I. Faust
II. Gretchen
III. Mephistopheles
Perhaps in the first movement there are a few passages that might be cut
out or condensed, but no one would wish the movement “Gretchen” to be
changed in any way; of all the music that is associated with the
innocent maiden of Goethe’s poem, this is surely the most expressive,
the most beautiful. The remorseful, crazed Gretchen is not in Liszt’s
picture. We find her in the prison music of Boïto. And how paltry does
the music of Mephistopheles conceived by Gounod seem in comparison with
the ironical fiend of Liszt, mocking the doubts and the aspirations of
the disillusionized philosopher!
* * *
Liszt told his biographer, Lina Ramann,[36] that the idea of this
symphony came to him in Paris in the ’forties, and was suggested by
Berlioz’s _Damnation of Faust_. (Berlioz’s work was produced at the
Opéra-Comique, December 6, 1846.) Lina Ramann’s biography is eminently
unsatisfactory, and in some respects untrustworthy, but there is no
reason to doubt her word in this instance. Some have said that Liszt was
inspired by Ary Scheffer’s pictures to illustrate Goethe’s _Faust_.
Peter Cornelius stated that Liszt was incited to his work by seeing the
pictures “in which Scheffer had succeeded in giving a bodily form to the
three leading characters in Goethe’s poem.” As a matter of fact, we
believe, Scheffer did not portray Mephistopheles. Scheffer (1795-1858)
was a warm friend of Liszt, and made a portrait of him in 1837, which is
in the Liszt Museum at Weimar.
But Liszt made in the ’forties no sketches of his symphony. The music
was composed in 1853-54; it was revised in 1857, when the final chorus
was added. The _Faust_ symphony is scored for three flutes (and
piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, three
trumpets, three trombones, bass tuba, kettledrums, cymbals, triangle,
harp, strings, and male chorus with tenor solo. In the revised and
unpublished version the bass clarinet is used, but only for a few
measures.
Miss Ramann admits frankly that the symphony is, without the final
chorus, merely a series of musical “Faust pictures,” as the pictures by
Kaulbach, Kreling, and others, are in art; but without the chorus it
does not reproduce the lyrical contents of the main idea of the poem
itself.
I. “Faust.” Some find in this movement five leading motives, each one of
which portrays a characteristic of Faust or one of his fixed moods. The
more conservative speak of first and second themes, subsidiary themes,
and conclusion themes. However the motives are ticketed or numbered,
they appear later in various metamorphoses.
The movement begins with a long introduction, _lento assai_, 4-4. “A
chain of dissonances,” with free use of augmented fifths (muted violas
and violoncellos), has been described as the “Inquiry” theme, and the
bold greater seventh (oboe) is also supposed to portray Faust, the
disappointed philosopher. “These motives have here the expression of
perplexed musing and painful regret at the vanity of the efforts made
for the realization of cherished aspirations.”
An _allegro impetuoso_, 4-4. Violins attack, and, after the interruption
of reeds and horns, rush along and are joined by wind instruments. The
“Inquiry” motive is sounded. The music grows more and more intense. A
bassoon, _lento assai_, gives out the “Faust” motive and introduces the
main body of the movement:
_Allegro agitato ed appassionato assai_, C minor, 4-4. The first theme,
a violently agitated motive, is of kin in character to a leading theme
of the composer’s symphonic poem, _Prometheus_, which was composed in
1850 and revised in 1855. This theme comes here for the first time,
except for one figure, a rising inflection at the end of the first
phrase, which has been heard in the introduction. It is developed at
length, and is repeated in a changed form by the whole orchestra. A new
theme enters in passionate appeal (oboes and clarinets in dialogue with
bassoons, violoncellos, and double basses), while the first violins
bring back the sixteenth note figure of the first theme of the main
section. This second theme with subsidiary passage-work leads to an
episode, _meno mosso, misterioso e molto tranquillo_, 6-4. The “Inquiry”
theme in the introduction is developed in modulating sequence by
clarinet and some of the strings, while there are sustained harmonies in
wind instruments and ascending passages in muted violins and violas. But
the “Inquiry” theme has not its original and gnarled form: it is calmer
in line and it is more remote. Another theme comes in, _affettuoso poco
andante_, E major, 7-4 (3-4, 4-4), which has been called the “Love”
theme, as typical of Faust with Gretchen. This theme is based on the
“Faust” motive heard near the beginning of the introduction from wind
instruments. In this movement it is said to portray Gretchen, while in
the “Gretchen” movement it portrays Faust; and this theme is burlesqued
continually in the third movement, “Mephistopheles.” The short theme
given to wind instruments is interrupted by a figure for solo viola,
which later in the symphony becomes a part of the theme itself. The
“Faust-Gretchen” motive is developed in wood-wind and horns, with
figures for violins and violas. Passage-work follows, and parts of the
first theme appear, _allegro con fuoco_, 4-4. The music grows more and
more passionate, and the rhythm of the wind instruments more pronounced.
