𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐚 𝐃𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚" (S.187) by 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐳 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐳𝐭.

It’s getting dark early outside. We are moving towards winter and the holiday season.

Especially in these times, when we are often surrounded by cold, darkness — and let’s be honest, global events and daily worries — I feel a deep longing for a true "light in the dark." Not for the bright, artificial flicker of consumerism, but for a quiet radiance from within.

A musical work that captures exactly this light for me is "𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐚 𝐃𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚" (S.187) by 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐳 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐳𝐭.

It was composed in October 1877. By this time, Liszt was no longer the celebrated keyboard virtuoso of earlier years, but "Abbé Liszt" — a clergyman who had turned to an ascetic late style. He likely knew the small, ancient church of Santa Dorotea in Rome well.

My personal association: When I play this piece, I always have a very specific image in mind: I imagine Liszt sitting and praying in this church while sunlight streams through a colorful stained-glass window. The music sounds exactly like that: It is in E major, the key of radiance, uses almost exclusively the high registers, and feels transparent, translucent — like glass illuminated from behind.

This character fits perfectly with the legend of Saint Dorothea: On the way to her martyrdom, she is said to have remarked that she was now going to a garden to pick apples and roses. After her death, a child appeared to the mocker with a basket full of fresh fruit and flowers — in the deep of winter!

An impulse for the time ahead: Perhaps this piece is an invitation to do just that: In the middle of "winter" — be it outside or metaphorically — to see the flowers. It is a quiet attunement to the true thought of the season: The arrival of light in the darkness.

About the recording: I recorded this piece a few years ago on a freshly tuned piano. I deliberately chose a very slow Andante to let the triplet eighth-note movement flow evenly and "pearly." This creates that floating, meditative flow that dissolves into a peaceful E major triad at the end.

I invite you: Take these barely 3 minutes for your own Hashtag#Deceleration. Close your eyes and let this musical light touch you.

You can find the video with the scrolling score attached here below.

👉 For the full sound experience in higher resolution, you can also find this recording on my SoundCloud profile: https://lnkd.in/driFg7r2

What do you feel when listening to this music? Do you see the light too?

Hashtag#SlowDown Hashtag#MindfulPause Hashtag#DayDream Hashtag#LightInTheDark Hashtag#Hope Hashtag#ClassicalMusic Hashtag#Pian