Les préludes
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,[18] underlined by the celli and bassi, then extended by an ascending arpeggio of violins and violas (example 1).
109-130: An ominous chromatic motif, again derived from the 3-note cell, evokes the first tremors of wind or waves, which quickly intensify and accelerate, carried by swirling string tremolos on diminished seventh chord, cancelling out any harmonic marker.
160-181: The key stabilizes into A minor (reaffirmed in a Beethovenian way by the timpani: E-E-E-A), with music derived directly from the introduction of the chorus Les Flots: « Nous aimons voir briller dans l’ombre / l’éclair aux ardents javelots / Nous aimons le vaisseau qui sombre / en jetant à la grève sombre / le dernier cri des matelots» « We like to see the lightning shining in the shadows / with its fiery javelins / we like the sinking ship / throwing to the dark shore / the last cry of the sailors.
A new fresh and graceful theme gives rise to playful exchanges between the various wind soloists and the strings, on the 6/8 rhythm traditionally associated with peasant dances and pastoral scenes, while the new tonal centre stabilises in A major.
No parallel can be established between any verse of the poems of Autran (nor any part of Lamartine's ode), and this joyful and exuberant progression, whose raison d'être seems especially musical, in order to make a transition to the finale.
The writing superimposes vivid dotted rhythms in the winds, feverish tremolos in the strings, suddenly accentuated scale-runs, accompanied by a trumpet signal with the appearance of a cavalry bugle, processes traditionally associated with ideas of battle, but in major keys that maintain an enthusiastic and jubilant expression.
[35] On the other hand, the use of triumphant music with military accents as a finale is far from exceptional in opera overtures and concert overtures of this period (see examples below) 5b: Andante maestoso (Recapitulation) After more or less pronounced ritardendo (the indication varies from "poco" to "molto" ritardendo depending on the editions of the score), the andante maestoso is entirely re-exposed, as the conclusion of a cyclic construction, with reinforced dynamics and additional percussion (snare drum, bass drum and cymbals), and followed by a brief coda ending in a plagal cadence.
After Berlioz and the "idée fixe" motif in the Symphonie Fantastique, Liszt gives here another example of continuous thematic transformation: as it has been described above, all themes derive from each other or are interconnected by a same founding cell, even in certain accompanying formulas.
Lamartine's ode does indeed contain several similarities with some sections in Autran's poems: an amorous elegy, a sea storm, a bucolic scene, which, as long as one sticks to archetypal images without being too careful about the detail and order of the sequences, can serve as a vague programme.
« The one perishes whole; the other on the dust, Like a trunk whose boughs the axe has cut, Of its scattered limbs sees the shreds fly, And, dragging himself still on the dampened earth, Marks in streams of blood his bloody trail.
[…] Suddenly the sun, dispelling the cloud, Shines with horror on the scene of the slaughter; And its pale ray, on the slippery earth, Uncovers to our eyes long streams of blood, Broken steeds and chariots in the quarry, Mutilated limbs scattered on the dust, The confused debris of arms and bodies, And flags thrown on heaps of the dead.
» Except for two verses evoking earlier a trumpet signal, including the one used by Carolyne Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein in her preface, it is difficult to draw a parallel between this gruesome massacre and Liszt's glorious music in C major.
[76] Nowadays, opinions remain divided between some music critics, who still accuse certain pages of vulgarity (Berry: "If the brass section could not entirely escape vulgarity, that is Liszt's responsibility"[77]), and musicologists who praise the inventiveness of the writing (Tranchefort: "Ductile and sumptuous, the orchestra demonstrates a variety of colours and movements the likes of which have not been heard since Beethoven"[37]), who highlight "many technical innovations" and "the use of chamber-music textures, in which small groups of soloists periodically emerge from the orchestral mass, forming contrasts among themselves"(Walker [78]), or who emphasize the rigour of a structure based on "a complex pattern of key and motivic relationships" (Johns [79]).
For example, Erich Kleiber's 1936 version, « energetic and driving »,[91] offering « an absolutely exceptional incandescence, enthusiasm, grandeur without rhetoric and communicativeness »,[92] while being one of the most faithful to the score (1885 edition) in the entire discography.
[94] (For the "Mengelberg case", see below) In modern sound, Kocsis, with the Hungarian Philharmonic in 2011, is apparently the only conductor among those whose recordings are easily available to dare such a burning and direct approach: « The symphonic discs of this Liszt year are clearly dominated by this feverish concert from the Palace of Arts in Budapest.
