At the age of 13, Liszt visited Paris and led a brilliant life as a performer. During this period, he interacted with many composers and poets, among whom was the French Romantic poet Alphonse de Lamartine (1790–1869). They met at Princess Belgiojoso's salon and formed a deep friendship. This work takes its title from Lamartine's poetry collection of the same name. The collection was published in 1830, and Liszt, then around 20 years old, was deeply impressed by it.

Although Liszt later entered a religious life, obtaining a clerical position in Rome in his later years, his inherent religious side, present since this earlier period, is extensively expressed in this work. It consists of 10 pieces and was composed mainly in Weimar between approximately 1845 and 1852.

An introductory passage from Lamartine's poem is included at the beginning. It was published in 1853 with a dedication to Princess Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein.

Pieces

• Invocation / No.1
• Ave Maria

• An arrangement from a male chorus piece of the same name. It follows the Latin prayer text.

• Bénediction de Dieu dans la solitude (God's Blessing in Solitude)

• It is the largest-scale piece in the collection and is often performed independently.
• Lamartine's poem, which describes finding peace of mind through faith, is placed at the beginning of the piece. The musical lines do not correspond line-by-line with the poem; rather, the religious and meditative content of the poem is expressed musically.

• Pensée des morts (Thought of the Dead)

• It uses Psalm 130 (Vulgate 129) from the Old Testament, "De profundis" (Out of the depths), as its text. The original version of this piece was published in 1834 as an appendix to the Revue et Gazette musicale de Paris, edited by Liszt, with a dedication to Lamartine. It employs constantly repeated chords, hinting at Gregorian chant recitation.

• Pater Noster

• An arrangement from a male chorus piece of the same name.

• Hymne de l'enfant à son réveil (Hymn of the Child at its Awakening)

• An arrangement from a male chorus piece of the same name.

• Funérailles (Funeral)

• This work is believed to express a sense of mourning for Liszt's friends from his homeland, Hungary—Prince Lichnowsky, Baron Teleki, and Count Batthyány—who rebelled against Metternich's reactionary policies in Austria in October 1849, failed, and were executed. (There is also a theory that it expresses mourning for Chopin, who died on the 17th of that month.) It is often performed independently.

• Miserere d'après Palestrina (Miserere after Palestrina)

• While it is thought to be based on Palestrina's sacred music, some theories suggest that the melodies actually used are not by Palestrina. It employs simple chords in diatonic harmony, common in the 16th century, and omits time signatures, reflecting the archaic and pure style of composers of that era.

• Andante lagrimoso (Andante tearfully)
• Cantique d'amour (Hymn of Love)

• A virtuosic piece that Liszt reportedly favored and often performed.