Tír Na HiFi

You'll be unsurprised to hear that I also have that organ disc. I'll come back to the performance later, but that disc is a sonic spectacular.

Claus wrote:Great thanks to Jared for the excellent notes which have been really helpful.

Thank you, Claus... many more are in the pipeline... *might* get the next installment in by tonight, but we'll see how things go; this w/e is going to be manic for me...

Are we ready to continue our traversal around the gallery?

Painting 4: ‘Cattle’ (Polish):

Key: G-sharp minor, Tempo: “Sempre moderato, pesante” [2.55]



Once again, the original picture has been destroyed, and we only have Stasov’s description to go by; "A Polish cart on enormous wheels, drawn by oxen", however even this is open to interpretation, as Hartmann had produced several sketches for this painting, some with solely the oxen and cart, while others merely had them in the foreground of busy street scenes. It is possible that this was meant to be a dray, pulled by a team of oxen, with the music signifying the steady, powerful unrelenting pull of beasts. In his 1874 correspondence with Stasov, Mussorgsky refers to this as ‘Cattle of Sandomir’, a town in southern Poland (see below):



Mussorgsky’s piano version commences with a ‘fortissimo’ suggesting that the plodding, lumbering oxcart's journey through the mud of the streets, begins in the listener's foreground. After reaching a climax, the dynamic marking is abruptly followed by a ‘diminuendo’ to a final pianissimo, suggesting the oxcart receding into the distance.

My listen: The deep, decisive 1-2, 1-2 with the left hand in the lower register effectively sums up the continuous drudgery of servitude, as the team of oxen relentlessly pull their way through the muddy streets, past the onlooker. The ensuing higher notes suggest for me that a certain grace and elegance is attained by these beasts, in their pursuit. After (around the) 0.50 mark, a 2nd more delicate supporting theme in a higher register is introduced, as onlookers from the marketplace regard these noble beasts with a passive admiration as they pass by. The themes are fused together until 2.00, when the original 1-2 theme once again takes over, gradually receding in volume as the oxen and dray disappear into the distance.


Painting 5: ‘The Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks’:

Key: F major, Tempo: "Scherzino (vivo, leggiero)" [1.04]



Stasov’s comment about this piece: "Hartmann's design for the décor of a picturesque scene in the ballet Trilby" requires a little explanation. Besides being an artist and architect, Hartmann also provided sketches for set and costume designs for ballets, of which the picture below is one:



‘Trilby’ or ‘The Demon of the Heath’ was a ballet performed (here, by children dressed in partly hatched canary chick costumes) by the Bolshoi in 1871, choreographed by Marius Petipa, to music by Julius Gerber. Set in Switzerland, the ballet incorporates dances by the children from the Russian Imperial Ballet School portraying butterflies, birds and partly hatched chicks at various stages through the score.

The music, once again in (very loose) ternary structure, is a delightfully frantic and uncoordinated ‘scramble’.

My listen: This brief piece opens and closes with a loosely structured, punched 1-2-3-4 in the upper register, suggestive of children frantically dancing uncoordinated steps around a stage, as canary chicks desperate to relieve themselves of their shells. The 2nd part of the ternary structure is introduced at 0.26, suggestive of a moderate elegance as they glide around the stage; perhaps they are reserving a little energy for the final push after 0.48 which gradually rises to a decisive crescendo of broken, dislocated notes.

Fascinating .. I am learning a lot.

[Unfortunatly I have most of my CD's put away the the moment and I have switched off my computer hi-fi setup -- because of dust from builders -- and so the only version I can listen to is an orchestral version ..]

james wrote:Fascinating .. I am learning a lot.

thank you James, so am I... by all means click on the Youtube links I have posted, which will play the Piano versions for you. Of course I should have said, the 0.47 markings etc are for the Brendel version, so other versions might be a couple of seconds out from that, but I'm sure you'll get the idea... :-)

Paintings 6 & 7: ‘Samuel Goldenberg & Schmuyle’:

Key: B-flat minor, Tempo: "Andante. Grave energico" and "Andantino" [2.16]



Stasov’s brief comment on these works: “Two Jews: Rich & Poor”. Is elsewhere expanded on where they are referred to as ‘Polish Jews’, as they were initiated by sketches drawn by Hartmann, whilst spending a month in Sandomir.



