In 1843 Liszt published the second volume of his “Buch de Lieder,” where all the pieces were set to the poetry of Victor Hugo: “Oh! quand je dors,” “Comment, disaient-ils,” “Enfant, si j'etais roi,” “S'il est un charmant gazon,” “La tombe et la rose” and “Gastibelza,” a bolero. Liszt’s initial Hugo settings date from a time when Liszt was busily touring Europe as a piano virtuoso, resulting in those versions frequently referred to by critics as piano works with vocal accompaniment. However, Liszt revised and crafted alternate versions of four poems fifteen years later. While they initially reflect the musical instincts of a performing pianist, his later settings balance the roles of the voice and piano, creating pure, simpler textures that rely more on harmonic expressiveness than pianistic muscle.
Victor Hugo once put an announcement in Le Figaro begging composers not “to set tones alongside my words.” Thankfully, composers did not heed his words, irresistibly drawn to his beautiful poems. “Comment disaient-ils” (“How Then, Asked The Men”) appears in Hugo’s collection Les rayons et les ombres, and it was set to music by Lalo, Bizet, Camille Saint-Saëns, Massenet, Franz Liszt, Rubinstein, Rachmaninoff and others. The original poem is titled “Autre guitare,” providing an immediate suggestion of a Spanish subject.
In this revised version composed in 1859, Liszt showcases his brilliance as an engaging storyteller, giving the questions asked by men and the answers answered by women their distinct musical personalities. This piece provides a unique and thought-provoking time capsule into the way genders were viewed in the past.
LOVE IS THE ANSWER.
“How then,” asked the men
“By boat and tide
Alguazils flee?”
“Row,” the women replied.
“How then," asked the men,
“To set aside
Strife, misery?”
“Sleep,” the women replied.
“How then,” asked the men,
“Love's philtre denied,
Win fair beauty?”
“Love,” the women replied.
Translation by Faith J. Cormier, 2000