Unlike the first two volumes of the Années de pèlerinage, which are based on travel impressions from Switzerland and Italy, the third volume from Liszt’s late period, published in 1883, is more of a spiritual pilgrimage with reflections on fundamental religious questions. The fourth piece in this collection, Les Jeux d'eaux à la Villa d’Este, was composed in 1877 during Liszt’s sojourn at the Villa d’Este not far from Rome. It distinguishes itself markedly in terms of style and character from the other rather sombre or solemn numbers in that it brilliantly imitates the movements of the water of the numerous fountains and water jets in the villa’s garden with ever changing cascades of sound. Liszt establishes the piece’s integration into the religious context of the collection with a quote from the Bible as a footnote: Water as the source of eternal life.
This technically demanding and at the same time popular piece is now available as a revised standalone edition.

 

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