I try to make it a point to listen to Franz Liszt’s oratorio, “Christus,” every year, whether I need it or not.
It helps that I love Liszt, of course. Not all of his music – anyone as prolific as he was had to turn out a clunker now and then – but he was such a noble, well-intentioned guy. I’ve been a hardcore admirer ever since I read Alan Walker’s biography, now probably 23 years ago. The years, they do fly by! And having heard so many performances of his Piano Sonata certainly hasn’t hurt.
Liszt was one of the most original musical thinkers of the 19th century. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that, after Beethoven, he was possibly the most influential musician of the 1800s. There was likely no composer who didn’t at some point make a decision to follow or to react against him.
He was, admittedly, hit-and-miss. Liszt wrote a lot of astonishingly wonderful music, but also a fair amount that might charitably be described as slightly embarrassing. Arguably, he was more successful as a philosopher and an innovator than he was as a consistent executor of his ideas. Richard Wagner (who became Liszt’s son-in-law), to name only one, would have been a very different composer without Liszt. And we all know how influential Wagner was.
Liszt’s flamboyance was legendary, but his reputation in that regard stemmed mostly from the overwhelming sensations he conjured in recital, and his audiences’ hysterical responses to them. He could also be introverted, thoughtful, and pious. He was so pious, in fact, that at a point he wound up taking minor orders and living in a cell in Rome, where he was known as the Abbé Liszt. His sacred works were not mere posturing.
The magnificent “Christus” is an oratorio in three parts – spanning some three hours in length – that is really part oratorio, part loose collection of symphonic poems. Part I, the Christmas portion, contains two purely orchestral movements, which together comprise about half an hour. The concluding “March of the Three Holy Kings” is a corker. It’s also interesting in that one of the movement’s main themes is nearly identical to Wagner’s motif for Wotan. Which came first? Both “Christus” and “Das Rheingold” were written at just about the same time.
I know it’s an extraordinarily busy time of year, but do yourself a favor: send your regrets to the office holiday party, seclude yourself in a quiet place with no distractions (a sofa, with the Christmas lights on, would do nicely), and marvel at this ambitious, romantic music.
I own three recordings of the piece, and this one, conducted by Antal Dorati, is far and away the most satisfying.
If you find you just can’t get enough, there’s also Liszt’s “Christmas Tree Suite.” Liszt dedicated the work to his granddaughter, Daniela von Bülow. Some of the early movements are reflections on familiar carols (including “Adeste Fideles,” in yet another evocation of the Three Holy Kings), but as the suite progresses, Liszt just kind of dreamily wanders off into the future the way only Liszt can. The suite was first performed on Christmas Day, 1881. All the movement titles are listed below the video at the link.
What else is there to say, but Merry Liszt-mas!
Liszt takes the cloth (left); Jesus gets frankincense and myrrh
