Deux légendes (Liszt)

Saint Francis of Paola, in an engraving by Marco Pitteri, after Federiko Benković

The Deux légendes (French: Two legends) are a pair of pieces for solo piano, (S.175 in the catalogue compiled by Humphrey Searle) by Franz Liszt, written in 1863.

No. 1: St. Francis of Assisi's sermon to the birds

St. François d'Assise: La prédication aux oiseaux, S.175/1 is based on a story of St Francis of Assisi. It is said that, one day, while Francis was travelling with some companions, they happened upon a place in the road where birds filled the trees on either side. Francis told his companions to "wait for me while I go to preach to my sisters the birds." The birds surrounded him, intrigued by the power of his voice, and not one of them flew away.^[1] The key of the piece is A major, often associated by Liszt with religious sentiment.^[2] The piece contains representations of birdsong, one of the few examples in Liszt's works of onomatopaeia.^[3]

No. 2: St. Francis of Paola walking on the waves

St. François de Paule marchant sur les flots, S.175/2 is based on a legend of St. Francis of Paola, according to which he was refused passage by a boatman while trying to cross the Strait of Messina to Sicily. He reportedly laid his cloak on the water, tied one end to his staff as a sail, and sailed across the strait with his companions following in the boat.^[4] The piece was inspired by a picture owned by Liszt of St. Francis of Paola (who was Liszt's name saint), drawn by Eduard von Steinle. Liszt described it in a letter of 31 May 1860 to Richard Wagner: "On his outspread cloak he strides firmly, steadfastly, over the tumultuous waves - his left hand holding burning coals, his right hand giving the sign of blessing, His gaze is directed upwards, where the word 'Charitas', surrounded by an aureole, lights his way!"^[5]

References

Notes

↑ Bonaventure (1867), pp. 78–85
↑ Walker (1989), p. 154.
↑ Walker (1989), p. 360.
↑ "The Vision of Saint Francis of Paola", The J.Paul Getty Museum
↑ Williams (1998), p. 500.

Sources

Bonaventure; Cardinal Manning (1867). The Life of St. Francis of Assisi (from the Legenda Sancti Francisci) (1988 ed.). Rockford, Illinois: TAN Books & Publishers. ISBN 978-0-89555-343-0
Walker, Alan. (1989). Franz Liszt: The Weimar Years. London: Faber. ISBN 9780571172153
Williams, Adrian (1998) Franz Liszt: Selected Letters. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 9780198166887

Franz Liszt

Operas	Don Sanche Sardanapale (unfinished)

Symphonic poems	Ce qu'on entend sur la montagne Tasso Les préludes Orpheus Prometheus Mazeppa Festklänge Héroïde funèbre Hungaria Hamlet Hunnenschlacht Die Ideale

Other orchestral works	Faust Symphony Dante Symphony Mephisto Waltzes

Works for piano and orchestra	Hungarian Fantasy Piano Concerto No. 1 Piano Concerto No. 2 Piano Concerto No. 3 Totentanz

Original solo piano works	Transcendental Études Grandes études de Paganini Ab Irato Three Concert Études Two Concert Études Variation on a Waltz by Diabelli Années de pèlerinage Dante Sonata Feuille d'album Ballade No. 1 Ballade No. 2 Consolations Harmonies poétiques et religieuses Deux légendes Sonata in B minor Sarabande and Chaconne Weihnachtsbaum Dem Andenken Petőfis Nuages gris La lugubre gondola Valse-Impromptu Mephisto Waltzes Bagatelle sans tonalité Mephisto Polka Grand galop chromatique Csárdás Hungarian Rhapsodies Glanes de Woronince Rondeau fantastique Rhapsodie espagnole Liebesträume

Opera paraphrases for piano	Réminiscences de Don Juan Fantasy on Themes from Mozart's Figaro and Don Giovanni

Family	Adam Liszt (father) Cosima Wagner (daughter)

Related articles	Life Musical works Later works Treatments of the works of other composers Franz Liszt Academy of Music International Franz Liszt Piano Competition Lisztomania

Book:Franz Liszt List of compositions by Franz Liszt

Francis of Assisi

Organisations	Order of Friars Minor (Custody of the Holy Land) Order of Saint Clare Secular Franciscan Order

Literature	Little Flowers of St. Francis

Visual art	Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence (Caravaggio) Saint Francis in Meditation (Caravaggio) Saint Francis in Prayer (Caravaggio) Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy (Caravaggio) Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata (Giotto) Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata (van Eyck) St. Francis in Ecstasy (Bellini)

Music	"All Creatures of Our God and King" "Canticle of the Sun" "The Canticle of the Sun" (Sowerby) Le Laudi Légende No. 1 (Liszt)

Stage	Saint François d'Assise (1983 Messiaen opera) Samstag aus Licht (1983 Stockhausen opera) Nobilissima Visione (ballet)

Films	The Flowers of St. Francis (1950) Francis of Assisi (1961) Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972) Francesco (1989)

Related	Pranchiyettan & the Saint Madonna of Foligno Wolf of Gubbio Discalced Prayer of Saint Francis Pope Francis

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