FRANZ LISZT : The Canticle of the Sun (Leslie Howard) (1998) APE (image+.cue), lossless

This is a collection of piano rarities and recent discoveries, most of which have their origins in works which Liszt composed for other forces. But simply to apply the word ‘transcription’ to these pieces would not account for their genesis, nor their value in their own right. Liszt very often prepared his music for different forces simultaneously, and often on the same manuscript, only indicating occasional divergences. Elsewhere he would almost start the work afresh and only refer obliquely to an earlier version. The pieces in this collection represent a broad spectrum of this technique of adaptation, but they lend themselves to be gathered together in their depiction of the more sober and serious side of Liszt’s character, whether in sacred or secular mood.
Liszt had a deep spiritual affinity with the stories of his two patron saints—St Francis of Assisi and St Francis of Paola—and the two Légendes, whether in their piano or orchestral shape, are among Liszt’s best-loved works. The Fioretti (Little Flowers) of St Francis of Assisi was amongst Liszt’s favourite inspirational and devotional readings, and it is The Canticle of the Sun from that book which provides him with the text for the choral version of the Cantico del Sol. The first setting of the text (for baritone, ad lib male chorus and piano or organ) was made in 1862 but, although it was performed, has remained unpublished. The definitive version, with the accompaniment of orchestra or piano and organ, was completed by 1881 and published immediately, but the contemporary version for piano solo remained unpublished until the excellent Neue Liszt-Ausgabe printed it in 1983. In the piano version Liszt had abbreviated the title to Cantico di San Francesco, but the piece really deserves the same title as the cantata. The piece is partly based upon the familiar carol In dulci jubilo and is that rare thing amongst Liszt’s later works: a paean of joy.
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