Consolations (Liszt)

The Consolations, S. 171a/172 (German: Tröstungen) are a set of six solo piano works by Franz Liszt. The compositions take the musical style of nocturnes[1] with each having its own distinctive style.[2] Each Consolation is composed in either the key of E major or D♭ major. E major is a key regularly used by Liszt for religious themes.[3][4]

There exist two versions of the Consolations. The first (S. 171a) was composed by Liszt between 1844 and 1849[5] and published in 1992 by G. Henle Verlag.[6] The second (S. 172) was composed between 1849 and 1850[7] and published in 1850 by Breitkopf & Härtel, containing the familiar Consolation No. 3, Lento placido, in D♭ major.[3][8][9]

Title

The source of the title Consolations may have been Lamartine's poem "Une larme, ou Consolation" from the poetry collection Harmonies poétiques et religieuses (Poetic and Religious Harmonies).[3] Liszt's piano cycle Harmonies poétiques et religieuses is based on Lamartine's collection of poems.[10] Another possible inspiration for the title are the Consolations of the French literary historian Charles Sainte-Beuve.[7][11] Sainte-Beuve's Consolations, published in 1830, is a collection of Romantic era poetry where friendship is extolled as a consolation for the loss of religious faith.[12]

The Consolations are also referred to as Six pensées poétiques (Six poetic thoughts), a title not used for Breitkopf's 1850 publication but for a set published shortly thereafter, in the same year, by the Bureau Central de Musique in Paris.[13]

First version (S. 171a)

The Consolations, S. 171a, consist of six solo compositions for the piano.[14][15]

1. Andante con moto (E major)
2. Un poco più mosso (E major)
3. Lento, quasi recitativo (E major[14]/C-sharp minor[15])
4. Quasi Adagio, cantabile con devozione (D♭ major)
5. Andantino (E major) – "Madrigal"
6. Allegretto (G major)

Composed between 1844 and 1849,[5] they are Liszt's first version of the Consolations and were first published in 1992 by G. Henle Verlag.[16] The manuscripts are located at the Goethe and Schiller Archives in Weimar.[17]

The third Consolation is an arrangement of a Hungarian folksong that would be later reused by Liszt in his Hungarian Rhapsody No.1, S.244/1.[18] The fifth Consolation is the earliest of the compositions and dates from 1844. In an early manuscript, the fifth Consolation is entitled “Madrigal”.[19][20] Liszt dedicated the Madrigal to a friend of his, a Weimar Intendant named M. de Ziegäser.[19]

Second version (S. 172)

The Consolations, S. 172, consist of six solo compositions for the piano.[21][22]

1. Andante con moto (E major)
2. Un poco più mosso (E major)
3. Lento placido (D♭ major)
4. Quasi Adagio (D♭ major)
5. Andantino (E major)
6. Allegretto sempre cantabile (E major)

Composed between 1849 and 1850,[7] they are Liszt's second version of the Consolations. This version of the Consolations is better known than the first version and was published in 1850 in Leipzig by Breitkopf & Härtel.[6] In comparison to the first version of the Consolations, the original third Consolation (S. 171a/3) was replaced with a new Consolation (Lento placido in D♭ major) and the remaining Consolations were simplified.[17]

Consolations Nos. 1 and 2

The first of the Consolations is in E major and initially marked Andante con moto. The shortest of the set, consisting of just 25 measures, it has an identical opening to another of Liszt's works, the Album-Leaf (Première Consolation), S. 171b.[23] Consolation No. 2 is also in E major and is initially marked Un poco più mosso. It is often played directly after the first, without a break.[24]

Consolation No. 3

Consolation No. 3, first few bars

The third Consolation is in D♭ major and initially marked as Lento placido. It is the most popular of the Consolations[3][8][9] and also a favorite encore piece.[25]

Its style is similar to Chopin's Nocturnes;[3] in particular, it seems to have been inspired by Chopin's Nocturne Op. 27 No. 2.[11] The similarity between the two works has been interpreted as a tribute to Chopin who died in 1849, a year before the Consolations were published.[17] This third Consolation is however one of several of Liszt's works that take a style reminiscent of Chopin; some examples include Liszt's Polonaises, Berceuse, Mazurka brillante, and his Ballades.[26]

