Discover the profound intersection of faith and music in the life of Franz Liszt. A recent event featuring musicologist Nick Chung and pianist Isaac Parlin explored how the composer’s deep Catholic faith shaped his masterpieces, challenging the narrative of 19th-century art as a substitute for religion.
Men and women of faith continue to draw on the wisdom, wonder, and beauty of the evergreen Catholic tradition to inform a particular mode of understanding and engaging with the world around them. Inspired by a sacramental vision of reality, the Catholic arts in particular grapple with the mystery and meaning that permeate the created order, giving shape and expression to the transcendent.
At its 24th annual Fall Conference, the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture considered the idea of the Catholic imagination, its enduring and inexhaustible nature, and how it continues to illumine our modern world. With a particular focus on the literary arts, the conference explored unique expressions of the Catholic imagination in more than 150 presentations, performances, and discussions across the disciplines, including philosophy, theology, ethics, law, history, and the natural and social sciences, as well as the creative domains of film, music, theater, and the visual arts.
For 2024’s Fall Conference, the de Nicola Center was pleased to partner with the Biennial Catholic Imagination Conference, which aims to enhance the understanding and appreciation of the richness and variety of contributions by Catholic artists; to explore the critical and theoretical foundations of the Catholic imagination; and to foster community and collaboration among writers and readers who share a knowledge of and respect for the Catholic tradition.
In a compelling dialogue weaving together historical analysis and musical performance, musicologist Nick Chung and pianist Isaac Parlin explored the complex relationship between Franz Liszt’s Catholic faith and his compositions. The event, “Art, Religion, and Art Religion in Liszt’s Piano Music,” challenged the common historical narrative that 19th-century art sought to replace religion, arguing instead that for Liszt, music was a profound and sincere expression of his spiritual identity. This recap distills the central arguments and musical insights from their conversation.
Reassessing Liszt’s Faith
The discussion’s central argument was that Liszt’s Catholicism was a sincere and lifelong commitment, a fact often marginalized by scholars. As Chung explained, there has been a significant scholarly movement in recent decades to “recover his Catholicism.” Historically, skepticism about Liszt’s faith stemmed from his controversial personal life—which included long-term affairs and three illegitimate children—and his early, youthful essays that framed music in “humanitarian” terms. Older scholarship often viewed his later, more overt turn to religion as a matter of convenience. However, the speakers argued that his deep connection to the faith, evidenced by his lifelong admiration for the Franciscans and his decision to take minor orders late in life, demonstrates that his Catholicism was a core part of his identity, not a peripheral concern.
Composing Theology
Isaac Parlin’s performances served as the core evidence for the event’s thesis, powerfully illustrating how Liszt’s compositions function as sophisticated theological explorations. In Sposalizio, inspired by Raphael’s painting The Marriage of the Virgin, Liszt musically depicts a sacred union by presenting distinct themes and then masterfully uniting them, creating a sonic image of “two becoming one.” In Les jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este, Liszt overlays a secular, impressionistic scene—the fountains of an aristocratic villa—with a direct biblical quote from the Gospel of John inscribed in the score, transforming the music into a meditation on Jesus as the “fountain of life.” Finally, in Sursum Corda (“Lift Up Your Hearts”), Liszt uses a constant, unwavering bass note beneath a series of violent and dissonant harmonies. Parlin interpreted this constant tone as a symbol of God’s unwavering presence, offering stability and hope even amidst life’s turmoil.
From Public Virtuoso to Private Devotion
The event contrasted the sensational “Lisztomania” that defined Liszt’s early career as a touring virtuoso with the profound introspection of his later life. Following the tragic loss of two of his children and grappling with severe depression, Liszt’s music took a dramatic turn. He retreated from the public stage, focusing on compositions that were often bleak and deeply personal. Parlin noted that this later sacred music doesn’t “shy away from the darkness and violence” inherent in life and faith. This represents a monumental shift from music as a public spectacle, where fans would collect the dregs from his coffee cup, to music as a private, devotional act intended for the performer’s own spiritual reflection.
In summary, the event presented a compelling counter-narrative to the secularization of 19th-century art. Liszt’s work, as illuminated by Chung and Parlin, does not treat music as a substitute for religion but as a deeply personal, complex, and sincere expression of it. The discussion’s most critical points are summarized below as key takeaways.
• Liszt’s Catholicism was a core identity, not a late-life convenience. Recent scholarship challenges the older, skeptical view of Liszt’s faith. Despite his complicated personal life, his connection to Catholicism—including becoming a third-order Franciscan—was a deep and sincere lifelong commitment.
• His music deliberately combines the sacred and secular to create theological meaning. In pieces like Les jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este, Liszt takes a real-world experience—visiting a villa’s fountains—and inscribes a quote from the Gospel of John directly into the score, transforming an impressionistic scene into a meditation on Jesus as the “fountain of life.”
• Liszt’s sacred works confront the darkness and struggle within faith. Pianist Isaac Parlin highlights that Liszt’s later music, written after the tragic loss of two children, contains “violence” and “bleakness.” This challenges the simplistic idea that sacred music must always be serene or beautiful.
• The notion of 19th-century art “replacing” religion is insufficient for Liszt. His work fits better into a model of art that is “complementary” to religion. The explicit and sincere Catholic references in his music directly contradict the prevailing narrative of art as a secular substitute for traditional belief.
• For the mature Liszt, music became a private devotional act, not a public spectacle. Unlike the virtuoso performances that sparked “Lisztomania,” later pieces like Ave Maria were deeply personal. By writing the prayer’s Latin text into the score for the performer alone, Liszt redefined the musical act as a private, devotional experience rather than a “spectator sport.”
