsAndCurves]

@@Danlovar haha

Sí sí sí sí sí sí

[@clementebiancalani7469]

I don't like this performance one bit. Especially Angelus e Jeaux d'eau.

[@danal81]

Am I listening to Liszt, or to Galina Ustvolskaya lol.

[@braedonkirkpatrick2143]

Is there a single series of clusters in any of these works?

[@danal81]

@@braedonkirkpatrick2143 Is there a single series of intelligent comments in all of your KZbin output?

[@braedonkirkpatrick2143]

bro what? Why do u feel the need to be toxic to a question? and u failed to give an answer, so what is it in this series that is so reminescent of ustvolskaya? am i wrong to say that shes known for her clusters above all else?

[@danal81]

@@braedonkirkpatrick2143 Clearly, you are the one being toxic, since you asked a passive-aggressive question that was rhetorical and are now gaslighting me in an attempt to overcame the failure of your first bait. That’s the only thing that failed.

[@WEEBLLOM]

What

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

24:59