("Preludes" or "The Beginnings"), S.97, is the third of Franz Liszt's thirteen symphonic poems. The music was composed between 1845 and 1854, and began as an overture to Liszt's choral cycle (The Four Elements), then revised as a stand-alone concert overture, with a new title referring to a poem by Alphonse de Lamartine. Its premiere was on 23 February 1854, conducted by Liszt himself. The score was published in 1856 by Breitkopf & Härtel.Müller-Reuter (1909) p. 266. is the earliest example of an orchestral work entitled "Symphonic Poem" (German: or French: ).
Genesis Les préludes is the final revision of an overture initially written for a choral cycle Les quatre éléments (The Four Elements, 1844–48), on 4 poems by the French author Joseph Autran: La Terre (The Earth), Les Aquilons (The north Winds), Les Flots (The Waves), Les Astres (The Stars).
The chorus Les Aquilons was composed and created in a version for male chorus with 2 pianos accompaniment in Marseille in 1844, and the first sketches of the Ouverture des quatre élémens date from 1845, during Liszt's tour through Spain and Portugal. A manuscript of the overture from 1849 to 1850 shows that the work had by then reached its almost definitive structure and thematic content.Bonner (1986), pp. 98-106Johns (1997), pp.145-147
After being partially orchestrated, the choral cycle project was abandoned. The overture was revised in 1853–54 as a stand-alone piece, with a new title inspired by an ode by the French poet Alphonse de Lamartine, Les préludes.
Both the title and the reference to Lamartine's poem as a suggestion for a programme were added only after the work was almost complete. Contrary to an idea that is still sometimes widespread today,In books that are not specifically devoted to Liszt:
Walton: Basic Forms in Music, Alfred Music, 2005, p.192;
Leikin: The Mystery of Chopin's Préludes, 2016, p.46.
Or in the foreword of some editions of the score:
Liszt: Les Préludes, orchestral score, Kalmus - Alfred Music, 1999 (There still does not seem to be a critical edition in 2022.) the work was neither written nor even revised after Lamartine: there were no addition of new themes, no addition or suppression or changes in the order of episodes, not even changes of the tonal structure within the episodes, between the last stage of the manuscript of the Ouverture des quatre élémens, and the final revision of 1853-54 under the title Les préludes. The evidence provided in 1986 by musicologist Andrew BonnerBonner (1986) has since been agreed by, among others, two musicologists who have devoted book-length studies to Liszt's symphonic poems, Keith T. JohnsJohns (1997), p.145 and Joanne Cormac.Cormac (2017), pp.11 &70
Les préludes is written for a large orchestra of strings, woodwind, brass (including tuba and bass trombone), harp and a variety of percussion instruments (timpani, side drum, bass drum and cymbals). To realize the orchestration, Liszt was helped by two composers: first by Joachim Raff for the manuscripts of 1849–50, then by Hans von Bronsart for the revision in 1853-54 and for minor corrections before publication by Breitkopf in 1856.Bonner (1986), pp. 98-103
Although the orchestration was 'four-handed', studies on the Raff-Liszt collaboration on the Prometheus Overture, contemporary with the progress of Les quatre élémens, have revealed that Liszt drew up very detailed sketches, rejected or modified almost all of Raff's proposals, and sought in particular to achieve more transparent textures and more subtle variations in orchestral density.Bertagnolli (2002)
Musical analysis
This analysis is limited to a factual observation of the score and the links with the choruses Les quatre élémens, from which all the themes of Les preludes are derived.Haraszti (1953), pp.117-122Bonner (1986) pp.103-107Johns (1997), p.54 & p.147 For the possibilities of interpretation according to a programme added later, linked to Lamartine or to the preface by Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, see the next paragraph.
Form The form of Les préludes corresponds to both:
• A "synopsis overture" was the most common form of overture in the Romantic period.Moortele (2017), p.38-40 That is, a presentation of the main themes of the forthcoming work, arranged in contrasting episodes, so as to convey an overview of the drama or story. The slow introduction, as well as the brilliant finale, marked by a triumphant return of earlier themes and sometimes described as an apotheosis, are also among the "standard component of romantic overtures".Moortele (2017), p.109Moortele (2017), p.149
• A cyclical form, i.e. a construction where a single musical cell gives rise to all the themes, and/or where themes recur cyclically between the beginning and end of the work Searle (1970), p.281
The plan based on tempo indications and thematic material is as follows: Section Bars Tempo indication Themes 1 1-34 Andante Main theme from Les Astres (The Stars) 35-46 Andante maestoso 2 47-68 L'istesso tempo (espressivo cantando) Two themes associated with Lovefrom Les Astres and La Terre (The Earth) 69-108 L'istesso tempo (espressivo ma tranquillo) 3 109-131 Allegro ma non troppo Motives associated with Sea storms from Les Aquilons (The Winds) and Les Flots (The Waves) 131-181 Allegro tempestuoso 4 182-200 Un poco più moderato Love themes transformed into Pastoral themes 200-296 Allegretto pastorale (Allegro moderato) 296-343 Poco a poco più di moto sino al... 5 344-404 Allegro marziale animato Love themes transformed into Triumphal themes 405-419 Andante maestoso Main theme from Les Astres
(Division into 5 main sections as proposed by TaruskinTaruskin (2010), Chap. 8 Midcentury / The symphony later on. Other divisions have also been described : see. paragraph "The first symphonic poem")
Detailed analysis
1. Andante - Andante maestoso
1a. Andante (Introduction)
After 2 pizzicati, the strings intone a phrase which is nothing other than the vocal theme sung by the Stars at the beginning of the chorus Les Astres,Haraszti (1953), p.121 underlined by the celli and bassi, then extended by an ascending arpeggio of violins and violas (example 1).
