Introduction
In this essay, I will discuss the
impact of religion on the work of the Hungarian composer and pianist, Franz
Liszt. After discussing Liszt’s spiritual background and the strength of his
faith, I will explore how his Piano Sonata in B minor may have been conceived
with a hidden religious programme in mind. The programme is largely taken from Paul Merrick's discussion in his book, Revolution and
Religion in the Music of Franz Liszt, although I have adapted it somewhat. For this blog post I have removed most of the footnotes. As I explained previously I think they look stupid in a blog.
Liszt’s religious background
Franz Liszt was born in 1811 to a
relatively impoverished family in the German-speaking part of Hungary. Displaying prodigious abilities as a pianist, he moved to Vienna to study with
Beethoven’s pupil Carl Czerny before embarking on a series of European tours. For
Liszt, spirituality and in particular his Roman Catholic faith formed an
integral part of his life. He was first drawn to the church during his teenage
days in Paris, when he seriously considered abandoning his musical ambitions in
favour of the seminary.
As an adult, he turned back to religion in response to the revolutionary
upheaval that swept across Europe.
Moreover, he became interested in the idea of reforming Church music and
developed an interest in Gregorian chant.
In later life, Liszt became increasingly immersed in the Church. Thus, he began
to live part of the year in a Spartan cell in the Vatican, and became great
friends with Pope Pius IX. His close association with the pontiff and Cardinal Holenlohe eventually led
him to take the four minor holy orders and become the Abbe Liszt.
Critics have often taken craven
shots at Liszt’s faith, claiming that he was more interested in the flesh. For
example Richard Wagner, who benefitted more than anyone from Liszt’s generosity,
wrote of Liszt’s “pious fraud”, adding that anybody who fled into “this whole
Catholic junk… must have much to atone for”.[1]
However, this criticism simply does not bear scrutiny. In the case of Wagner,
he believed in only one God; Richard Wagner. Indeed, the religious views of
anyone else were entirely foreign to him. For others, the characterisation of
Liszt as a lecherous womaniser is based on poor scholarship and driven by
hidden agendas. For example, the slanderous tome “The Man Liszt”, written by
Wagner’s biographer and chief proselyte Ernest Newman bases many of its
“scholarly” conclusions on sources that have been proven to be works of
fiction.[2]
Liszt may not have been perfect, but his genuine Catholic faith cannot be
denied.
Liszt wrote significant amounts of
religious and spiritual works. He composed these throughout his life and chose numerous
musical settings, from the oratorio of St
Elizabeth to the impressionistic pianism of Les Jeux D’Eaux à la Villa D’Este and St François de Paule marchant sur les flots. Moreover, unlike composers
of the past, who might have been motivated by patronage, Liszt was always a
freelance composer whose only motivation in composing these works was the
expression of his religious sentiment.
To examine the role that
spirituality played in the creation of all of these works would require numerous
volumes and is beyond the scope of this essay. Instead I will discuss how
Liszt’s faith influenced what is probably his most important work; the Piano Sonata in B minor.
A Religious Programme for the Piano
Sonata in B minor
Controversy
Liszt’s B minor Sonata stands as
perhaps his greatest composition and is, in my opinion, the greatest romantic
piano sonata. However, it has been a source of controversy since its first
performance in 1857. Part of this is due to its unusual structure, with
numerous commentators such as Sharon Winklhofer, Benjamin Arnold, Kenneth Hamilton,
William Newman and Alfred Brendel offering differing analyses. However, an even
greater debate has raged over the existence or non-existence of a programme to
the work. Indeed, any person who dares suggest a programme opens themselves up
to withering condemnation from other analysts.
I am unsure where these vehement
denials come from but it probably has to do with a desire to “rescue” Liszt
from the reputation of being a “mere” composer of programme music. Liszt, himself, was silent on the existence
of a programme for the B minor Sonata, which in the opinion of prominent scholar
Alan Walker is enough to “close the door on further discussion”.
