Christus
  • bfranckbfranck
    Posts: 23
    I would be curious to find out just how many members of the Church Music Association of America are familiar with the wonderful and very Catholic oratorio Christus by Franz Liszt. Completed during the 1860s, his years spent in Rome as Abbe Liszt, this massive work chronicles the life of Jesus from birth through death to resurrection. It is quite unlike anything else he has composed, filled with beautiful chromatic harmonies imbued with passionate drama. The story unfolds with a lengthy orchestral introduction followed by a bold declamation of the Annunciation. Liszt's use and development of the "Stabat Mater" is simply astounding! The organ has an important role in the accompaniment of the chorus and with the orchestra alone. There is even a segment featuring an actual harmonium. The CD recording I have includes a number of Hungarian musicians conducted by Antal Dorati.
    There are a limited number of portions within the oratorio which could be extracted for use in a liturgical setting. For example, the closing segment "O filii et filliae" for woman's chorus or a well-trained children's chorus could serve as an introduction or prelude to the congregational singing of "Ye Sons and Daughters", which I did a few years ago at an Easter Vigil for communion.
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    Thanked by 4CHGiffen Chrism Andrew_Malton bonniebede
  • PhatFlute
    Posts: 219
    Love love love it. Yes!
    Ph
  • JonLaird
    Posts: 245
    Christus at IMSLP.
    Thanked by 2CHGiffen eft94530
  • Chrism
    Posts: 872
    Liszt's use and development of the "Stabat Mater"


    Are you talking about one in particular, or both?

    3. Stabat Mater speciosa / Hymnus
    12. Stabat Mater dolorosa


  • bfranckbfranck
    Posts: 23
    I believe that I am speaking of both. The theme appears twice in the work with a more elaborate rendering the closer we get to the Passion. The whole oratorio is a masterpiece of design and sound.
    Thanked by 1Chrism
  • SalieriSalieri
    Posts: 3,177
    I don't think I've heard it: I do have a recording of the incomplete Oratorio "St. Stanislaus", though. Very nice.
  • francis
    Posts: 10,825
    I listened to some of it (about an hour or so). Quite dif than most of his other works. Was this done late in his life?
  • GavinGavin
    Posts: 2,799
    Liszt had some rather different (bizarre is more like it) attitudes towards sacred music.
  • bfranckbfranck
    Posts: 23
    Franz Liszt, of course, left behind his years in Weimar to begin a new life as Abbe Liszt in Rome during 1861. This signaled a new direction in his compositional output with a greater focus on religious choral music. It was with this dramatic change in his life that the massive oratorio, Christus, (a work requiring three hours to perform) took shape from 1862 to 1866. It is a chronicle of the life of Christ divided into three parts: birth, ministry, death and resurrection. To say that this is a splendid work would be a gross understatement! It is a monumental work of epic and heroic proportions, certainly Liszt's greatest achievement in the final years of his life. The CD recording that I have features Hungarian performers under the direction of Antal Dorati.
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