 Addition of a text can effectively change the programmatic intent of a composition , as with the two choral symphonies of Franz Liszt . Both the Faust and Dante symphonies were conceived as purely instrumental works and only later became choral symphonies . However , while Liszt authority Humphrey Searle asserts that Liszt 's later inclusion of a chorus effectively sums up Faust and makes it complete , another Liszt expert , Reeves Shulstad , suggests that Liszt changed the work 's dramatic focus to the point of meriting a different interpretation of the work itself . According to Shulstad , " Liszt 's original version of 1854 ended with a last fleeting reference to Gretchen and an ... orchestral peroration in C major , based on the most majestic of themes from the opening movement . One might say that this conclusion remains within the persona of Faust and his imagination " . When Liszt rethought the piece three years later , he added a " Chorus <unk> " , the male chorus singing the final words from Goethe 's Faust . The tenor soloist , accompanied by the chorus , sings the last two lines of the text . " With the addition of the ' Chorus <unk> ' text " , Shulstad writes , " the Gretchen theme has been transformed and she no longer appears as a masked Faust . With this direct association to the final scene of the drama we have escaped Faust 's imaginings and are hearing another voice commenting on his striving and redemption " . 
