Années de pèlerinage explained

Années de pèlerinage (French for Years of Pilgrimage) (S.160, S.161, S.162, S.163) is a set of three suites for solo piano by Franz Liszt. Much of it derives from his earlier work, Album d'un voyageur, his first major published piano cycle, which was composed between 1835 and 1838 and published in 1842.[1] Années de pèlerinage is widely considered as the masterwork and summation of Liszt's musical style. The third volume is notable as an example of his later style. Composed well after the first two volumes, it displays less virtuosity and more harmonic experimentation.

The title Années de pèlerinage refers to Goethe's famous novel of self-realization, Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, and especially its sequel Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years (whose original title Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre meant Years of Wandering or Years of Pilgrimage, the latter being used for its first French translation). Liszt clearly places these compositions in line with the Romantic literature of his time, prefacing most pieces with a literary passage from writers such as Schiller, Byron or Senancour, and, in an introduction to the entire work, writing:

The suites

Première année: Suisse

"Première année: Suisse" ("First Year: Switzerland"), S.160, was published in 1855. Composed between 1848 and 1854, most of the pieces (Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 9) are revisions of Album d'un voyageur: Part 1: Impressions et Poesies. "Au lac de Wallenstadt" (No. 2) and "Au bord d'une source" (No. 4) received only minor revisions, while "La Chapelle de Guillaume Tell" (No. 1), "Vallée d'Obermann" (No. 6), and especially "Les cloches de Genève" (No. 9) were more extensively rewritten.[2] "Églogue" (No. 7) was published separately, and "Orage" (No. 5) was included as part of the definitive version of the cycle.

  1. Chapelle de Guillaume Tell (William Tell's Chapel) in C major – For this depiction of the Swiss struggle for liberation Liszt chooses a motto from Schiller as caption, "All for one – one for all." A noble passage marked lento opens the piece, followed by the main melody of the freedom fighters. A horn call rouses the troops, echoes down the valleys, and mixes with the sound of the heroic struggle.[3]
  2. Au lac de Wallenstadt (At Lake Wallenstadt) in A major – Liszt's caption is from Lord Byron's Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (Canto III, stanza 85): "Thy contrasted lake / With the wild world I dwell in is a thing / Which warns me, with its stillness, to forsake / Earth's troubled waters for a purer spring." In her Mémoires, Liszt's mistress and traveling companion of the time, Marie d'Agoult, recalls their time by Lake Wallenstadt, writing, "Franz wrote for me there a melancholy harmony, imitative of the sigh of the waves and the cadence of oars, which I have never been able to hear without weeping."[4]
  3. Pastorale in E major –
  4. Au bord d'une source (Beside a Spring) in A major – Liszt's caption is from Schiller: “In the whispering coolness begins young nature's play.”
  5. Orage (Storm) in C minor – Liszt's caption is again from Byron's Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (Canto III, canto 96): "But where of ye, O tempests! is the goal? / Are ye like those within the human breast? / Or do ye find, at length, like eagles, some high nest?"
  6. Vallée d'Obermann (Obermann's Valley) in E minor – Inspired by Étienne Pivert de Senancour's novel of the same title, set in Switzerland, with a hero overwhelmed and confused by nature, suffering from ennui and longing,[5] finally concluding that only our feelings are true.[4] The captions include one from Byron's succeeding canto 97, ("Could I embody and unbosom now / That which is most within me,--could I wreak / My thoughts upon expression, and thus throw / Soul--heart--mind--passions--feelings--strong or weak-- / All that I would have sought, and all I seek, / Bear, know, feel--and yet breathe--into one word, / And that one word were Lightning, I would speak; / But as it is, I live and die unheard, / With a most voiceless thought, sheathing it as a sword") and two from Senancour's Obermann, which include the crucial questions, “What do I want? Who am I? What do I ask of nature?"
  7. Eglogue (Eclogue) in A major – Liszt's caption is from the next canto of the Pilgrimage: "The morn is up again, the dewy morn, / With breath all incense, and with cheek all bloom, / Laughing the clouds away with playful scorn, / And living as if earth contained no tomb!"
  8. Le mal du pays (Homesickness) in E minor –
  9. Les cloches de Genève: Nocturne (The Bells of Geneva: Nocturne) in B major – Liszt's caption is from stanza 72, earlier in the Byron's Pilgrimage: “I live not in myself, but I become / Portion of that around me”.

Deuxième année: Italie

"Deuxième année: Italie" ("Second Year: Italy"), S.161, was composed between 1837 and 1849 and published in 1858 by Schott. Nos. 4 to 6 are revisions of Tre sonetti del Petrarca (Three sonnets of Petrarch), which was composed around 1839 - 1846 and published in 1846.

