Franz Liszt: Harmonium Works Vol. 3 Lars David Kellner

• Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886): Via Crucis, S. 669b:
• 1 Via Crucis, S. 669b: Vexilla Regis 04:13
• 2 Via Crucis, S. 669b: I. Jésus est condamné à mort 01:24
• 3 Via Crucis, S. 669b: II. Jésus est chargé de la Croix 02:31
• 4 Via Crucis, S. 669b: III. Jésus tombe pour la première fois 01:55
• 5 Via Crucis, S. 669b: IV. Jésus rencontre sa très sainte Mère 02:35
• 6 Via Crucis, S. 669b: V. Simon le Cyrénéen aide Jésus à porter sa Croix 02:41
• 7 Via Crucis, S. 669b: VI. Sancta Veronica 02:41
• 8 Via Crucis, S. 669b: VII. Jésus tombe pour la seconde fois 01:58
• 9 Via Crucis, S. 669b: VIII. Les Femmes de Jérusalem 02:41
• 10 Via Crucis, S. 669b: IX. Jésus tombe une troisième fois 01:52
• 11 Via Crucis, S. 669b: X. Jésus est dépouillé de ses vêtements 02:20
• 12 Via Crucis, S. 669b: XI. Jésus est attaché à la Croix 00:53
• 13 Via Crucis, S. 669b: XII. Jésus meurt sur la Croix 07:11
• 14 Via Crucis, S. 669b: XIII. Jésus est déposé de la Croix 04:13
• 15 Via Crucis, S. 669b: XIV. Jésus est mis dans le sépulcre 05:36
• Total Runtime 44:44

Info for Franz Liszt: Harmonium Works Vol. 3

As far as Franz Liszt's compositional output for keyboard instruments is concerned, the virtuoso pianist and later cleric not only considered the piano, but also the organ: in addition to some smaller pieces, a handful of quite larger works exist specifically written for the church organ. A significant number of his late sacred compositions, however, are not conceived for only one particular keyboard instrument, but ‘works‘ - following Liszt's explicit indications - on various instruments: piano, organ or harmonium. These pieces must also be taken into account if one wants to fully penetrate the oeuvre of the master as an interpreter.

By systematically surveying the published complete recordings of Liszt's ‘organ works‘, it becomes clear that this very term is unfortunately understood in a one-sided - because all too literal - manner, since the performance of these pieces takes place without exception on the organ. A recording of all works that were written exclusively or alternatively for harmonium solo is not yet available. This production is intended to fill a remarkable gap and may restore the harmonium to its status as a fully-fledged keyboard instrument in the composer's sense.

As an instrumental soloist, the harmonium is an instrument that combines the tonal and technical advantages of piano and organ in a convincing manner: dynamic variability is accompanied by a sustained tone. Franz Liszt, too, will have been aware of these advantages when composing and playing the Via Crucis on his harmonium, when it was a matter of spanning slurs of epic length, of letting melodies first grow and then die away again - in the sense of a true ‘smorzando‘. Seen in this light, the harmonium is probably the instrumental means of first choice for the majority of Liszt's sacred late works for keyboard instruments.

Lars David Kellner, harmonium

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Booklet for Franz Liszt: Harmonium Works Vol. 3