Via Crucis, (Die 14 Stationen des Kreuzwegs) S.53, is a work for mixed choir, soloists and organ (also harmonium or piano) by Franz Liszt. The work is devoted to the Stations of the Cross. It is one of the last works of Liszt.
Liszt started the composition of this work in the fall of 1878 when he stayed in Rome and ended it in February 1879 in Budapest. There are three sources of the work available: the first sketches in Weimar, the manuscript of the whole work in Budapest and a copy of it in Weimar. The original version was set with accompaniment by organ. Liszt made later a version with piano.
The work is a special case in the oeuvre of Liszt, especially because it is a work of great serenity. The work is also special because it reaches the limits of tonality, breaking the status quo of predominant tonal music of the time. The work combines unison songs (Stations I and XIV) with Lutheran chorales (Stations IV and XII), and chorales inspired by Bach's chorales (Station VI), whereas other stations consist of solo organ (or piano). Liszt himself wanted to perform the work in the Colosseum with accompaniment by a giant harmonium. However, he never saw the piece performed because the first performance only took place 43 years after the composer's death: it premiered in Budapest on Good Friday 29 March 1929, conducted by the composer Artúr Harmat, Professor of Church Music at the Liszt Academy.
A baritone soloist sings Nolite flere super me, Luke23:28
IX.
Jesus falls for the third time.
As station III
X.
Jesus is stripped of his clothes.
Solo organ
XI.
Jesus is nailed to the cross.
The male choir sings Crucifige (Crucify Him)
XII.
Jesus dies on the cross.
A baritone soloist sings Eli, Eli, In manus tuas, Consummatum est (words of crucifixion) and the choir sing the chorale O Traurigkeit, text by Johann Rist
XIII.
Jesus is taken down from the cross.
Solo organ
XIV.
Jesus is placed in the tomb.
Partial many-voiced variation on the introductive Vexilla Regis
Sources
Franz Liszt, Via Crucis. Die 14 Stationen des Kreuzwegs (1878/79), Ausgewählte Werke vokaler Kirchenmusik, Heft 3, by Thomas Kohlhase, Partitur mit Einleitung, Carus 40.173, s.a., s.l. (Tübingen, 1977).
Franz Liszt was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most prolific and influential composers of his era and remains one of the most popular composers in modern concert piano repertoire.
Hans Bronsart von Schellendorf was a classical musician and composer who studied under Franz Liszt.
Friedrich Julius Reubke was a German composer, pianist and organist. In his short life, he composed the Sonata on the 94th Psalm in C minor, which is considered to be one of the greatest organ works in the classical repertoire.
Totentanz : Paraphrase on Dies irae, S.126, is the name of a work for solo piano and orchestra by Franz Liszt notable for being based on the Gregorian plainchant melody Dies irae as well as for stylistic innovations. It was first planned in 1838, completed and published in 1849, and revised in 1853 and 1859.
The Mephisto Waltzes are four waltzes composed by Franz Liszt from 1859 to 1862, from 1880 to 1881, and in 1883 and 1885. Nos. 1 and 2 were composed for orchestra, and later arranged for piano, piano duet and two pianos, whereas nos. 3 and 4 were written for piano only. Of the four, the first is the most popular and has been frequently performed in concert and recorded.
The Piano Sonata in B minor, S.178, is a piano sonata by Franz Liszt. It was completed in 1853 and published in 1854 with a dedication to Robert Schumann.
Eduard Lassen was a Belgian-Danish composer and conductor. Although of Danish birth, he spent most of his career working as the music director at the court in Weimar. A moderately prolific composer, Lassen produced music in a variety of genres including operas, symphonic works, piano works, lieder, and choral works among others. His most successful pieces were his fine vocal art songs for solo voice and piano which often used elements of German and Belgian folk music.
The Fantasy on Themes from Mozart's Figaro and Don Giovanni, S.697, is an operatic paraphrase for solo piano by Franz Liszt, based on themes from two different Mozart's operas: The Marriage of Figaro, K.492 and Don Giovanni, K.527.
Bernhard Stavenhagen was a German pianist, composer and conductor. His musical style was influenced by Franz Liszt, and as a conductor he was a strong advocate of new music.
A Symphony to Dante's Divine Comedy, S.109, or simply the "Dante Symphony", is a choral symphony composed by Franz Liszt. Written in the high romantic style, it is based on Dante Alighieri's journey through Hell and Purgatory, as depicted in The Divine Comedy. It was premiered in Dresden in November 1857, with Liszt conducting himself, and was unofficially dedicated to the composer's friend and future son-in-law Richard Wagner. The entire symphony takes approximately 50 minutes to perform. It premiered on 7 November 1857.
Richard Wetz was a German late Romantic composer best known for his three symphonies. In these works, he "seems to have aimed to be an immediate continuation of Bruckner, as a result of which he actually ended up on the margin of music history".
Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543 is a piece of organ music written by Johann Sebastian Bach sometime around his years as court organist to the Duke of Saxe-Weimar (1708–1713).
Fantasie und Fuge über das Thema B-A-C-H, title in English: Fantasy and Fugue on the Theme B-A-C-H) is an organ fantasy on the BACH motif composed by Franz Liszt in 1855, later revised in 1870.
The Fantasy and Fugue on the chorale "Ad nos, ad salutarem undam", S.259, is a piece of organ music composed by Franz Liszt in the winter of 1850 when he was in Weimar. The chorale on which the Fantasy and Fugue is based was from Act I of Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera Le prophète. The work is dedicated to Meyerbeer, and it was given its premiere on October 29, 1852. The revised version was premiered in the Merseburg Cathedral on September 26, 1855, with Alexander Winterberger performing. The whole work was published by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1852, and the fugue was additionally published as the 4th piece of Liszt's operatic fantasy "Illustrations du Prophète" (S.414). A piano duet version by Liszt appeared during the same time (S.624).
Franz Liszt composed his Prometheus in 1850, numbering it No. 5 in his cycle of symphonic poems when he revised it in 1855. The work is based on the Greek myth detailing the Titan Prometheus' theft of fire from the gods and is numbered S.99 in the Searle catalogue.
Alexander Winterberger was a German organist and composer. He is mostly remembered for his association with Franz Liszt, in particular his close involvement with the two great organ fantasies Liszt wrote for the Merseburg Cathedral organ, the Fantasy and Fugue on the chorale "Ad nos ad salutarem undam" and the Fantasy and Fugue on the Theme B-A-C-H.
Zoltán Gárdonyi was a Hungarian composer and musicologist. He taught at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music for 26 years.
Weihnachtsbaum is a suite of 12 pieces written by Franz Liszt in 1873–76, with revisions in 1881. The suite exists in versions for solo piano and piano four-hands. Weihnachtsbaum does not demand great virtuosity, and it has been described as a distant relation of Schumann's Kinderszenen and Debussy's Children's Corner. It occupies an unusual place in Liszt's output, and it may be for these reasons that it has received relatively little attention from performers.
The Consolations are a set of six solo piano works by Franz Liszt. The compositions take the musical style of Nocturnes with each having its own distinctive style. 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.
"Erlkönig", Op. 1, D 328, is a Lied composed by Franz Schubert in 1815, which sets Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's poem of the same name. The singer takes the role of four characters — the narrator, a father, his small son, and the titular "Erlking", a supernatural creature who pursues the boy — each of whom exhibit different tessitura, harmonic and rhythmic characteristics. A technically challenging piece for both performers and accompanists, "Erlkönig" has been popular and acclaimed since its premiere in 1821, and has been described as one of the "commanding compositions of the century".
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