Liszt, "Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude" from Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses
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- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
- 7:10 for the complete performance
Link to my video on Schubert's D. 899 no. 3 (probably an inspiration for Liszt's piece):
• Schubert G-flat Major ...
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Arrau's slower performance of this piece is fantastic, I highly recommend it.
Of all of Liszt’s music this is the piece I love the most. Totally beyond my technical abilities (I can manage the Petrarch sonnets but this is an order of magnitude harder 🥲). So pleased to find this video amongst your other treasures
Your videos are absolutely phenomenal. Not only for the in-depth analysis that is incredibly informative, but also for one of the most beautiful performances of this piece I've ever seen!!!! BRAVO!
Thank you!
Imagine being 63 years old and hearing this music for the first time. Well, that was my experience just now with your fabulous recording, Cole, of Liszt’s "Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude" from Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses.
I wanted to know more about this piece, so a little research informed me that it was written when Liszt was 36 in 1847 and staying with the young Princess Sayn-Wittgenstein in Woronince, a country house built in the early eighteenth century and situated between Kiev and Odessa, during his last year of touring. Although already married, the Princess's fateful meeting with Liszt persuaded her to leave Russia in April 1848, taking her eleven-year-old daughter Marie with her, and for twelve years she lived with Liszt in Weimar, quickly surrounding herself with artists and scholars.
Tireless in her campaign to obtain a divorce, she moved to Rome in 1860 and after two papal audiences was finally granted permission to marry Liszt. The wedding was planned to take place in Rome on Liszt's fiftieth birthday, but on the very eve of the ceremony, the plan was frustrated. A cousin of the Princess who happened to be in Rome chanced to visit the Church of San Carlo al Corso, which was already decorated for the forthcoming wedding; on the very eve of the wedding, he persuaded the authorities to order an investigation into the records of the Princess's divorce. She refused to release them and the wedding did not take place. After that débacle she rarely left her rooms in the Via del Babuino. What a test of his faith all that must have been for Liszt!
I have read that Franz Liszt lived as he composed - always on a grand scale, the embodiment of the quintessential, nineteenth century, flamboyant romantic. His time at Woronince must have been blissful. The dreamy, euphoric beauty of ‘Bénédiction’ creates an emotional dream-picture of a person at one with the world, marvelling at God's creation and feeling overwhelmed with praise and gratitude. The Canadian pianist, Philip Thomson, described this work as: "Luscious piano-writing in the luscious key of F sharp major. The longest and most ecstatic piece of the set, it requires of both performer and listener the abandonment of conscious thought at the climactic third statement of the main theme. Before this final statement, Liszt introduces two episodes - one of angelic purity and one of quiet introspection - in an interesting and effective key-scheme: each successive theme drops its tonality by the same number of semitones (F sharp to D to B flat to F sharp), so that it arrives back in its original key at the end. These episodes are necessary not only for the contrast with, the preparation for, and the underscoring of the glorious final thematic statement, but also for the work's aesthetic perfection of emotional balance. Elements of both episodes are incorporated into the coda, which of necessity after such a passionate outpouring, comes to be at peace."
I think Thomson's comment encapsulates all that can be said of this work, Cole, in addition to your own most illuminating and balanced introductory remarks. But your playing of this music! Oh! I was enraptured and did not want it to ever end. I might have had to wait 63 years to hear this for the first time . . . but with this upload, I can listen time and time again and try to make up for that deficiency. Thank you. Your playing is - as always - just exquisite. Any other tempo would be wrong. And I do not believe any other pianist could interpret what Liszt was feeling when he wrote this music better than you, Cole. PERFECTION.
What a story...Reminds me of Brahms and Clara Weick's relationship, he outlived her only by one year. Thanks, Graham, for your fine research and input that you bring to this great channel - A+!
@@nsk5282 Thank you for your kind remarks. I know how my own life experiences shape my attempts at composition. Liszt was clearly so very happy (and in love!) when he wrote this music. It may be deeply spiritual . . . but I sense there is also a lot of heart in it as well!
