Liszt: Two Episodes from Lenau's Faust

The Two Episodes from Lenau’s Faust are Liszt's response to Nikolaus Lenau's long poem in twenty-four episodes on the subject, specifically episodes 11 and 6. It is a bit strange that the companion piece to one of Liszt's most enduring works, the 1st Mephisto Waltz, never entered the concert repertoire (despite Liszt's repeated requests for "both the pieces to appear at once" and be published together, a feat not accomplished until 2007!); in any case, both works were completed in their orchestral guise by 1861, but Liszt's piano version of the 1st Mephisto Waltz had already appeared and can be traced back to 1857. After being presented with a student draft transcription of the first Episode, Liszt completely took over, leaving his mark—everything from pedalling, dynamics, slurs, fingering and instructions for the printer to corrections and alterations to the music itself—in virtually every bar, and adding numerous pasted-in correction sheets. Now there is an opportunity to hear the two Episodes in their piano solo versions together as Liszt wished—Mephisto’s mad whirl of earthly pleasures mocked being a perfect foil for the awesome fatalism of Faust’s vision on his night ride.

The Procession by Night is a work of frightening solemnity—Faust confronted with the dark mysteries of life and death—and the outer sections are bleak and almost atonal. The two central sections are in gentle contrast, the first purgatorial in its yearning and tonal flux, the second quietly and eventually grandly confident in its singing of the plainsong—usually associated with Corpus Christi or Maundy Thursday—Pange lingua gloriosi corporis mysterium. As many commentators have observed, this is unquestionably one of Liszt's finest works, and makes an excellent companion to the 1st Mephisto Waltz.