The close relationship between music and literature is one of the hallmarks of the 19th century. A striking example is Liszt’s Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude, No. 3 of his piano cycle Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, composed between 1847 and 1852. This cycle, which contains 10 pieces, bears the exact Alphonse de Lamartine literary title. Among these 10 works, four of them use titles directly from Lamartine, including Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude, the most expansive of the cycle. 

Dedicated to Princess Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein, the Bénédiction was completed in 1847 at Woronince, a Ukrainian country estate of the princess. That year marked a turning point in Liszt’s life: he met the princess for the first time, gave up his dazzling concert career, and devoted himself more fully to composition. Most importantly, it was the year he returned to the practice of his Catholic faith – an awakening reflected throughout this work’s atmosphere of serene devotion… [286 more words]