Although the feast of St. Francis on Oct. 4 is not often associated with music, there is a connection.
In the 19th century, a major shift occurred in music. As composers craved to express their art on a different level from that of the traditional “absolute music,” many began writing “program music” – that is, instrumental music that tells a story.
One of the masters of this genre was Franz Liszt (1811-’86), a Hungarian pianist who took Europe by storm with his unmatched technique. Although he is well-known for his significant contributions to music history, many are surprised to learn that he was a devout Catholic. While the feast of St. Francis (Oct. 4) is rarely associated with music, the first of Liszt’s “Deux Légendes” is based on this beloved saint.
Liszt was raised in the Catholic faith. His father wanted to be a Franciscan and named his son after the order. After an incredibly successful career, Franz moved to
Rome in 1861 to marry Princess Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein, but the annulment for her first marriage fell through, and the idea was abandoned. He stayed in the
Eternal City and pursued the minor clerical orders, subsequently being referred to as Abbé Liszt.
While in Rome, he composed “Deux Légendes” (“Two Legends”), the first entitled “St. Francois d’Assise-La prédication aux oiseaux” (“St. Francis of Assisi – the Sermon to the Birds”), inspired by Chapter 16 of “The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi.” The Dover edition, translated by Thomas Okey, states: “My little sister the birds, much are ye beholden to God your Creator, and always and in every place ye ought to praise Him (…) God feedeth you and giveth you the rivers and the fountains for your drink; He giveth you the mountains and the valleys for your refuge, and the tall trees wherein to build your nests (…) wherefore your Creator loveth you much, (…) and therefore beware, little sisters of mine, of the sin of ingratitude, but ever strive to praise God.”
The 1966 Breitkopf & Härtel edition of the score includes Liszt’s own humility-filled preface: “My want of facility, and perhaps also the narrow limits of musical expression possible in a little work of small dimensions (...) have obliged me to restrain myself, and to greatly diminish the wonderful profusion of the text of the ‘Sermon to the little birds.’ I implore the ‘glorious poor servant of Christ’ to pardon me for having thus impoverished Him.”
By basing the work on this account, Liszt combined literature, nature and religion – all aspects that fascinated Romantic composers. The composition is for solo piano beginning with high notes to represent birds singing. They call back and forth before breaking into song, but when St. Francis begins to preach, a lower register of the piano is used to depict a man’s voice. A dialogue ensues between the saint and the birds, presented by low and high registers, respectively. Soon, the birds become so impressed with St. Francis’s preaching that they cease singing entirely to listen.
St. Francis is always associated with animals and nature, making him one of the most beloved saints in our history. (Our own family dog, Charlie Chuckles, wears a blessed St. Francis medal.) A popular quote erroneously attributed to St. Francis is “Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.” Although there is no evidence he actually said those words, it is certainly applicable to the first of Liszt’s “Deux Légendes.”
— Christina L. Reitz
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Listen to Liszt’s “Légendes” and read further details on the composition:
Johann Sebastian Bach is undoubtedly one of the most famous composers in history. His contributions to Lutheran music have made the family name synonymous with that German sacred tradition. Once, when discussing music, my local priest at the time, told me Bach was the only good thing to come out of the Reformation. It made me laugh even though I’m not entirely sure he was joking.
Bach’s religious nature was not separate from his career – it was a critical aspect of who he was. At the top of his sacred compositions, he wrote the initials “J.J.” – an abbreviation of the Latin “Jesu Juva” (“Jesus help”) and at the end, “S.D.G.” for “Soli Deo Gloria” (“To God alone be the glory”).
Bach had many children from his first marriage, which ended with his wife’s death, and many more with his second wife.
Several sons became professional musicians, the most famous being C.P.E. Bach (1714-1788). His youngest surviving son was Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782), affectionately nicknamed among musicians as the “London Bach.” J.C. Bach was born in Leipzig, where he received his musical training under his father’s teaching until the senior Bach’s death in 1750. From there, he moved to Berlin where his older half-brother, C.P.E., was working for Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, who was also a fine musician himself.
When he was 20, J.C. made a life-changing move to Milan, Italy. There he converted to Roman Catholicism, leaving behind his staunchly Lutheran upbringing. His music stemming from this period is primarily written for the Church while he was employed as an organist at the Milan Cathedral. His time in Italy also impacted a genre in which his famous father never composed: the Italian opera.
J.C. then moved to London and took on the more English-sounding name of John, eventually becoming music master to Queen Charlotte. Today we know of her as the namesake of Charlotte – the seat of our diocese.
London was one of the first European cities to offer public concerts, and J.C. performed one of the first solo concerts on the keyboard instrument becoming fashionable at the time: the pianoforte (or piano, as it is called today).
It was in London that another equally famous composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, met J.C., while on his extensive travels as a child musical prodigy. During their visits together, they reportedly played harpsichord duets. Mozart even arranged some of J.C.’s music from solo sonatas into piano concerti (music for piano and orchestra).
Like Mozart, J.C. lived a relatively short life, dying in poverty in 1782 after a long illness. Yet along with his famous family name, his musical legacy lives on.
— Christina L. Reitz. Portrait of Johann Christian Bach, painted in London by Thomas Gainsborough, 1776.
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While J.C. Bach’s musical influence was primarily on instrumental works, his gift of lyricism is on full display in his choral works, as seen in the soprano solo in the opening to his “Magnificat in C major.” Listen to a performance by the Süddeutscher Kammerchor and the Concerto Köln, directed by Gerhard Jenemann.