This document focuses on Franz Liszt’s piano cycle, the Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, one of the most challenging and obscure sets among the composer’s oeuvre. Until recently, the Harmonies has remained largely neglected compared to Liszt’s other major piano cycles. Yet, it is a momentous work that embodies Liszt’s lifelong passion for literature and reflects his deep-seated religious belief. In addition, the set was produced at a critical moment in his life, when he retired from the concert platform to become a serious composer and developed a relationship with Princess Carolyne zu Sayn–Wittgenstein.
This study first places the Harmonies in historical and literary contexts, which is imperative to understanding its diverse themes, poetic models, and religious orientation. Detailed discussion of its musical aspects follows, in order to illustrate how Liszt fashioned the work as a means of unifying literature and religion within his compositional aesthetics and pianistic style. The closing chapter focuses on performance practice, seeking to make the set more accessible to pianists and audiences by suggesting an approach that emphasizes the composer’s spiritual quest. The ultimate goal of this study is to serve as a performer’s guide toward a thoughtful interpretation of this extraordinary cycle.