Lockdown Listening #6: Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition
Hello again! I’m excited about this week’s piece - it was one of the first pieces of music I ever really properly listened to, and I think it’s really great. It’s Mussorgsky’s ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’ and is essentially a musical tour through an art gallery. Have a listen below and if you fancy, have a look at some of the questions.
Here are the timecodes for each movement: (you will need to click ‘watch on Youtube’ when you press play, as it doesn’t play embedded in this website)
1:33 Promenade, 2:53 The Gnome, 5:23 Promenade, 6:14 The Old Castle, 10:33 Promenade, 12:00 Bydlo, 14:59 Promenade, 15:43 Ballet of the Unhatched Chickens, 17:06 Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle, 19:30 Promenade, 20:44 Limoges: The Market Square, 22:16 Catacombae (Sepulchrum romanum), 26:08 The Hut on Hen's Legs (Baba-Yaga),30:00 The Great Gate of Kiev
BRONZE
Would you describe any of these movements as ‘scary’? If so, which ones and why?
Why do you think the ‘promenade’ tune keeps coming back? What could it represent?
Go to 15:43 ,Ballet of the Unhatched Chickens - name some interesting ways in which the string players play their instruments. How does this make the music more interesting?
Draw your own picture to go in the art gallery for the final movement
What do you think could be going on in a picture represented by the music at 20:44 - ‘Limoges: The Market Square’?
SILVER
Listen to each promenade movement and write down a few ideas about how Mussorgsky (and orchestrator Ravel) develop the music each time.
See if you can identify any modal moments in the music - when they occur are they usually similar to each other? What might this tell you?
How would you describe the harmony and style of the piece overall? What sort of era do you think it was composed in from this?
The piece was originally composed for piano. How far do you agree that the orchestrated version in the video here is more interesting? Think of some arguments for and against.
Listen to 6:14 - The Old Castle - name some musical features which create a sense of mystery and atmosphere.
GOLD
“As this piece is clear in describing what it is about, it cannot be about anything else.” - how far do you agree?
Do some research about Mussorgsky and his relationship to Russian music. How is Russian folk music used in this piece?
Choose a famous painting and write a short movement to reflect it - it can be on any number of instruments or any combination.
How far do you agree that the movements, as representations of paintings in a gallery, could be performed in any order?
How would you describe the time signature for the ‘promenade’ movements? This is quite tricky, so spend some real time thinking about it! (This may also help you with question 2…)