Thank you Graham! The story with the Princess Carolyn is a sad one, although it certainly gives much insight into his music, and the trend of his thought. Whatever criticisms might have been leveled against her for her literary influences on Liszt (some would say they were of a negative sort), it was probably largely thanks to her that he ended up retiring from performing and putting so much effort into his original compositions. So I am very for grateful for that at any rate!
@@TheIndependentPianist Yes, and she was a huge supporter of Berlioz. His Les Troyans is dedicated to her.
I think if you like this you will love "Les jeux d'eaux à la Villa d'Este" (Arrau has a good interpertation) and Shubert's wanderer fantasy
What a beautiful piece of Liszt I've never heard before - thank you for the introduction! I agree, all 3 sections, especially A, could be independent and complete compositions. I would add Rachmaninoff to the list of composers who had been influenced by Liszt - there is a similar mood in some of his Preludes, though, I think, Sergei Vasilyevich took it further to even more dramatic and tragic heights. I listened to this music several times - it's so complex, not only technically, but also emotionally. Your interpretation is just superb - tasteful (as always), restrained and dignified but, at the same time, full of feeling and expression! I'm hesitant to say the word that comes to my mind (elite), because lately it had a negative connotation. To me, it's meaning has always been positive: best of the best, cream of the crop, too-notch, excellent. And that's the kind of a musician you are, Cole!
Well said! Absolutely right! Cole is the best!
Thank you, you are so kind! You are absolutely right, Liszt was a huge influence on a composer like Rachmaninoff, and Liszt influenced some people that aren't even that obvious, like Bartok and Schoenberg. At some point when I get a chance to put more of his later works on the channel, I'll go into that some more. It is quite fascinating!
Thank you for your insights and wonderful playing. I am orchestration this piece currently and what a ride this piece is.
I thought I had heard this piece before but hearing you play it makes it seem new again. Whereas Schubert's impromptu conveys serenity and anguish, Liszt's piece is exuberant but also intimate. @12:04 & @20:32 der rosenkavalier! Thank you Mitch for this request!
Wow, I never thought of that before-those spots are extremely like Rosenkavalier!
@The Independent pianist can one play this if there hands can only reach a 9th on the piano
Thanks so much for the very rare tutorial-like sharing of this challenging piece. It’s pity that I cannot follow ur fingering though u hv already made excellent top view camera angle, as I hv small hands abt 9 degree barely 10 degree (cry
Thank you for your comment! Yes, the fingering has to be adapted quite a bit if you have a smaller hand, but it should still be possible. More arpeggios, substituting 5-1 for 4-1 whenever possible, even leaving a few notes out will make it much more possible. Good luck!
Liszt - Harmonies poetiques et religieuses by Andrea Bonitta ..interesting..
I just printed this work along with Der Blinde Sanger, will be looking forward to playing them.
This is a hard, long, and beautiful work, and your interpretation is so well! Perhaps you can try the earlier versions of this set (S.171d or S.172a) in the future, I am very interested in your point of view to these works! Although they are quite harder than S.173...🤪
I do plan to do more of these pieces sometime-So I will definitely look into the earlier versions. I know Pensée des morts in particular is quite a bit more daring in certain respects in the earlier version, so I would have to consider which version to present. Thank you for the suggestion!
Hey, found a reading mistake! I did the same mistake, that's how I noticed. 7:51 3rd bar, you're playing F with the 3rd finger on the right hand, even though it's an F#. Isn't really noticeable tho, I kinda even prefer it like this. Otherwise impressively accurate playing, very consistant with the right hand's 4-5-playing, gives the piece some much needed stability
Oops! Not sure what happened there-thanks for watching and commenting!
How much time did it take for you to learn this piece?
You know, I honestly don't quite remember. I first learned it a few years ago (I think it was 2017 or 2018). If I remember correctly I did most of the major work on this over a month or so, during the summer.
No matter how long it takes to learn, this is the sort of piece that you can live with, and refine, for your whole life!
@@TheIndependentPianist Thanks!
