1.Les morts

Franz Liszt composed Les Morts (The Dead) on the inspiration of a Lamennais poem of the same name was written in memory of his son, Daniel Heinrich Liszt who died in his father's arms. Originally composed as an orchestral work, Liszt added a chorus for men's voices in 1866 but that version was not published until 1916, some years after his death. This work also exists in an unpublished version for four-hand piano, an arrangement for organ published in 1890 and the two-hand piano version, described here, published in 1908. An outpouring of Liszt's emotions on the death of his beloved son, this work shows the agony and hope of a father's grief in a beautiful and haunting fashion.

Beginning with a simple, unaccompanied theme in the left hand, the pensive mood of this piece is immediately evident. As this melodic line is developed by the addition of unison octaves and then straightforward chords, it takes on a dark and melancholy aura. This sadness stretches toward hope in a passage of lighter chords and brighter tonality, then slips back into the moribund mood of the opening. The reflective feeling of this section develops into a brooding tremolo figure in the bass line that rises with the overlaying melody to create a sense of foreboding that resolves into a triumphant, almost frenetic chordal theme. This progression ends abruptly as if all hope has been shattered and gives way to the original, simple theme of the work. A feeling of resignation permeates the final section of Les Morts which ends in a series of melancholy and resolute chords whose exquisite and unexpected harmonies have few equals in nineteenth-century piano music.



© All Music Guide