"Hommes épars sur le globe qui roule / (Enveloppé là-bas de nos rayons)." "Scattered men on the rolling globe / (Wrapped up there in our rays)".
This "theme of the Stars" is also headed by a 'three-note cell', which unifies all the thematic material of Les préludes,Taruskin (2010), Chap.8, example 8.1 as it already did in the original choruses (cyclic form).
The theme is first presented as a sketch emerging from silence and returning to silence, with Liszt creating "a sense of rhythmic disorientation" (pizzicati and attacks are systematically shifted to weak beats) and "harmonic ambiguity" (the melody is in aeolian mode, creating ambivalence between C major and A minor, and resolved by woodwinds in A major)Johns (1997), p.54Bonner (1986) pp. 103-105
The ensemble is taken up a tone higher, and then the music begins to gain forward momentum, with a woodwind ostinato accompanying closer and closer repetitions of the theme in the strings, in an ascending chromatic sequence creating increasing tension up to the dominant of C major, while the trombones reaffirm the 3-note motive by increasing the intervals, more and more insistently.
Note that some editions of the score display a molto ritenuto just before the andante maestoso, while others do not. Both version can be heard till today, without it being possible to know what Liszt would have wanted.
1b. Andante Maestoso ("Les Astres")
Mm.35-46
The return to a luminous C major finally resolves the harmonic tension accumulated earlier. The music here comes entirely from the beginning of the chorus Les Astres (The Stars), where it introduced the peremptory song of the "heavenly powers" addressing humans:Bonner (1986) pp. 103-106Haraszti (1953), pp.121-122 The harmonic scheme, proceeding in descending thirds before returning to C major, is strictly that of the instrumental introduction to the chorus (I - VI - IV - II - VII - V - I - VI - IV - I - VI - IV - I) The chorale-like writing in held notes in woodwinds, trumpets and horns was the main melodic line in the instrumental introduction. The waves of sharply articulated arpeggios in the violins and violas also appeared in a similar form in the introduction, even in the piano part. The aforementioned theme of the Stars is now declaimed in the trombones, tuba, bassoons and low strings, with a new rhythmic pattern that will be reaffirmed by the timpani. This theme, which in the original chorus appeared only at the entrance of the voices, is here superimposed and adapted to the musical elements of the introduction, providing a melodic and rhythmic counterpoint to the other elements (this addition date from the 1853–54 revision: the 1850 manuscript still had the choral line as its main material).Bonner (1986) pp. 105-106
Note that the trombone and tuba parts are indicated simply f, not ff like the rest of the orchestra, which seems to mean that Liszt was keen on a balance between the 3 musical elements, not an overwhelming predominance of the trombones.
2. L'istesso Tempo ("Love") Continuing with the same pulse, but with a tender and lyrical expression, the new section includes musical material that was explicitly associated with poetic images of love in the 2 choruses Les Astres and La Terre (The Earth).
2a.
Mm.47–69
The theme played by the celli is the exact quote of a theme from the 2d section of the Chorus Les Astres,Haraszti (1953), p.122 associated with the notion of heavenly/divine love :
"Seul astre pur qui parfois illumine / Comme un de nous vos ténébreux chemins / [...]""Couples heureux, pleins d’extase divine / Vous soupirez, en vous tenant les mains" "Only pure star that sometimes illuminates / Like one of us your dark paths /[...]""Happy couples, full of divine ecstasy / You sigh, holding hands."
This "love theme" is itself virtually a transposition from the 1st to a 3d degree of the initial theme of Les Astres, and therefore also contains the original 3-note cell. (Example 3) The harmonic pattern is strictly identical (transposed 1/2 ton higher) to that of the corresponding passage in Les Astres, including a tonic pedal (here in double-bass pizzicati: see Example 3). The 1st violins accompany softly this theme with a sixteenth-note formula, which derives directly from the last descending arpeggios in the previous Andante maestoso : the principle of thematic transformation thus extends to the secondary voices, and reinforces the continuity already specified by l'istesso tempo. Finally, the 3-note motive appears in syncopated rhythm on the double basses, which energizes the phrase and avoids any effect of languidness (provided the section is played andante and not adagio).
The theme is then resumed in a subtle combination of solo horn and 2d violins, this time in E major, and continues with a section in minor (mm. 63.ff) which also comes entirely from the same chorus.
2b.
Mm.69–108
The new theme in E major, carried by a combination of 4 horns and violas "espressivo ma tranquillo", derives from a four-part theme sung by the Trees in the chorus La Terre,Haraszti (1953) p.118 this time associated with the notion of love linked with spring,Johns (1997), p.147 or "earthly love" :
"Des ivresses unanimes, voici les moments heureux / De nos pieds jusqu’à nos cimes / S’élancent en nœuds intimes / Tous les êtres amoureux" "Of unanimous voluptuousness, here are the happy moments / From our feet to our peaks / All beings in love are thrown into intimate knots"
Although no longer resembling to the themes seen previously, this 2d "love theme" also turns out to be a variation on the 3-notes cell, as shown by Taruskin (Example 4).