@@TheIndependentPianist It certainly is! How I wish I could play such music myself. But at least I can listen to you playing it!
Incredible performance!
YESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
8:24 you play d Sharp octave instead of sharp and a sharp ? It sounds right though?
Nah I play D# and A#, but I take the A# in the RH :-)
Great performance Cole; I was really excited when I got the notification and saw what this week's video was. Thanks for fulfilling my request for this piece!! I listened once just to enjoy the musical performance in and of itself and then a second time to follow along with your insights into the structure and composition of the music. The Coda of this piece is quite possibly my favorite ending to a piece in all the piano literature; really just so cathartic and magical after all that came before it.
This has been a piece that I've long considered trying to learn, but been a bit intimidated by, and so I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on how technically demanding it is. What I see as the chief difficulties are:
1) Some fast arpeggio accompaniment at the return of the A section
2) Widely arpeggiated chords for the melody in the A section that line up with the LH in various groupings. (i.e. some 4 against 3, etc.)
3) Syncopated octaves passage
4) RH filagree accompaniment passagework before coda
5) Overall scale and musical/emotional depth of the piece
6) Double Note passages, most specifically the opening accompaniment of the A section (first in the RH and then the LH)
It is this last one which is giving me the most hangups, as most of the others seem like things that can be overcome given enough time and practice. However, my hand span can only reach a 9th and so some of the intervals (A#-C#) I simply can''t play as written. That coupled with constant 9ths in every measure (some having to be played with 1-4 fingering, others done in tremolo fashion with a 5th in between, etc.) makes me worry about causing injury by trying to play it. The few times I've tried to sight read it, it has felt very uncomfortable. I'm honestly not aware of any other piece that has such wide intervals of double-note accompaniment; it is a very unique feature. Are there any tips you can give for playing the opening section? Would arpeggiating some of the notes be ok? Judicious dropping of some notes? Rearranging notes between hands where possible? Etc. Or is this just one of those pieces that those with smaller hands need not apply?!
So glad you enjoyed it Mitch! I totally agree with your sentiments on the Coda. Absolutely amazing writing, thank you for suggesting it.
I certainly understand being intimidated by this piece! It is advanced from a technical standpoint, but it is basically just the first few pages that are the real sticking point. You correctly point out how awkward those double notes seem at first glance if you have smaller hands (even if you have bigger hands in fact). The thing I can say, is that they do get much easier with a little practice-they actual are more pianistic than you would imagine from a read through. You definitely don't want to injure yourself though!
There are actually only a few places where Liszt writes a 10th which is not broken, and I think you can always omit those, or arpeggiate-it actually doesn't change the sound very much. In fact I even leave one out that Liszt marks arpeggio (2nd page in the dover score, piu p, D major), because I think it gets in the way of a really tranquil sound there. When there are two ninths in a row, then use 5-1 for both of them. You might want to avoid 4-1 on octaves as well-it's not necessary to use that fingering on the wide stretches. I think you can always feel free to jump the thumb, and don't worry too much about legato in the accompaniment. Just stay loose, flexible in the wrist and don't hold any notes down longer than written! Also don't play too loudly in the accompaniment, that also adds tension, and it isn't needed. The pedal will be your friend in this piece.
As far as rearranging notes between the hands, that probably would cause too much confusion-but when you have a section where only one hand plays anyway, then by all means you could sneak up with the LH to relieve some of the strain (mm. 19-22 perhaps, or even in places like 4-5, 8-9 etc.).
I say go for it, since small hands can definitely play this piece. If you can reach a ninth, then it is eminently doable. Even if you can't reach a ninth, it is probably possible-you would just need to be very creative! Anyway, I hope that helps. It's one of those pieces that feels transformative to actually play and hear under your fingers. The only thing quite like it would be something like Schubert D.960.
Thank you again for your support, and for requesting this piece! I had a great time working on it again.
@@TheIndependentPianist Thanks for the encouragement and advice Cole; I think I'll go for it! The fact that you say the double notes begin to feel more pianistic after practicing them awhile gives me hope. :)