St. François d'Assise: La prédication aux oiseaux, S.175/1 is based on a story of St Francis of Assisi. It is said that, one day, while Francis was travelling with some companions, they happened upon a place in the road where birds filled the trees on either side. Francis told his companions to "wait for me while I go to preach to my sisters the birds." The birds surrounded him, intrigued by the power of his voice, and not one of them flew away. The key of the piece is A major, often associated by Liszt with religious sentiment. The piece contains representations of birdsong, one of the few examples in Liszt's works of onomatopaeia.

Original Name 2 Légendes
Date of composition 1863
Premiered 1865, August 29th in Budapest, Hungary
First published 1865
Catalogue S. 175
Approx. duration 20 minutes
Instruments Piano
Arrangements Camille Saint-Saëns: La prédication aux oiseaux, St François d'Assise, Légende
Autotranslations beta Franz Liszt: 2 Legends, S. 175
Franz Liszt: 2 Legends, S. 175
Franz Liszt: 2 Legends, S. 175