Abstract:
Franz Liszt composed more than eighty songs in five different languages. Most of his
songs are settings of German poems, and his French pieces are among the significant works of
his time. This paper provides biographical information on Franz Liszt through his Virtuoso and
Weimar years, and an examination of Liszt’s settings of four works regarding melody,
harmony, language text setting, texture, rhythm, and structure. The four pieces that are
examined include “S’il est un charmant gazon,” “Comment disaient-ils,” “Mignon’s Lied,” and
“Freudvoll und Leidvoll.” All these pieces were revised within a fifteen-year time frame. The
two or three versions of the songs mentioned above are compared to better discuss Liszt’s
stylistic development. Also, this creative project aims to aid singers in choosing Liszt’s songs as
repertoire and performing them, as his music is not widely accepted or performed by vocalists.
