Modest Mussorgsky

When I first heard Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain" in a 2002 New York Philharmonic concert conducted in the Philippines, I never forgot the first few lines. I was humming the tune in my head for months until I acquired a recording. It turned out the version I heard live was that with revisions by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, another Russian composer. With further internet reading, I was amazed to see that there are many versions of this work, but I am not able to hear everything yet. The original Mussorgsky version is a rare track nowadays - whether it be live or recorded. But I do like the one with Rimsky-Korsakov's inputs.

Back to the piece - it was very delicate, the way everything all started. From a pianissimo (very soft) rustling of violin strings growing into a harmony with winds and then linking to a commanding series of notes from the brasses. Yes, the title suggests something. It was depicted in the first set of Fantasia animations - very evil representations, but it wasn't really the way I perceived it. The way I see it, there are so many things going on in that mountain. It was dark all throughout, but I just really associate it with a lot of vegetation - shades of moonlight over barren fields and fear-evoking trees (hence, not evil? haha). Funny it's called bald mountain, therefore connotes a structure devoid of trees.

Main elements I consider in Mussorgsky's music are the dynamism and/or character. There's a certain zing to it, especially in musical pieces that I've already acquainted with. There is much character in each movement of his "Pictures at an Exhibition", with titles such as "The Old Castle", "Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks", and my favorites: "Dispute between Children at Play", "The Gnome", and "Cattle". Very moving, these pieces of music. Some may say that "Pictures at an Exhibition" is too overrated a piano (or orchestrally arranged) piece. But neither is it too underrated or too overrated for me. Just average, the way I see people receive it - it's just that there are preferrers and non-preferrers of the piece.

Heavy outpouring and drama in "Cattle" - popularly known as "Bydlo" (title in Polish). "Dispute between Children at Play" ("Tuileries" in French) has a fleeting and light tone, but never a forgettable piece of music - with a lot of vibrance and personality to it. "The Gnome" ("Gnomus", Latin) - for me, it's fear-evoking. With touches of darkness and sneakiness just by listening to it.

These pieces are of high difficulty. I thought "Promenade" was too easy (the first movement and the title of several other movements of "Pictures at an Exhibition", but in different variations). Yet I was proven wrong. It does require technique and learning - the chords are not that easy to follow - the patterns are complicated but with sounds that are simple, pleasing, and effortless to the ear.

Maybe that was the way Mussorgsky really wrote his music - a bit disorganized, complicated, unpredictable. Could be just the reason why many other composers tend to finish his work or create other versions of it. Well, maybe that's really just what he is - my favorite 'dark' composer.

"Night on Bald Mountain" (arranged by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov)
"Night on Bald Mountain" (original Mussorgsky version), Part 1
"Night on Bald Mountain" (original Mussorgsky version), Part 2

Pictures at an Exhibition
(Evgeny Kissin, Piano)
Promenade I
Gnomus (The Gnome)
Promenade II
Il Vecchio Castello (The Old Castle)
Promenade III
Tuileries (Dispute between Children at Play)
Bydlo (Cattle)
Promenade IV
Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks
Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle
Promenade V
The Market at Limoges
The Catacombs
Cum Mortuis in Lingua Mortua (With the Dead in a Dead Language)
The Hut of Baba-Yaga on Chicken's Legs
The Great Gate of Kiev

(But I do like the Promenade on this one)

Pictures at an Exhibition (Orchestral arrangement by Maurice Ravel)
(Esa Pekka-Salonen + Philharmonia Orchestra)
Promenade I
Gnomus (The Gnome)
Promenade II
Il Vecchio Castello (The Old Castle)
Promenade III

Tuileries (Dispute between Children at Play)

Bydlo (Cattle)
Promenade IV

Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks
Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle
The Market at Limoges
The Catacombs
Cum Mortuis in Lingua Mortua (With the Dead in a Dead Language)
The Hut of Baba-Yaga on Chicken's Legs
The Great Gate of Kiev