Theatrical drama and Franciscan simplicity in oratorios by Ferenc Liszt

• Authors: Joanna Subel
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

PL

The works of Ferenc Liszt are both influenced by the romantic mood and various opposing trends of the church music of his era. In his oratorios Die Legende von der heiligen Elisabeth and Christus, as well as in the unfinished St Stanislaus, one may discern such features as drama, mysticism, universalism, and national elements. In these vocal-instrumental works the composer makes use of two languages, German and Latin, as well as of various types of the archaisms such as quotations from Gregorian melodies. In Liszt’s compositions, choral monodies become ‘motifs’ - the recurring themes which appear frequently and in a variety of versions. Dramatic expression and lyricism are particularly dominant in St Elisabeth. The Christus oratorio, which resembles a misterium, because of the absence of a libretto and the use of liturgical texts, is characterised by the abundance of harmonic solutions. The oratorios reveal both the composer’s uncommon piety and his striving to reform the church music of his times.

Keywords

PL

Ferenc Liszt; oratorio; Die Legende von der heiligen Elisabeth; Christus; St Stanislaus

• Publisher: Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu
• Journal: Interdisciplinary Studies in Musicology
• Year: 2014
• Issue: 13
• Pages: 67-78

Dates

published

2018-10-17

Contributors

author

Joanna Subel

• She received her postdoctoral degree in 19th- and 20th-century Polish and General History (specialization: History of Music, title of thesis: Johann David Holland - Life and works: A subject catalogue) from the Faculty of History and Pedagogy of Opole University. Since 1974, she has been a member of staff at the Academy of Music in Wroclaw, teaching theory of music. Between 1997 and 2007, she taught knowledge of music at the Institute of Cultural Studies of Wroclaw University. In the years 2005-2007, she was guest lecturer at Hochschule fiir Musik und Theater in Hannover, Germany, specializing in the history of Polish music. Since 2012 she has held the post of associate professor at the Chair of Musicology of Wroclaw University. Her areas of specialization include: 18th- and 19th-centuries music history and music literature, the life and work of Karol Lipiński. Articles authored by her have been published in scientific journals of the music academies of Wroclaw, Poznań, Katowice and Warsaw, as well as Poznań University, Leipzig University, Bonn University, ‘PWM Music Encyclopaedia’ and ‘Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart* (MGG) encyclopaedia. Her publications include: Czym jest romantyzm? Przeglqd koncepcji [‘What is Romanticism? A survey of concepts’] (Wroclaw 2004); Wrocławska chóralistyka 1945-2000 [‘Wroclaw’s choirs in the years 1945-2000’] (Wroclaw 2005); Cantores Minores Wratislavienses 1966-2006 (Wroclaw 2006) and Wrocławska chóralistyka 1817-1944 [Wroclaw’s choirs in the years 1817-1944’] (Wroclaw 2008).