  1. Sposalizio (Marriage of the Virgin, a painting by Raphael) in E major
  2. Il penseroso (The Thinker, a statue by Michelangelo) in C minor
  3. Canzonetta del Salvator Rosa (Canzonetta of Salvator Rosa) in A major (Note: this song "Vado ben spesso cangiando loco" was in fact written by Giovanni Bononcini)[6]
  4. Sonetto 47 del Petrarca (Petrarch's Sonnet 47) in D major
  5. Sonetto 104 del Petrarca (Petrarch's Sonnet 104) in E major
  6. Sonetto 123 del Petrarca (Petrarch's Sonnet 123) in A major
  7. Après une lecture du Dante: Fantasia Quasi Sonata (After Reading Dante: Fantasia Quasi Sonata) in D minor
  1. Gondoliera (Gondolier's Song) in F major – Based on the song "La biondina in gondoletta" by Giovanni Battista Peruchini.
  2. Canzone (Canzone) in E minor – Based on the gondolier's song "Nessun maggior dolore" from Rossini's Otello.
  3. Tarantella (Tarantella) in G minor – Uses themes by Guillaume-Louis Cottrau, 1797 - 1847.

Troisième année

"Troisième année" ("Third Year"), S.163, was published 1883; Nos. 1 - 4 and 7 composed in 1877; No. 5, 1872; No. 6, 1867.

  1. Angélus! Prière aux anges gardiens (Angelus! Prayer to the Guardian Angels) in E major – dedicated to Daniela von Bülow, Liszt's granddaughter, first daughter of Hans von Bülow and Cosima Liszt and wife of art historian Henry Thode. It was written for both melodeon, piano, or an instrument that combines both, for Liszt wrote "piano-melodium" on his manuscript[7]
  2. Aux cyprès de la Villa d'Este I: Thrénodie (To the Cypresses of the Villa d'Este I: Threnody) in G minor
  3. Aux cyprès de la Villa d'Este II: Thrénodie (To the Cypresses of the Villa d'Este II: Threnody) in E minor – The Villa d'Este described in these two threnodies is in Tivoli, near Rome. It is famous for its beautiful cypresses and fountains
  4. Les jeux d'eaux à la Villa d'Este (The Fountains of the Villa d'Este) in F major – Over the music, Liszt placed the inscription, "Sed aqua quam ego dabo ei, fiet in eo fons aquae salientis in vitam aeternam" ("But the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up into eternal life," from the Gospel of John). This piece, with its advanced harmonies and shimmering textures, is in many ways a precursor of musical Impressionism
  5. Sunt lacrymae rerum/En mode hongrois (There are Tears for Things/In Hungarian Style) in A minor – Dedicated to Hans von Bülow.
  6. Marche funèbre, En mémoire de Maximilien I, Empereur du Mexique (Funeral March, In memory of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico) in F minor
  7. Sursum corda (Lift Up Your Hearts) in E major

Recordings

There have been numerous recordings made of the suites, in both complete and incomplete form.

