cybot wrote:Fantastic piece of work Jared....Sorry I haven't contributed. I have my reasons which stems from my love of improvisation. Written music tends to leave me cold and the 'plots'/storylines can seem a bit tenuous, to say the least! Still, I have learned an awful lot since the series started and when the time comes to listen to my own classical collection again I will be using all the various guides in the hope that I will gain something extra out of the various pieces....Thank you!
My pleasure Dermot, and thanks for your comments, and it's great that you've dropped in!
Please take from the discussion what you find to be of interest and leave the rest... I'm sure the thread will be sat here for some time to come.
Fran wrote:Jared, your notes are just fantastic. I really appreciate the time and effort you have put into this. Like I suspect what others have done here, I copied the text into one doc so I could use it as a guide while I listened.
Fran
Fergus was saying that your tastes in music are quite eclectic, so after the month is out, you might be interested in visiting different sections of this music in different styles... it seems that everything from brass band to glass harp has been employed! At any rate, when you've done some further listening, we'll all like to hear your thoughts and impressions on the music at hand... :-)
When Fran gets into his groove Jared you have no idea LOL!!! I was being tactful and diplomatic there!!!
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
Jared wrote:Painting 10: ‘The Hut on Fowl’s Legs [Baba Yaga]’:
My listen: The opening bars are both ominous and decisive as we are introduced to Baba Yaga roaming above the Russian forests in her mortar, seeking her prey. The initial lower register notes are suggestive of her furtively prowling with a terrible momentum, underlined by the discordant, staccato, higher notes which are introduced at 0.19, which add considerably to the air of evil. The opening part of the ternary section gradually builds in tempo until the high notes cascade downwards at 0.54, as she alights from her mortar to prowl the forest in her hut. The softer, andante section from 1.08 introduces the ‘cat & mouse’ of hunter and hunted, the trembling lower keys highlighting the emotional tension, whilst the randomly interspersed higher 1-2 notes are suggestive of the clock which Hartmann made in the shape of the hut. Having spied her prey (the return to the strident introductory notes at 2.20), the terrifying, blood-curdling chase is on in earnest throughout the final allegro as volume and momentum build into the final, ascending bars of the coda, signifying her taking off once more, in her mortar.
I think that this is a wonderful depiction of the evil witch stalking her prey and there is a great sense of sinister malevolence in the music. The tension really rises in the middle section indicated in those trembling notes as she closes in on the target. To me the final section sounds more like a frenzied dance after the kill. It is all very dark, blood curdling and chilling! Richter, to me, infuses the music with a very good sense of tension and drama with his playing.
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
Key: E-flat major; Tempo: "Maestoso, con grandezza" and broadening to the end. [5.02]
Stasov explains that "Hartmann's sketch was his design for city gates at Kiev in the ancient Russian massive style with a cupola shaped like a slavonic helmet." It also incorporated a chapel over the main arch and a bell tower to the side.
The title is sometimes referred to as ‘The Heroes Gate’ or ‘The Bogatyr Gate’, after the heroes of Russian folklore. They were designed by Hartmann in hour of Tsar Alexander II who survived an assassination attempt whilst in Kiev in April 1866, for which Hartmann won a national competition, however plans to build the structure were later cancelled, owing to lack of funds. Hartmann, believing the design to be the greatest of his career, must have felt this to have been a considerable blow.
Whereas some melodies within Baba Yaga reflect those in Gnomus (the penultimate work reflecting second piece), the opening theme of ‘The Great Gate’ not only reflects but expands on the opening Promenade, with powerful, strident and grandiose notes. The secondary theme which is introduced twice during the movement, firstly in A flat minor, then E flat minor, is based on a baptismal hymn from the repertory of Russian Orthodox chant.
Owing to the musical complexity of this last theme, I think it would be prudent for me to post this explanatory section, from Wikipedia:
The movement is cast as a broad rondo in two main sections: ABAB|CADA. The first half of the movement sets up the expectation of an ABABA pattern. The interruption of this pattern with new music just before its expected conclusion gives the rest of the movement the feeling of a vast extension. This extended leave-taking acts as a coda for the suite as a whole.