There is a transition section, and the basses allude to the last of the
themes, the fifth according to some, the conclusion theme as others
prefer, _grandioso, poco meno mosso_, which is given out _fortissimo_ by
the full orchestra. It is based on the initial figure of the violas and
violoncellos in the introduction. The exposition section of the movement
is now complete. The free fantasia, if the following section may be so
called, begins with the return of “_tempo primo—allegro agitato assai_,”
and the working out of thematic material is elaborate. There is a
repetition section, or rather a recapitulation of the first, third, and
fourth themes. The _coda_ ends sadly with the “Faust” motive in
augmentation.
II. “Gretchen.” _Andante soave_, A flat major, 3-4. The movement has an
introduction (flutes and clarinets), which establishes a mood. The chief
theme, “characteristic of the innocence, simplicity, and contented
happiness of Gretchen,” may be called the “Gretchen” theme. It is sung
(_dolce semplice_) by the oboe with only a solo viola accompaniment. The
theme is then given to other instruments and with another accompaniment.
The repeated phrase of flutes and clarinet, answered by violins, is
supposed by some commentators to have reference to Gretchen’s plucking
the flower, with the words, “He loves me—loves me not,” and at last, “He
loves me!” The chief theme enters after this passage, and it now has a
fuller expression and deeper significance. A second theme, typical of
Gretchen, is sung by first violins, _dolce amoroso_; it is more
emotional, more sensuous. Here there is a suggestion of a figure in the
introduction. This theme brings the end to the first section, which is
devoted exclusively to Gretchen.
Faust now enters, and his typical motive is heard (horn with agitated
viola and violoncello accompaniment). The “Faust-Gretchen” motive of the
first movement is used, but in a very different form. The restless theme
of the opening movement is now one of enthusiastic love. The striking
modulations that followed the first “Gretchen” theme occur again, but in
different keys, and Faust soon leaves the scene. The third section of
the movement is a much modified repetition of the first section.
Gretchen now has memories of her love. A tender violin figure now winds
about her theme. Naturally, the “He loves me—loves me not” music is
omitted, but there is a reminiscence of the “Faust” motive.
III. “Mephistopheles.” Mephistopheles is here the spirit of demoniacal
irony. Mr. Apthorp, after saying that the prevalence of triple rhythms
in the movement might lead one, but in vain, to look for something of
the _scherzo_ form in it, adds: “One may suspect the composer of taking
Mephisto’s ‘_Ich bin der Geist der stets verneint_’ (‘I am the spirit
that denies’) for the motto of this movement; somewhat in the sense of
A. W. Ambros when he said of Jacques Offenbach in speaking of his
opera-bouffes: ‘All the subjects which artists have hitherto turned to
account, and in which they have sought their ideals, must here be pushed
_ad absurdum_; we feel as if Mephisto were ironically smiling at us in
the elegant mask of “a man of the times,” and asking us whether the
whole baggage of the Antique and the Romantic were worth a rap.’”
It is not at all improbable that Liszt took the idea of Mephistopheles
parodying the themes of Faust and Gretchen from the caricature of the
motive of the fixed idea and from the mockery of the once loved one in
the _finale_ of Berlioz’s _Episode in the Life of an Artist_, or
_Fantastic_ symphony.
There are no new themes introduced in the “Mephistopheles” movement.
As Miss Ramann says, Mephistopheles’ character in this music is to be
without character. His sport is to mock Faust as typified by his themes;
but he has no power over the “Gretchen” themes, and they are left
undisturbed.