In 1883, years after composing the Consolation, Liszt received a Grand piano from the Steinway Company with a design that included a sostenuto pedal.[27] Liszt began transcribing this Consolation for the new sostenuto pedal and in a letter to Steinway he wrote:

In relation to the use of your welcome tone-sustaining pedal I inclose two examples: Danse des Sylphes, by Berlioz, and No. 3 of my Consolations. I have today noted down only the introductory bars of both pieces, with this proviso, that, if you desire it, I shall gladly complete the whole transcription, with exact adaptation of your tone-sustaining pedal.[28]

Liszt recommended sparing usage of the sostenuto pedal in the interpretation of this Consolation and opined on the positive effect it would have on the more tranquil passages.[27]

Consolation No. 4

Consolation No. 4, first few bars

Consolation No. 4 is in D♭ major and is initially marked Quasi adagio. Composed in 1849,[29] it is also known as the Stern-Consolation (Star Consolation) because of the six-pointed white star that appears on the printed score.[3] The Consolation was inspired by a Lied written by Maria Pavlovna, the Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.[30][31] The mood of the composition has been described as "churchly-religious"[32] and "prayerlike".[33]

Liszt later re-used the Consolation's theme in the Andante sostenuto / quasi adagio section of his Piano Sonata in B Minor.[31]

Consolation No. 5

Consolation No. 5, first few bars

Consolation No. 5 is in E major. It is initially marked Andantino. The Consolation has a cantilena vocal style.[8][33] This Consolation has the oldest genealogy having been reworked from the "Madrigal" of the earlier fifth version of the Consolations.[17][19][20] Compared to the earlier Madrigal, this Consolation:[34]

• is shorter, having 56 measures compared to the Madrigal's 69;
• shares several sections with similar melodies;
• employs simpler harmonies;
• and is rhythmically less rigid.

Consolation No. 6

Consolation No. 6, first few bars

The sixth and final Consolation is in E major. It is initially marked Allegretto sempre cantabile and is the longest of the Consolations with a total of 100 measures. It is the most technically demanding of the Consolations.[8] The piece has been described by Carl Lachmund, one of Liszt's students, as more characteristic of Liszt's style than the more renowned D♭ major third Consolation.[35] Lachmund provides insight into the style in which Liszt played the Consolation, stating:

He [Liszt] played each note of the melody as if it were a significant poetic word, which effect was heightened in that he used the thumb for each one of these notes, and dropping his hand in a languid manner as he did this. He would dwell slightly here or there on a note as if entranced and then resume the motion without leaving a feeling that the time had been disturbed. I do not recall the particular measures in which he did this; but even then I felt that he might do it in a different place each time he played the piece.[36]

In popular culture

Consolation No. 3 is heard in the film A Man Called Otto (2022).

References

Notes

1. Lachmund 1999, p. 37.
2. Liszt 1995, p. 3.
3. Arnold 2002, p. 108.
4. Merrick 1987, p. 297.
5. Eckhardt 1992, p. 450, 453.
6. Eckhardt 1992, p. 449.
7. Walker 1993, p. 145.
8. Magrath 1995, p. 203.
9. Hinson 2004, p. 32.
10. Merrick 1987, p. 9.
11. Hinson 2003, p. 12.
12. Sainte-Beuve 2004, p. 980.
13. Liszt 1850.
14. Mező & Kaczmarczyk 2011, p. 86.
15. Howard 1995.
16. Liszt 1992.
17. Liszt 1992, p. V.
18. Howard 1991, p. 4.
19. Helm 1963, p. 102.
20. Howard 1995, p. 4.
21. Mező & Kaczmarczyk 2011, p. 25.
22. Howard 1991.
23. Howard 1995, p. 7.
24. Mező et al. 1981, p. 102.
25. Liszt 2006, p. 14.
26. Walker 1993, p. 146.
27. Banowetz 1992, p. 217.
28. Huneker 1911, p. 394.
29. Szász 2010, p. 10.
30. Searle 2013, p. 61.
31. Szász 2010, p. 1.
32. Szász 2010, p. 12.
33. Liszt 1995, p. 4.
34. Helm 1963, p. 103–105.
35. Lachmund 1999, p. 52.
36. Lachmund 1999, p. 53.

