Liszt, part

Liszt’s cycle of Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, juxtaposes angelic pieces, mystical atmospheres and powerful frescoes such as Funérailles and Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude. The Transcendental Studies present singular challenges to the instrumentalist, the Harmonies poétiques et religieuses are the mystical face of Franz Liszt’s pianistic output. Visions mournful (Pensée des morts) or celestial (Cantique d’amour), darkly heroic epics (Funérailles), noble lamentations (Andante Lagrimoso): here is Liszt in all his diversity. Outstanding even in this company is Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude, one of the composer’s finest pieces, a fresco of lofty spirituality. The pianist Vanessa Wagner has chosen to interpolate three pieces by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt in these excerpts from the Harmonies poétiques et religieuses. They are characterised by a decanted musical style, deeply religious in its inspiration, rooted in Gregorian chant and early polyphony.