May 20, 2016.Franz Liszt, Venezia e Napoli.Today we’ll publish an article on Liszt’s Venezia e Napoli, a revision of the earlier set by the same name, which was published as a supplement to the Deuxième année: Italie.We’ll illustrate Gondoliera with a performance by the young Korean-American pianistWoobin Park, Canzone – by a 1985 recording made by the great Jorge Bolet, when he was 71, and Tarantella – with a performance by another young pianist, the American Heidi Hau.♫
The cities of Venice and Naples must have made a particular impression upon Franz Liszt during his travels with Marie d’Agoult, for, beside the several pieces that would ultimately become the travelogue of his journeys through Italy in the second volume of Années de pèlerinage, he also composed in 1840 a further four pieces named after them—Venezia e Napoli. Like Années de perinage,Venezia e Napoli likewise underwent a significant process of revision once Liszt was in Weimar. Of the original four pieces, only the last two were kept: the Andante placido, which became Gondoliera; and the Tarantelles Napolitaines, which was simply renamed Tarantella. Liszt then inserted a doleful Canzone between these two pieces, creating the triptych now known today. It was published as a supplement to Deuxième Année in 1861.
Liszt based Gondoliera (here), or “Gondolier’s song,” on a well-known melody (“La biondina in gondoletta”) composed by Giovanni Battista Peruchini, an Italian composer born in 1784. Unlike the original version, the 1859 revision opens with an extended introduction in the key of F-sharp minor. Undulating eighth notes in compound meter begin quietly in the bass and slowly rise towards the tonic. In the treble, glistening arpeggios instantly conjure the imagery of a peaceful Venetian canal. Eventually gaining an F-sharp major chord, the music pauses before the commencement of the melody. Marked sempre dolcissimo, the melody, in its first statement, sings out in the rich middle register of the piano above a tonic pedal suggested by the eighth notes still present in the bass. Two more statements follow, each separated by a brief fantasia in Liszt’s usual florid style. Only the latter half of the melody is present in the second statement, but is otherwise only slightly changed. The eighth notes of the bass, however, have now become sixteenths, imbuing the music with an increasing energy. The final statement, on the other hand, is greatly embellished. The melody, still essentially unaltered, now appears against a glimmering accompaniment of trills and broken chords, as if the gondola has suddenly emerged from between two buildings and brilliant sunlight now reflects off the surrounding waters. The melody is repeated again, now below the accompanimental arpeggios, and with its penultimate measure trailing off into a final passage of filigree. From there, the lengthy coda turns the melody somewhat wistful, as its strains are broken up and the minor key creeps back into the tonal fabric. On a stunningly beautiful passage in which full-voice chords move about a fixed F-sharp and A-sharp, the music fades away, like the empty gondola slowly receding from its former passenger. (Read more here).
The following Canzone (here) is actually part of a larger whole, and leads directly into the Tarantella without pause. It is based on the gondolier’s song “Nessun maggior dolore” (“No more pain”) in Act III of Rossini’s Otello, which premiered in Naples in 1816, and, curiously, is set in Venice. Liszt alters the theme rhythmically and melodically to somewhat extent, and also presents it in the grim key of E-flat minor as opposed to the original G minor found in Rossini’s opera. The piece begins ominously with tremolandi, borrowed from Rossini, and a slowly descending melodic line that serves as a preamble to the theme itself. The sharp double-dotted rhythm, persisting from the first measure throughout the entirety of Liszt’s setting, further adds to the gloomy nature of the piece. In this sense, it looks forward to many of Liszt’s latter works. The initial statement of the theme’s first strain is given in the bass, requiring the right hand to cross over the left, which is wholly occupied with providing an Italianate accompaniment. The descending melody of the introduction then returns, after which the theme begins anew, yet now in the treble and reinforced in octaves. As the Canzone draws to a close, the music moves towards the major mode. The tremolandi give way to sweeping arpeggios until three statements of a suspenseful chromatic descent, accompanied by diminished seventh harmony, prepare for the arrival of the Tarantella.
The Tarantella (here)is based on themes of Guillaume-Louis Cottrau, a French composer who lived and worked in Naples. Filled with the pyrotechnics one expects of Liszt, the piece opens with a Presto tempo and an introduction that leads the music from the E-flat tonality of the Canzone to G minor and the arrival of the first theme. Throughout this opening section the music shifts freely between compound and duple meter, creating an inexhaustible source of rhythmic energy. A second theme appears, stated fortissimo, and leads into the key of the relative major. Yet, even before it can settle into that key, it sidesteps into D-flat major with a somewhat humorous passage in which arpeggios move in contrary motion. Deftly, Liszt returns to G minor via B-flat minor and a well-placed Neapolitan sixth. Eventually, the original G minor theme returns rounding a sort of tripartite design for the opening section. Closing in the key of B-flat major, the music pauses briefly before taking up a new lyrical theme in E-flat major, marked “Canzona Napolitana.” Over an initial accompaniment of broken chords, Liszt treats the theme to many florid embellishments which often divert into passages of brilliant filigree, and essentially amounting to a series of variations. As the canzona nears its close, the music shifts into the key of E major where the theme is embellished with quick, repeated notes in the brilliant upper register of the piano. From E major, the music quickly settles into G major, and this last variation serves as the starting point for the piece’s coda. Over a lengthy crescendo, Liszt works into a Prestissimo tempo as fragments of the tarantella return alongside an altered form of the canzona. With impetuous and seemingly unending energy, the piece rushes towards its conclusion in Liszt’s signature virtuosic style.
Franz Liszt, Venezia e Napoli.