Sources

• Arnold, Ben (2002). The Liszt Companion (illustrated ed.). Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0313306893.
• Banowetz, Joseph (1992). The Pianist's Guide to Pedaling (illustrated, reprint ed.). Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253207320.
• Eckhardt, Mária (1992). "Zur Entstehungsgeschichte der Consolations von Franz Liszt". Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae (in German). 34 (3/4): 449–457. doi:10.2307/902295. JSTOR 902295.
• Helm, Everett (1963). "A Newly Discovered Liszt Manuscript". Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 5 (1/4): 101–106. doi:10.2307/901533. JSTOR 901533.
• Hinson, Maurice (2003). Anthology of romantic piano music: intermediate to early advanced works by 36 composers. Alfred Music Publishing. ISBN 0739032879.
• Hinson, Maurice (2004). The Pianist's Dictionary. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253216826.
• Howard, Leslie (1991). The complete music for solo piano, Vol. 9 – Sonata, Elegies & Consolations (booklet). Franz Liszt. Hyperion Records.
• Howard, Leslie (1995). The complete music for solo piano, Vol. 36 – Excelsior! (booklet). Franz Liszt. Hyperion Records.
• Huneker, James (1911). Franz Liszt. C. Scribners's Sons.
• Lachmund, Carl (1999). Arnold, Ben (ed.). Living with Liszt: From the Diary of Carl Lachmund, an American Pupil of Liszt, 1882–1884 (illustrated, revised ed.). Pendragon Press. ISBN 0945193564.
• Liszt, Franz (1850). Consolations. Six pensées pöétiques pour le piano. Paris:Bureau central de musique. OCLC 498231708.
• Liszt, Franz (1992). Heinemann, Heinemann; Eckhardt, Mária (eds.). Consolations – Original Version and First Edition of the Early Version (Urtext ed.). G. Henle Verlag. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
• Liszt, Franz (1995). Hinson, Maurice (ed.). Six Consolations, S.172 (2nd ed.). Alfred Music Publishing. ISBN 1457443473.
• Liszt, Franz (2006). Banowetz, Joseph (ed.). Twenty-one selected piano works. Alfred Music Publishing. ISBN 0739043455.
• Magrath, Jane (1995). The Pianist's Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature. Alfred Music Publishing. ISBN 1457438976.
• Merrick, Paul (1987). Revolution and Religion in the Music of Liszt. CUP Archive. ISBN 0521326273.
• Mező, Imre; Gárdonyi, Zoltán; Szelényi, István; Sulyok, Imre (1981). Neue Liszt Ausgabe. Editio Musica Budapest. OCLC 497313146.
• Mező, Imre; Kaczmarczyk, Adrienne (2011). New Liszt Edition. Editio Musica Budapest. Archived from the original on 2021-12-17. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
• Sainte-Beuve, Charles-Augustin de (2004). Murray, Christopher John (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Romantic Era, 1760–1850. Vol. 1. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 157958361X.
• Searle, Humphrey (2013). The Music of Liszt. Courier Corporation. ISBN 978-0-486-78640-7.
• Szász, Tibor (2010). "Liszt's Sonata in B minor and a Woman Composer's Fingerprint: The quasi Adagio theme and a Lied by Maria Pavlovna (Romanova)" (PDF). The Liszt Society Journal. 35. ISSN 0141-0792. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
• Walker, Alan (1993). Franz Liszt: The Weimar Years, 1848–1861, Volume 2. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0801497213.

Further reading

• Howard, Leslie (1999). The complete music for solo piano, Vol. 56 – Rarities, Curiosities, Album Leaves and Fragments (booklet). Franz Liszt. Hyperion Records.
• Lamartine, Alphonse de (1836). Oeuvres de Lamartine de l'académie française: édition complète en un volume (in French). Wahlen.
• Liszt, Franz (1850). Consolations, 2nd version, S.172 (First ed.). Breitkopf & Härtel.

External links

• Consolations, S. 172: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Consolations played by Jorge Bolet: No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, No. 6