However, Liszt’s unwillingness to discuss a programme for the work should not
be taken as evidence that it did not contain one. Indeed, Liszt was often cagey
about discussing certain programmes, which he felt were best left unstated. For
example, he once refused to tell a visitor the programme of the Totentanz, insisting that its content
“must not be made public”.
It is entirely possible that he felt the same way about the B minor Sonata,
especially given the passionate debate on both sides.
The Programme
At this point, it would be prudent to outline the case for a religious programme. Here I largely rely on Merrick's work. The B minor Sonata was composed between 1852-1853, while Liszt was serving
as Kapellmeister in Weimar.
This was a time when Liszt increasingly returned to the Catholicism of his
youth, after the terrible events of the 1848-1849 European revolutions.
It also marked the beginning of a period in which Liszt composed many religious
and programmatic works, including the Male-Voice
Mass, the Fantasy and Fugue on ‘Ad
nos’ by Meyerbeer, Faust
Symphony, Prometheus (symphonic poem
no. 5), Psalm 13, the Dante Symphony, the Gran Mass and Hunnenschlacht
(symphonic poem no. 11). It is odd that in a period of such programmatic and
religious fervour, Liszt would compose a work of “absolute music”.
The religious programme that best
fits the B minor Sonata in outline and scope is one which reflects the Holy Bible, in particular the story of Adam and Eve from the Book of Genesis. It can be aptly
summarised by the following, taken from a lecture given at Cambridge:[3]
It began with an alleged rebellion of Satan against God in
which angels fell. By direct acts of God, Adam and Eve were created, apparently
as adults, not only innocent but fully righteous. Their descendants were
intended to restore the number of the angels depleted by the heavenly revolt.
Moved by envy, Satan persuaded our first parents to disobey one absolute
command of God, that they were not to obtain knowledge, and so brought about
their fall from original righteousness, in consequence of which they transmitted
to all their offspring, by natural generation, a corrupted nature wholly
inclined to evil, an enfeebled will, and also the guilt of their sin. Thus all
mankind lay under the curse of sin both original and actual, justly the object
of Divine wrath and destined to damnation. In order to restore his thwarted
purpose God sent his Son who, assuming human nature, was born on earth, whereon
was wrought the drama of his death and resurrection. Jesus, pure from all
defect of original and actual sin, alone fulfilled the conditions of a perfect
sacrifice for human sin. By this God’s legitimate anger with guilty mankind was
appeased and his honour satisfied; he was graciously pleased to accept his
Son’s sacrifice, enabled to forgive sin, and man was potentially redeemed.
Supporting Evidence in the score
Liszt chose to open his Sonata by
presenting three of his primary motifs; Creation, Man and Satan.
The first motif can be said to
represent Creation due to its tonal ambiguity. Although the opening hints at G
minor, the descending scale figures based on the Phrygian mode and Gypsy scale
fail to confirm this. Thus, the search for a key can be likened to the
beginning of creation, when the earth was without form and void.
The second and third motifs can be said to represent Man and Satan respectively
due to the way they combine throughout the work. Indeed, the way they lock
horns at various points of the work, for example during the first subject area
of the exposition at bar 32, appears to be a depiction of Man’s struggle with
the Devil.
Motif 2 can be said to represent
Man due to the presence of the “cross motif”, which was a figure Liszt had
borrowed from the Gregorian chant Crux
Fidelis. It was clearly very important to Liszt, who used it in many works
including the Hunnenschlacht. In
discussing the symphonic poem, Liszt noted how he built a chorale around the
motif in order to illustrate “the idea of the final victory of Christianity in
its effectual love to God and man”.[4]
Thus, it is clear that his use of the motif had religious significance. According
to Merrick, Liszt used the motif to represent the path to God, the path walked
by Man to redemption.
If Motif 2 represents Man, then Motif 3 can only represent Satan. Indeed, there
is something very sinister and diabolical about the third motif, with its marcato repeated notes that Liszt
himself described as “hammer blows”.
The next point in which Liszt’s
spirituality manifests is at the second subject area, which introduces a Grandioso theme in D major.