YearPianistSectionLabel and number
1928, 1937, 1928Incomplete
1936Sursum Corda (3e année)Patria MrE 63; later Pacific 6301, etc.
1947Vladimir HorowitzAu bord d'une source (1ere année)RCA Victor Red Seal
1947Dinu LipattiSonetto 104 del Petrarca (2e année)EMI CZS 767163 2
19503 pieces from 1ere année, 5 pieces from 2e année, 1 piece from SupplementDecca / London, once issued on Great Pianists of the 20th Century
1951Vladimir HorowitzSonetto 104 del Petrarca (2e année)RCA Victor Red Seal
1963Sergio Fiorentino1ere année: SuisseDelta Record Co. Ltd. DEL 12032/SDEL 18032
1969IncompletePhilips Classics
1973CompleteVox CD3X 3004
1974Wilhelm Kempff2e année: Italie (minus Dante Sonata) & Gondoliera from SupplementDeutsche Grammophon
1975Vladimir HorowitzAu bord d'une source (1ere année)RCA Victor Red Seal 82876 50754 2
1977CompleteDeutsche Grammophon DGG 4372062
1977CompleteEMI Connoisseur Society CSQ 2141, 2142, 2143
19803e année: Italie (3 pieces: No. 2, No. 4, No. 5)Philips Classics 9500 775
19863e année: ItaliePhilips Classics 462312-2
19861ere année: SuissePhilips Classics 462312-2
19862e année: ItaliePhilips Classics 462312-2
1986[8] 2e année: Italie BBC music Magazine
1989, 1984, 1983IncompletePhilips Classics
1989Complete Akademia Records
1989[9] 2e année: ItalieOnClassical
1990Jorge Bolet2e année: ItalieDecca / London ASIN: B00000E2MO
1990Jorge Bolet1e année: SuisseDecca / London ASIN: B00000E2MN
1990Alan Marks2e année: Italie Nimbus Records
19912e année: ItalieChandos Records
1991IncompleteHungaroton HCD 31517
1992Jenő Jandó1e année: SuisseNaxos Records 8.550548
1992Jenő Jandó2e année: ItalieNaxos Records 8.550549
1992Jenő Jandó3e annéeNaxos Records 8.550550
1996Pierre Goy 1e annéeCantando
1995, 1996, 1990Complete Hyperion Records
2001Carlo Maria Dominici3e annéeFabula Classica
20012e année: Italie, SupplementHarmonia Mundi
2001, 2003, 2005CompleteCentaur Records
2000, 2002Thomas Hitzlberger2e annéeCybele
2003CompleteEMI Classics 5851772
20032e année: ItalieTurtle Records
20041ere année: SuisseTurtle Records
20043e annéeTurtle Records
2004CompleteMIRARE
20051ere année: SuisseHyperion Records
2008Daniel GrimwoodComplete, without Supplementsfz music SFZM0208
2010Louis LortieCompleteChandos Records CHAN10662(2)
2010Mūza RubackytėCompleteLyrinx Records LYR 2216
2010Jerome LowenthalCompleteBridge Records 9307A/C
2008, 2009, 2010Michael KorstickCompleteCPO 777 478-2
2010Tomas Dratva1ere annéeOehms Classics OC 786
2011CompleteHänssler Classic 98.627
20112e année: ItalieTelos Music
2011Bertrand ChamayouCompleteNaive
2011Seung-Yeun HuhComplete, without SupplementArs Musici 232406
2011Ragna SchirmerCompleteBerlin Classics 0300121BC
2012Sinae LeeCompleteNimbus Records N16202
2012Costantino CatenaSupplement Camerata Tokyo CMCD-15133-4
2012Reiko Kuwahara1ere année: Suisse Denmoukeikaku/DPIC Entertainment
2013Alexei GrynyukSonetti del Petrarca (2e année)Orchid Classics ORC100031
2013Eisuke Nemoto2e année: Italie, SupplementDenmoukeikaku/DPIC Entertainment
2014Simone Jennarelli1e année: Suissehttps://store.cdbaby.com/cd/simonejennarelli5
2018Sophia Agranovich2e année: Italie S.161(3 Sonetti del Petrarca; ) Centaur Records / Naxos, CRC 3601
2020Suzana BartalCompleteNaïve Records ASIN: B084QHPLZD
2020Yunchan Lim2e année: Italie S.161Young Musicians of Korea Vol.3, Korea Broadcasting System Media
2022Francesco LibettaComplete, on Piano Borgato GrandPrix 333

Video

Score

Edition Peters publishes the complete score, with the first volume of the trilogy "Suisse" published together with the "Trois Morceaux suisses" for the first time, in line with the composer's original intention to combine all his Swiss-inspired character pieces into a single volume. The musical journey is supported by the inclusion of historical illustrations of the scenes and landscapes that inspired the composer. Edited by world-renowned Liszt expert and concert pianist Leslie Howard, the edition also contains Liszt's original fingerings.

Dover Publications has issued a complete edition in one bound volume. Also included is an appendix of related works including Lyon (from the first book of Album d'un voyageur), Apparitions, Tre sonetti del Petrarca, and the original version of Venezia e Napoli.

In literature

Haruki Murakami's novel Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage (2013) centers on the movement "Le Mal du pays," and derives its title from the Années.[10] [11]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Hamilton, Kenneth, "Liszt's early and Weimar piano works," in The Cambridge Companion to Liszt, ed. Kenneth Hamiton, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2005.
  2. Hamilton, pp. 66ff.
  3. Watson, Derek, Liszt, The Master Musicians, J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd., London, 1989, p. 244.
  4. Watson, p. 244.
  5. Hamilton, p. 68.
  6. Web site: Naxos Direct. https://web.archive.org/web/20130928153711/http://www.naxosdirect.com/title/8.550549. dead. September 28, 2013.
  7. "Années de pèlerinage" Ferenc Liszt, Edited by Imre Sulyok, Imre Mezo. (Shanghai Music Publishing House, 2007)
  8. published May 1997
  9. published 2008
  10. News: O'Hagan . Sean . 28 July 2014 . Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage review – Haruki Murakami's familiar tale of a man's odd past and his empty present . . 29 June 2021.
  11. News: Arana . Marie . Marie Arana . 11 August 2014 . Review: 'Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage,' by Haruki Murakami . . 29 June 2021.

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