It needs to be mentioned that members of the ‘Russian-Nationalist’ academic intelligencia such as Hartmann and Mussorgsky were essentially anti-Semitic in outlook; a movement which led to the Russian pogroms at the end of the 19th century. Here, these portraits can best be described as ‘semi-insulting caricatures’; Goldenberg as a rich, fat Jew, decked out in furs, whilst Schmuyle, the poor Jew is decked out in dowdy rags and a walking stick.

The music itself is once more based on the ternary style, although this time, it is A, B, A+B in structure, as in:

A: Andante: grave energico (Theme 1: Portrait of Samuel Goldenberg).
Goldenberg’s theme is overbearing and pompous, speaking with authority and enjoying the sound of his own voice.

B: Andantino (Theme 2: Portrait of Schmuyle).
Schmuyle’s theme is characterised by yammering high notes as he complains about his lot, and entreats Goldenberg to take pity.

A+B: Themes 1 & 2 in Counterpoint
As both themes merge, it becomes clear that the rich Jew doesn’t heed the wheedling moans of the poor, and eventually drowns out his entreaties, with the sound of his own heavy, dire overtones.

Coda ------ Promenade

It is probable that the two paintings weren’t exhibited next to each other in the gallery; hence we have the two themes introduced separately. Only when the composer has found both pictures, does he wish to compare them, forming the counterpoint section, as his eyes dart between the two pictures, forming a mental ‘conversation’ between the two characters. As mentioned previously, it is thought that the subsequent and final ‘promenade’ section represents the composer walking between these two pictures, in an effort to compare and contrast.

My listen: Samuel Goldenberg’s introduction is made with clear, decisive notes to suggest the form of a grand, structured and coherent argument about his own point of view and social status. This is cut short at 0.40 by the introduction of a lighter, more fragile voice; that of the poverty of Schmuyle, whose whining entreaties to consider his lot in life are made with softer notes in the higher register. By 1.18 however, Goldenberg has heard enough, as his thundering voice returns to talk over Schmuyle as he recaps on his views of his own status and importance, before 1.50 where the mournful, slightly discordant coda makes way for a reprise of the ‘promenade’ theme.

Excellent start Jared. Will definitively give a thorough reading from the beginning.

The Pictures At An Exhibition is a piece that I listened to a lot about 10 years ago. Never really went back to it since but will happily go back to it shortly. Nowadays, I am listening to pieces that I have not listened to in a very long time like pieces by Tchaikovsky, Mozart and Brahms so it is the perfect timing for Mussorsky piece.

Regards,

Matt.

ravel30 wrote:Excellent start Jared. Will definitively give a thorough reading from the beginning.

that's wonderful to read Matt... as everyone knows, my principle reason for chosing 'Pictures' was in fact because I'm a real eejit and felt I could only cope with something which came pre-packed, in bite size morsels... :-/

Jared wrote:

ravel30 wrote:Excellent start Jared. Will definitively give a thorough reading from the beginning.

that's wonderful to read Matt... as everyone knows, my principle reason for chosing 'Pictures' was in fact because I'm a real eejit and felt I could only cope with something which came pre-packed, in bite size morsels... :-/

Oh, such modesty is unbecoming of you Jared LOL!!!

click on the Youtube links I have posted, which will play the Piano versions for you

Hi Jared,

I am getting building work done and I have my hi-fi and CD's put away [I have the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra version on loan and am listenning to it on a 'second system' hi-fi i.e. old stuff I don't use any more in the main system]. I also had my PC put away but found I needed it -- so I have it back but without speakers or a printer.

So most [all ?] of my comments about piano versions are based on memory ..

James