There is something very
chorale-like about this theme, which is once again built on the cross motif. It
is exultant and seems to represent either the Divine or Man’s bliss in the
Garden of Eden before the Fall, which follows shortly after. In order to show
the serpent’s temptation of Eve, who in turn seduced Adam, Liszt did something
ingenious, by transforming his Satan motif into a fully-fledged ‘Love’ theme at
bar 153.
To illustrate the Fall of Man, we
are subjected to considerable tonal restlessness as the piece moves towards the
development, which is in two parts and of considerable length.
In the second part of the
development we find an Andante Sostenuto,
which is itself a sonata in miniature.
Why did Liszt include a
self-contained sonata, complete with its own theme and key area, in the middle
of the development section?
The answer lies in the programme,
with both the theme and the key being of great religious significance. First,
let us consider the tonality of F# major. This was a key which Liszt clearly
associated with the Divine, and he used it very consciously to highlight this
association. Consider for example the Benediction
de Dieu dans la Solitude, Les Jeux
D’eaux a la villa d’Este and the final chorale from the Variations on
Bach’s Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen,
all of which are in F# and all of which are full of religious symbolism.
Now, let us turn to the theme. The
first half of the development is more “traditional” in character, with the Man
motif being its primary vehicle. This state of flux depicts Man after the Fall
and the section ends with the return of the Satan motif at bar 310, again
locked in battle with the Man motif.
It is at this point that the Andante
Sostenuto appears. It is very unusual to introduce a new theme during the
development. However, given where we are in the programme, it makes sense. Thus,
the new theme must represent the redemption of Man through the coming of Christ.
The later reappearance of the ‘love’ theme in the Andante Sostenuto shows Satan’s attempt to tempt Jesus, while the
drama which follows, prominently featuring both the ‘Love’ and ‘Divine’ themes,
points to the Crucifixion.
The recapitulation depicts the path
of Man after Christ, with the fugato subject built on a combination of the Man
and Satan motifs representing a movement towards God.The rest of the piece sees the gradual neutralisation of the Satan motif, and
the triumph of the Divine theme, symbolically shown through a shift from the
minor to the major mode. The work ends with a series of three chromatically
rising pianissimo chords which
symbolises Man’s final ascent to Heaven.
I think that this programme fits
the work exceptionally well. Although it cannot be definitively proven that
this is what Liszt had in mind, it is certainly plausible.
Conclusion
Religion was a major influence on
the life and work of Franz Liszt. Indeed, apart from music, it was the most
significant influence. In this essay, I have outlined Liszt’s religious
background and the strength of his faith. I have highlighted the presence of a
significant amount of sacred music amongst his compositional output. Finally, I
have shown how the influence of religion probably extended to ostensibly
secular works, and demonstrated how the Piano Sonata in B minor might reflect a
hidden religious programme.
Bibliography
1) Hamilton, Kenneth. Liszt: Sonata in
B minor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
2) Marek, George. Cosima Wagner. London:
Julia MacRae Books, 1981.
3) Merrick, Paul. Revolution and
Religion in the Music of Franz Liszt. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1987.
4) Merrick, Paul.
‘Teufelsonate’:Mephistopheles in Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B minor. The Musical Times,
2011.
5) Walker, Alan. Franz Liszt The
Virtuoso Years 1811-1847. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1983.
6) Walker, Alan. Franz Liszt The
Weimar Years, 1848-1861. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1989.
7) Walker, Alan. Franz Liszt The Final
Years, 1861-1886. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1996.
[1] George Marek, Cosima Wagner, (London: Julia MacRae
Books, 1981), 71.
[2] See Alan Walker’s
discussion of Olga Janina, whose novel Souvenirs
d’une Cossack was described by Newman as “one of the most valuable
documents we possess for the reconstruction of the real Liszt”, and which
Walker proved to be fictitious. Walker, “Of Cossacks and Countesses”, The Final Years, 171-190.
[3] J.S. Bezzant, lecture
given at Cambridge in 1963, quoted in Merrick, “Liszt’s Cross motif and the
Piano Sonata”, Revolution and Religion,
293.
[4] Merrick, “Liszt’s Cross
Motif”, Revolution and Religion, 285.