May 20, 2016. Franz Liszt, Venezia e Napoli. Today we’ll publish an article on Liszt’s Venezia e Napoli, a revision of the earlier set by the same name, which was published as a supplement to the Deuxième année: Italie. We’ll illustrate Gondoliera with a performance by the young Korean-American pianist Woobin Park, Canzone – by a 1985 recording made by the great Jorge Bolet, when he was 71, and Tarantella – with a performance by another young pianist, the American Heidi Hau. ♫
The cities of Venice and Naples must have made a particular impression upon Franz Liszt
during his travels with Marie d’Agoult, for, beside the several pieces that would ultimately become the travelogue of his journeys through Italy in the second volume of Années de pèlerinage, he also composed in 1840 a further four pieces named after them—Venezia e Napoli. Like Années de perinage, Venezia e Napoli likewise underwent a significant process of revision once Liszt was in Weimar. Of the original four pieces, only the last two were kept: the Andante placido, which became Gondoliera; and the Tarantelles Napolitaines, which was simply renamed Tarantella. Liszt then inserted a doleful Canzone between these two pieces, creating the triptych now known today. It was published as a supplement to Deuxième Année in 1861.
Liszt based Gondoliera (here), or “Gondolier’s song,” on a well-known melody (“La biondina in gondoletta”) composed by Giovanni Battista Peruchini, an Italian composer born in 1784. Unlike the original version, the 1859 revision opens with an extended introduction in the key of F-sharp minor. Undulating eighth notes in compound meter begin quietly in the bass and slowly rise towards the tonic. In the treble, glistening arpeggios instantly conjure the imagery of a peaceful Venetian canal. Eventually gaining an F-sharp major chord, the music pauses before the commencement of the melody. Marked sempre dolcissimo, the melody, in its first statement, sings out in the rich middle register of the piano above a tonic pedal suggested by the eighth notes still present in the bass. Two more statements follow, each separated by a brief fantasia in Liszt’s usual florid style. Only the latter half of the melody is present in the second statement, but is otherwise only slightly changed. The eighth notes of the bass, however, have now become sixteenths, imbuing the music with an increasing energy. The final statement, on the other hand, is greatly embellished. The melody, still essentially unaltered, now appears against a glimmering accompaniment of trills and broken chords, as if the gondola has suddenly emerged from between two buildings and brilliant sunlight now reflects off the surrounding waters. The melody is repeated again, now below the accompanimental arpeggios, and with its penultimate measure trailing off into a final passage of filigree. From there, the lengthy coda turns the melody somewhat wistful, as its strains are broken up and the minor key creeps back into the tonal fabric. On a stunningly beautiful passage in which full-voice chords move about a fixed F-sharp and A-sharp, the music fades away, like the empty gondola slowly receding from its former passenger. (Read more here).
The following Canzone (here) is actually part of a larger whole, and leads directly into the Tarantella without pause. It is based on the gondolier’s song “Nessun maggior dolore” (“No more pain”) in Act III of Rossini’s Otello, which premiered in Naples in 1816, and, curiously, is set in Venice. Liszt alters the theme rhythmically and melodically to somewhat extent, and also presents it in the grim key of E-flat minor as opposed to the original G minor found in Rossini’s opera. The piece begins ominously with tremolandi, borrowed from Rossini, and a slowly descending melodic line that serves as a preamble to the theme itself. The sharp double-dotted rhythm, persisting from the first measure throughout the entirety of Liszt’s setting, further adds to the gloomy nature of the piece. In this sense, it looks forward to many of Liszt’s latter works. The initial statement of the theme’s first strain is given in the bass, requiring the right hand to cross over the left, which is wholly occupied with providing an Italianate accompaniment. The descending melody of the introduction then returns, after which the theme begins anew, yet now in the treble and reinforced in octaves. As the Canzone draws to a close, the music moves towards the major mode. The tremolandi give way to sweeping arpeggios until three statements of a suspenseful chromatic descent, accompanied by diminished seventh harmony, prepare for the arrival of the Tarantella.
The Tarantella (here) is based on themes of Guillaume-Louis Cottrau, a French composer who lived and worked in Naples. Filled with the pyrotechnics one expects of Liszt, the piece opens with a Presto tempo and an introduction that leads the music from the E-flat tonality of the Canzone to G minor and the arrival of the first theme. Throughout this opening section the music shifts freely between compound and duple meter, creating an inexhaustible source of rhythmic energy. A second theme appears, stated fortissimo, and leads into the key of the relative major. Yet, even before it can settle into that key, it sidesteps into D-flat major with a somewhat humorous passage in which arpeggios move in contrary motion. Deftly, Liszt returns to G minor via B-flat minor and a well-placed Neapolitan sixth. Eventually, the original G minor theme returns rounding a sort of tripartite design for the opening section. Closing in the key of B-flat major, the music pauses briefly before taking up a new lyrical theme in E-flat major, marked “Canzona Napolitana.” Over an initial accompaniment of broken chords, Liszt treats the theme to many florid embellishments which often divert into passages of brilliant filigree, and essentially amounting to a series of variations. As the canzona nears its close, the music shifts into the key of E major where the theme is embellished with quick, repeated notes in the brilliant upper register of the piano. From E major, the music quickly settles into G major, and this last variation serves as the starting point for the piece’s coda. Over a lengthy crescendo, Liszt works into a Prestissimo tempo as fragments of the tarantella return alongside an altered form of the canzona. With impetuous and seemingly unending energy, the piece rushes towards its conclusion in Liszt’s signature virtuosic style.