Ernest Newman[37] finds the “Mephistopheles” section particularly
ingenious. “It consists, for the most part, of a kind of burlesque upon
the subjects of the _Faust_ which are here passed, as it were, through a
continuous fire of irony and ridicule. This is a far more effective way
of depicting ‘the spirit of denial’ than making him mouth a farrago of
pantomime bombast, in the manner of Boïto. The being who exists, for the
purpose of the drama, only in endeavoring to frustrate every good
impulse of Faust’s soul, is really best dealt with, in music, not as a
positive individuality, but as the embodiment of negation—a malicious,
saturnine parody of all the good that has gone to the making of Faust.
The ‘Mephistopheles’ is not only a piece of diabolically clever music,
but the best picture we have of a character that in the hands of the
average musician becomes either stupid, or vulgar, or both. As we listen
to Liszt’s music, we feel that we really have the Mephistopheles of
Goethe’s drama.”
_Allegro vivace ironico_, C major, 2-4. There is a short pictorial
introduction, an ascending chromatic run (violoncellos and double
basses, chords for wood-wind, strings, with cymbals and triangle). There
are ironical forms of the “Faust” and “Inquiry” motives, and the _sempre
allegro_ in which these themes appear leads to the main body of the
movement, _allegro vivace_, 6-8, 2-4. The theme is the first of the
first movement, and it now appears in a wildly excited form. Interrupted
by the “Faust” motive, it goes on with still greater stress and fury.
Transitional passages in the movement return in strange disguise. An
episode _un poco animato_ follows with an abrupt use of the “Faust”
motive, and the “Inquiry” motive, reappearing, is greeted with jeers and
fiendish laughter. The violas have a theme evolved from the “Faust”
motive, which is then given to the violins and becomes the subject of
fugal treatment. _Allegro animato_; the grandiose fifth, or conclusion,
theme of the first movement is now handled most flippantly. There is a
tempestuous _crescendo_, and then silence; muted horns sustain the chord
of C minor, while strings _pizzicati_ give out the “Inquiry” motive.
“The passage is as a warning apparition.” The hellish mockery breaks out
again. Some find the music now inspired by an episode in Goethe’s
Walpurgis scene. In the midst of the din, wood-wind instruments utter a
cry, as when Faust exclaimed, “Mephistopheles, do you see yonder a pale,
beautiful child, standing alone?... I must confess it seems to me that
she looks like the good Gretchen.” The music ascends in the violins,
grows softer and softer. _Andante_; the oboe sings the “Gretchen” theme.
The vision quickly fades. Again an outbreak of despair, and there is a
recapitulation of preceding musical matter. In the _allegro non troppo_
the “Faust” theme is chiefly used. “And then things grow more and more
desperate, till we come to what we may call the transformation scene. It
is like the rolling and shifting of clouds, and, indeed, transports us
from the abode of mortal man to more ethereal spheres.” The wild
dissonances disappear; there is a wonderful succession of sustained
chords. _Poco andante, ma sempre alla breve_: the “Gretchen” theme is
colored mysteriously; trombones make solemn declaration. Gretchen is now
Faust’s redeemer. The male chorus, _Chorus mysticus_, accompanied by
organ and strings, sings to the strain announced by the trombones,
_andante mistico_, the lines of Goethe:
_Alles Vergängliche
Ist nur ein Gleichniss;
Das Unzulängliche,
Hier wird’s Erreigniss;
Das Unbeschreibliche,
Hier ist’s gethan;
Das Ewig-Weibliche
Zieht uns hinan._
The solo tenor and chorus sing: “_Das Ewig-Weibliche zieht uns hinan_”
(with the “Gretchen” motive rhythmically altered and with harp added to
the accompaniment), and the work ends radiantly calm.
These lines have been Englished in prose: “All that is transitory is
only a simile; the insufficient here becomes event; the indescribable is
here done; the Ever feminine draws us onward.” It was Liszt’s intention,
Brendel tells us, to have this chorus invisible at the first
performance, but, inasmuch as it would have been necessary at Weimar to
have it sung behind the lowered curtain, he feared the volume would be
too weak.