1. A Main Theme ("forte") Tempo: "Maestoso"
2. B Hymn Theme (piano) (A-flat minor)
3. A Main Theme ("forte") Descending and ascending scale figures suggest carillons.
4. B Hymn Theme (piano) (E-flat minor)
5. C Interlude/Transition [under "forte"]. "Promenade" theme recalled. Suggestions of clockwork, bells, ascent.
6. A Main Theme (fortissimo) Triplet figuration. Tempo: Meno mosso, sempre maestoso.
7. D Interlude/Transition ("mezzo forte" with crescendo) Triplets.
8. A Main Theme (fortissimo) Tempo: Grave, Sempre allargando. Rhythm slows to a standstill by the final cadence.
My listen:
1. Main Theme [0.00 – 0.57] abruptly crashes in, terminating the ascension of Baba-Yaga. Our initial feeling is that the final section is stylistically reminiscent of the ‘Promenade’ themes, only grander and more majestic, with longer spaces between the notes. This introduction is suggestive of the fact that we have walked from one of Hartmann’s paintings to another, all of which have been leading us to the grand, sweeping entrance of the great gate of Kiev; that which Hartmann had designed yet never saw built, is brought to magisterial, musical life by his friend Mussorgsky, almost as a tribute to him. This opening section seems to be in two pieces, with a brief pause in-between, as if the viewer pauses on the road leading to the gate, to take in the magnificent view of its architectural proportions.
2. Hymn Theme [0.57 – 1.24] a brief, reflective interlude reminiscent of chanting by Russian Orthodox priests, in thanks to and praise of God. Whether Alexander II wished to be reminded of the incident or not, he had narrowly escaped an assassination attempt and, Mussorgsky being a supporter of the Tsarist cause, reflected this fact in the final theme.
3. Main Theme [01.24 – 1.53] there is a variation on the reprise of the main theme here, suggestive of Carillons, or large, free standing bells often housed within a bell-tower. Hartmann’s drawing depicted a bell tower, built within the main arch; a theme which Mussorgsky builds upon with his use of free-flowing, descending and ascending scales. The theme, reminiscent of welcoming the hero home through the flower-strewn streets and ‘hero’s gate’ is once more a reference to their Tsar.
4. Hymn Theme [1.53 – 2.20] another brief reprise of the priest’s chanting, a little louder on this occasion, as if raising their voices to God in thanks.
5. Interlude/ Transitional Theme [2.20 – 3.15] merging seamlessly into the themes around it, it commences in a calm, meditative manner, the notes in the upper register are suggestive both of the bells and a clock movement, which would have been housed in the main tower. The promenade theme is reprised once more in an ascendant motif (as if walking uphill toward the gates), before the pianist cascades down the notes into the main theme once more.
6. Main Theme & Final Interlude [3.15 – 4.20] the tempo of the promenade gradually builds to a mini crescendo, through block chords in ‘triplet figuration’ as if to highlight the mounting grandeur of the central theme. We might now be standing right under the gate, gazing up at its architectural majesty.
7. ‘Fortissimo’ Finale: [4.21 – 5.11] the theme slows down to almost a standstill; every note is now prolonged and exaggerated in a grandiose manner as if appealing to the listener and viewer to behold the mighty gate!
We have arrived dear viewers and listeners; this is the end of our journey through the art gallery as Modest Mussorgsky intended; I hope you have enjoyed this part of the excursion.
Last edited by Jared on Mon Apr 23, 2012 1:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Before continuing our excursion, I think it would be worth pausing and having a quick look at the, by no means complete list, below.
A listing of orchestral arrangements of Pictures at an Exhibition:
• Mikhail Tushmalov (ca. 1886)
• Henry Wood (1915)
• Leo Funtek (1922)
• Maurice Ravel (1922)
• Giuseppe Becce (1922)
• Leonidas Leonardi (1924)
• Hidemaro Konoye (exact date unknown)
• Lucien Cailliet (1937)
• Leopold Stokowski (1939)
• Walter Goehr (1942)
• Sergei Gorchakov (1954)
• Nikolai Golovanov (exact date unknown)
• Václav Smetáček (exact date unknown)
• Lawrence Leonard (1977)
• Vladimir Ashkenazy (1982)
• Thomas Wilbrandt (1992)
• Emile Naoumoff (ca. 1994)
• Carl Simpson (1997)
• Jukka-Pekka Saraste (exact date unknown)
• Jason Wright Wingate (2003)
• Leonard Slatkin (2004)
• Michael Allen (2007)
• Clarice Assad (2008)
• Aurélien Bello (2011)
• Vladimir Agopov (2011)
Here are the names of 25 composers, great and probably not so great, who have since it's creation for piano 138 years ago, transcribed the work for orchestra. Although there was a post WWII lull in its popularity (which is hardly surprising, given that between c.1945-1970, ‘tonalism’ had gone completely out of fashion, even with the BBC!), these dates are reasonably evenly spread throughout the 20th century. This suggests that Mussorgsky’s piano score has consistently given inspiration to many different composers of different nationalities and different styles throughout this period; a lasting legacy with which I’m sure he’d have been proud, and I believe to be worth mentioning.
