The story of St Francis of Assisi's Sermon to the Birds is told in the "The Little Flowers of St Francis" a classic book from the Middle Ages.
The Saint walks in a meadow and the birds flock to his feet as he moves among them. He preaches to them. The Sermon ended, he blesses them whereupon they rise into the sky "in a flood of melody" breaking off to the East West North and South making the sign of the cross to spread the words of the Holy Servant of Christ to the four corners of the earth.
In this serene masterpiece written in 1863 and other works of the time Liszt was creating a whole
new way of writing for the piano sometimes described as "impressionist "which opened the door to later composers such as Debussy and Ravel and others.
The chirping and flutter of wings are depicted and a radiant blissful landscape evoked. At the time of the work's composition in 1863 Liszt was living a life of seclusion and meditation in the Monastery of the Madonna del Rosario outside Rome.. On 11 July 1863 he was visited there by Pope Pius IX who was the first to hear this piece. Liszt played it for him on the tiny spinet in his monk's cell. nc 10 Sept 2018.

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