Transcript Pictures_Exhibition

Pictures at an Exhibition
Modest Mussorgsky
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Maurice Ravel
9 original pieces of
artwork by Victor
Hartmann
Mussorgsky, shocked by
Hartmann’s death, wrote
piano piece as tribute
Ravel commissioned by
Sergey Koussevitzky to
orchestrate Mussorgsky’s
piece
Overall Transformations
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From pictures to piano arrangement
Hartmann’s ideas are transformed from static to
real-time presentation
From piano to orchestra arrangement
Hartmann’s ideas are more specifically presented
through diverse instrument timbres
With every transformation, the ideas behind
Hartmann’s original artwork are reinterpreted
with added dimensions
Hartmann’s sketches: Ballet of the
Unborn Chicks
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Originally commissioned
as costume design
sketches for 1871
production of the ballet
Trillby
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Eggshell costumes
represent chicks in shells
prior to hatching
Mussorgsky’s “Ballet of the Unborn
Chicks”
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“Scherzino – vivo, leggiero”: jokingly,
lightheartedly, alive
Grace notes imply movement, unborn chicks
pecking at shell
Trills (right) & quick pulse (left) –
unsteadiness, wavering of limbs inside shells
High F grace-note consistently used – chicks
cheeping
Ravel’s “Ballet of the Unborn
Chicks”
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Woodwinds used to vocalize chicks
Bassoon bass to indicate clumsiness of the
unborn chicks in shells
Trills given to strings for fluttery sound
Use of glockenspiel, cymbal splashes and
triangle for ringy, whimsical effect
Piccolo cheeping sound (high F)
Hartmann’s Pictures of Two Jews
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Hartmann visited Jewish ghetto in Sandomir,
Poland in 1868
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Rich Jew
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Confident
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Poor Jew
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Hopeless
Mussorgsky’s “Samuel Goldenberg and
Schmuÿle”
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2 pictures  1 piece examining relationship
Rich Jew speaks first
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Low  deep, powerful voice
Two hands in unison  assertive
Slow tempo, pauses for breath  composed
Poor Jew
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High, with quick repeated notes  weak, highpitched whining
Triplet tremolo  teeth chattering, body
shaking
Mussorgsky's “Samuel Goldenberg and
Schmuyle”
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Rich Jew starts talking before poor Jew
finishes
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Gets more attention
Keeps going after poor Jew stops
Ends with both Jews in unison
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Rich Jew sends poor Jew off with nothing
Ravel’s “Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle”
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Brings out contrast between rich and poor
Jew
Rich Jew
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Poor Jew
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Strings (and woodwinds) playing tutti
1 muted piccolo trumpet over accompaniment
Ends with two voices in unison, but
different timbres
Hartmann’s Hut on Chicken Legs
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Pencil sketch design for a
clock 14th century Russian
style
The clock sits on two hen’s
feet. It is the House of Baba
Yaga (a fairy-tale motif)
Very ornate with rope-like
and textile ornamentation
and patterns
The Story of Baba Yaga
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Baba Yaga is a witch who
lives in a house on chicken
feet
She kills and eats little
children; crushing their
bones in her giant mortar in
which she flies around
Both Hartmann and
Mussorgsky have an interest
in old Russian culture
Mussorgsky's House on
Chicken Legs
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Music is not very representative of the
clock design, other than quarter note =
120, making each measure last exactly
one second…like a clock
Music is Mussorgsky's representation of
the story of Baba Yaga…her flying in a
mortar chasing after little children
Mussorgsky continued
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Starts with low rumble in the left hand
Pounding,with a repetitive descending
line….like she is circling her prey
Trills and descending chromatic
scale…create tension
The tone is angry and frantic, created
by a flurry of notes
Ravel’s Hut on Chicken Legs
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Pretty loyal to Mussorgsky's version, but
with more depth and texture…he has
different voices to work with
blaring harsh brass, loud percussion,
high flutes add contrast
Hartmann’s The Great Gate of Kiev
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Design competition for
gate
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Commemorate Tsar
Alexander II’s escaped
assassination
Competition ultimately
called off
Hartmann’s design
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Archway on granite pillars
Russian state eagle at peak
“Blessed is he that cometh
in the name of the Lord”
Mussorgsky's “The Great Gate of Kiev”
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Exposition
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Powerful opening processional tune
Repeated several times, emphasis on majesty
Religious undertones
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Intertwining of Russian Orthodox Church choir music
“As you are baptized in Christ”
Mussorgsky's “The Great Gate of Kiev”
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Recapitulation and close
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Introduction of super triplets then regular
triplets into piece
Return of open theme superimposed on top of
developed religious theme
End with the opening of Gates of Kiev
Ravel’s “The Great Gate of Kiev”
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Use of tutti brass in opening to encapsulate
grandeur
Contrasted by soft woodwind choir interludes
Orchestral ornamentation
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Ending written in 3/2, original in 2/2
Straight triplets only
Doubling of half notes in end
Representation of church bells
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Pulsating, dissonant mass of sound
Restatement on end note for finality
In Conclusion…
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There are multiple transformations taking
place. The Hartmann pictures –
Mussorgsky piano piece – Ravel
orchestration
Every time a piece of art is transformed, a
new dimension is added.
Transformations
 From
Pictures to Music-- an
element of time
 From Piano to Orchestra -- an
element of texture and color
 Transformations tend to adapt the
original work to the conventions
of the time…thus transformations
help ensure the survival of the
original work
Works Referenced
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1. Brown, David. Mussorgsky: His Life and Works. 2002:
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University Press, Oxford.
2. Calvocoresi, M.D. Modest Mussorgsky. 1956: Salisbury Square, London.
3. Eagen, Tim. Images for Pictures at an Exhibition:
 http://www.stmoroky.com/reviews/gallery/pictures/hartmann.htm.
Jan. 2000.
4. Mussorgsky, Modest. Pictures at an Exhibition [piano score]. 1983:
Breitkopf &
Hartell Wiesbaden.
5. Mussorgsky, Modest. Pictures at an Exhibition [sound recording]. 1997:
Longworth, Peter.
6. Ravel, Maurice. Pictures at an Exhibition [musical score]. 1929:
Boosey & Hawkes, London.
7. Ravel, Maurice. Pictures at an Exhibition [sound recording]. 1993:
New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein.
8. Russ, Michael. Musorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition. 1992: Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge.