Pictures at an Exhibition

Modest Mussorgsky

9 original pieces of
artwork by Victor
Hartmann
Mussorgsky, shocked
by Hartmanns death,
wrote piano piece as
tribute
Ravel commissioned by
Sergey Koussevitzky to
orchestrate
Mussorgskys piece

Maurice Ravel
 Overall Transformations
From pictures to piano arrangement
Hartmanns ideas are transformed from static
to real-time presentation
From piano to orchestra arrangement
Hartmanns ideas are more specifically
presented through diverse instrument timbres
With every transformation, the ideas behind
Hartmanns original artwork are reinterpreted
with added dimensions
Hartmanns sketches: Ballet of
the Unborn Chicks
Originally
commissioned as
costume design
sketches for 1871
production of the
ballet Trillby
Eggshell costumes
represent chicks in
shells prior to
hatching
 Mussorgskys Ballet of the
Unborn Chicks
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
 Ravels Ballet of the Unborn
Chicks
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)
 Hartmanns Pictures of Two
Jews
Hartmann visited Jewish ghetto in

Sandomir, Poland in 1868

Rich Jew Poor Jew

Confident Hopeless
Mussorgskys Samuel Goldenberg and
Schmule
2 pictures 1 piece examining relationship
Rich Jew speaks first
Low deep, powerful voice
Two hands in unison assertive
Slow tempo, pauses for breath composed
Poor Jew
High, with quick repeated notes weak, high-
pitched whining
Triplet tremolo teeth chattering, body
shaking
Mussorgsky's Samuel Goldenberg and
Schmuyle
Rich Jew starts talking before poor
Jew finishes
Gets more attention
Keeps going after poor Jew stops
Ends with both Jews in unison
Rich Jew sends poor Jew off with nothing
 Ravels Samuel Goldenberg and
Schmuyle
Brings out contrast between rich and
poor Jew
Rich Jew
Strings (and woodwinds) playing tutti
Poor Jew
1 muted piccolo trumpet over
accompaniment
Ends with two voices in unison, but
different timbres
Hartmanns Hut on Chicken
Legs
Pencil sketch design for a
clock 14th century
Russian style
The clock sits on two
hens 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
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
Music is not very representative of
the clock design, other than quarter
note = 120, making each measure
last exactly one secondlike a clock
Music is Mussorgsky's
representation of the story of Baba
Yagaher flying in a mortar chasing
after little children
 Mussorgsky continued
Starts with low rumble in the left hand
Pounding,with a repetitive
descending line.like she is circling
her prey
Trills and descending chromatic
scalecreate tension
The tone is angry and frantic, created
by a flurry of notes
 Ravels Hut on Chicken
Legs
Pretty loyal to Mussorgsky's
version, but with more depth and
texturehe has different voices to
work with
blaring harsh brass, loud
percussion, high flutes add
contrast
Hartmanns The Great Gate of Kiev
Design competition for
gate
Commemorate Tsar
Alexander IIs escaped
assassination
Competition ultimately
called off
Hartmanns design
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

Exposition
Powerful opening processional tune
Repeated several times, emphasis on majesty
Religious undertones
Intertwining of Russian Orthodox Church choir
music
As you are baptized in Christ
Mussorgsky's The Great Gate of Kiev
Recapitulation and close
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
 Ravels The Great Gate of Kiev

Use of tutti brass in opening to encapsulate

grandeur
Contrasted by soft woodwind choir interludes
Orchestral ornamentation
Ending written in 3/2, original in 2/2
Straight triplets only
Doubling of half notes in end
Representation of church bells
Pulsating, dissonant mass of sound
Restatement on end note for finality
 In Conclusion
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 timethus
transformations help ensure the
survival of the original work
 Works Referenced
1. Brown, David. Mussorgsky: His Life and Works. 2002:

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.