[92][98] Other majestic and contemplative versions include, for example, Conlon's reading, which also divides opinions, between boredom and admiration for its « elegance, the « fleshy and balanced sound », the « fusion of timbres »,[98] or Oue's, « a finely sustained, noble performance in which the demonstration-quality sonics permit fullness of tone without a trace of bombast ».
[98] Some conductors do not hesitate to multiply effects and to take significant liberties with the rhythm, like Mengelberg in 1929 with the Concertgebouw orchestra, an « impassioned performance » marked by a « flamboyant style », in which some commentators imagine an echo of the freedom of interpretation that could exist in Liszt's time.
Celibidache in his early years offers a « staggering » vision,[106] with pages already marked by its legendary slowness and creating hypnotic soundscapes, and others by turns intensely lyrical, wild, martial and epic, making each line sing, and « staging a real drama ».
»[92] Pletnev's sharp, uncompromisingly conducting delivers one of the most terrific storms and battles ever recorded, as well as an exceptionally vigorous and biting andante maestoso, and gives the work a perfect unity, but the hasty allegretto that seems to be inherited from Golovanov may again divide opinion.
Other versions stand out rather for their sense of balance, without seeking effects, such as Weingartner's, a reading of absolute fidelity while never allowing the music to sound hackneyed, which « maintains excitement without “Lisztian” hysteria and gives full due to the lyric sections », supported by a London Symphony in top form.
[118] Boult offers an « incredibly convincing presentation » of the work,[119] a reading remarkable for its unity, without excess of sentimentality but rich in colour, and where the slightly too Elgarian andante maestoso is counterbalanced by a surprising ardour in the storm and battle sections.
[122] Note that in the allegro marziale animato section, what might pass for virtuoso exuberance in some conductors is in fact a strict adherence to the challenge Liszt placed in his score, with a gradual acceleration from allegretto pastorale to allegro marziale animato and a suggested equivalence (1 beat of 6/8 = 1 beat of 2/2), logically leading to a tempo well above 100 alla breve, as played by Fried, Kleiber, Ludwig, Muti in 1983, and to a lesser extend André, Dixon, Silvestri, Fricsay, Benzi, Haitink, Solti, Fischer, Gergiev, and a few other.
Some conductors opt for a different tempo equivalence (1 bar 6/8 = 1 beat 2/2), frantically accelerating the end of the 6/8 section, then moving on to a more majestic allegro marziale, an option advocated by Mengelberg, and taken up by van Otterloo, Mitropoulos, Karajan, Oue...
Some begin the allegretto in a surprisingly slow tempo to maintain a margin of progression, like Paray in 1953, a « dry and uncompromising reading », giving the work the appearance of « a "relief" in the sculptural sense of the term ».
[98] Some even modify the score by ignoring almost all the indicated acceleration and tempo change between the allegretto and the allegro marziale animato, depriving the page of its sense of excitement, like Ančerl, in a version who seems to abandon any narrative aspect in favour of a study of timbre and architecture, « a probing [reading] focusing more on the work's purely musical values than on its implied rhetoric »,[123] especially appreciated for « the Czech musicians’ warm and round tones » and « the brass’ refusal to blow to the point of rasping ».
[124] Or Dorati, in a reading with clear lines, precise accents, and a cheerfull, dancing allegretto which curiously segues into a slower allegro marziale : an elegant version that some may have nevertheless judged « animated without great conviction ».
[125] This is also the option chosen by Neumann in studio in Leipzig, a version otherwise remarkable for its musicality and structural unity — but the conductor offers a much more lively, free and captivating reading in concert in Prague, at least in the first part of the work, while benefiting again from the suggestive colours of the Czech woodwinds.
[126] Some versions are especially noted for their orchestral qualities: for example, the brilliance (which some may have considered excessive)[98] of the Philadelphia Orchestra with Muti, a highly « controlled reading » that accentuates contrasts between subtle balances in finely chiselled episodes, and « furious tempi » in others.
[92] Or in his 2009 London Concert, where the less sumptuous but enthusiastic young orchestra[131] makes the music « sing and surge with freedom and freshness »,[132] and highlights the « lyrical allure » of the work [133] (in an overall conception that still favours control rather than ardor, at least compared to the more fiery versions).
[134][135] Lastly, some conductors have proposed recordings on period instrument, favouring the transparency of the textures and highlighting the woodwinds, like van Immerseel, perhaps lacking a more generous string sound in the lyrical moments, more convincing in other pages.
