Petrarch Sonnet 104
I. Liszt and his Years of Pilgrimage
“Western composers-Mendelssohn and Schumann, for example-wrote works using national color characteristics of various countries. In so doing they came to fabricate some imaginary national atmosphere, as in the making-believe Hungarian and Spanish music of Liszt, Brahms, Bizet. But above all, new national styles of their own developed in the various countries of East as well as West Europe”. The Years of Pilgrimage is a collection of Liszt’s trip. During the years of travelling performances in various countries, Liszt composed a set of large divertimento which depicts the artist’s lifestyle travelling. Among these tunes many are derived from the years Liszt spent with his lover Marie d'Agoult in Switzerland and Italy. These poetic tunes are based on the composer’s impression and perception of natural landscape.
Years of Pilgrimage (Années de pèlerinage) includes three suites in total. Liszt started the composition in 1835 and finished its final revision in 1877, and the composition of this work was under construction throughout most of his career as a pianist and a composer. The first two suites are “First Year: Switzerland” and “Second Year: Italy”, which are bundles of the piano pieces Liszt composed during his travelling performances in Europe. During the composition, the composer kept getting rid of everything that is not in accordance with the theme of the music, and kept internalizing the objective external world into personal emotions. The third suite was finished in Rome and therefore it is usually called “Rome”. This paper introduces the second suite “Italy” with a table: Second suite “Italy” | Title | Time | Tempo | Measure | Material | 1. Marriage | 1837 - 1839 | Andante | 133 | A painting by Raphael | 2. The Thinker | 1837 - 1839 | Lento | 48 | A statue by Michelangelo | 3. Salvator Rosa’s Song | 1849 | Andante marziale | 75 | Transcription of a song traditionally attributed to the painter Rosa |
“Western composers-Mendelssohn and Schumann, for example-wrote works using national color characteristics of various countries. In so doing they came to fabricate some imaginary national atmosphere, as in the making-believe Hungarian and Spanish music of Liszt, Brahms, Bizet. But above all, new national styles of their own developed in the various countries of East as well as West Europe”. The Years of Pilgrimage is a collection of Liszt’s trip. During the years of travelling performances in various countries, Liszt composed a set of large divertimento which depicts the artist’s lifestyle travelling. Among these tunes many are derived from the years Liszt spent with his lover Marie d'Agoult in Switzerland and Italy. These poetic tunes are based on the composer’s impression and perception of natural landscape.
Years of Pilgrimage (Années de pèlerinage) includes three suites in total. Liszt started the composition in 1835 and finished its final revision in 1877, and the composition of this work was under construction throughout most of his career as a pianist and a composer. The first two suites are “First Year: Switzerland” and “Second Year: Italy”, which are bundles of the piano pieces Liszt composed during his travelling performances in Europe. During the composition, the composer kept getting rid of everything that is not in accordance with the theme of the music, and kept internalizing the objective external world into personal emotions. The third suite was finished in Rome and therefore it is usually called “Rome”. This paper introduces the second suite “Italy” with a table: Second suite “Italy” | Title | Time | Tempo | Measure | Material | 1. Marriage | 1837 - 1839 | Andante | 133 | A painting by Raphael | 2. The Thinker | 1837 - 1839 | Lento | 48 | A statue by Michelangelo | 3. Salvator Rosa’s Song | 1849 | Andante marziale | 75 | Transcription of a song traditionally attributed to the painter Rosa |
Bibliography: A+E Television Networks, LLC. “Franz Liszt.” A+E Networks, 2012. http://www.biography.com/people/franz-liszt-9383467. Fuller, John. The Sonnet: Italian Sonnet, 1. London: Methuen & Co, 1972. Grout, Donald Jay. A History of Western Music: The Nineteenth Century: Romanticism; Vocal music, 660. New York: Norton, 1988. Hamilton, Kenneth. The Cambridge Companion to Liszt, 135 – 137. Edited by Kenneth Hamilton. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Lang, Paul Henry. Music in Western Civilization: From Romanticism to Realism, 867-68. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 1941. Liszt, Franz, and Wittgenstein, Princess Caroline von. Berlioz and his “Harold” Symphony, 849. Translated in SR. 1855. Liszt, Franz Liszt, Franz. “Petrarch Sonnet 104.” Edited by José Vianna da Motta. Accessed December 5, 2012. http://conquest.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/e/ee/IMSLP04070-Ann__esDeP__lerinageDeuxi__meAnn__e_Italie_S161.pdf Petrarca, Francesco Sachs, Curt. The history of musical instruments: Romanticism: The Piano, 391. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 1940. Watson, Derek. Liszt: Music Language: Technique and Transformation, 191-92. New York: Schirmer Books, 1989. Wiora, Walter [ 2 ]. . Franz Liszt, Années de Pèlerinage: Second Year: Italy (New York: Dover, 1988), catalog. [ 3 ]. . John Fuller, The Sonnet: Italian Sonnet (London: Methuen & Co, 1972), 1. [ 7 ]. . Paul Henry Lang, Music in Western Civilization: From Romanticism to Realism (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 1941), 867-68. [ 8 ]. . Donald Jay Grout, A History of Western Music: The Nineteenth Century: Romanticism; Vocal music (New York: Norton, 1988), 660. [ 9 ]. . Franz Liszt and Princess Caroline von Wittgenstein, Berlioz and his “Harold” Symphony, Translated in SR (1855), 849. [ 11 ]. . Curt Sachs, The history of musical instruments: Romanticism: The Piano (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 1940), 391. [ 12 ]. .Derek Watson, Liszt: Music Language: Technique and Transformation (New York: Schirmer Books, 1989), 191.