Synopsis

Promenade
Key
Meter
Tempo
Melody
Rhythm
Comment

Bb Major
Asymmetrical, alternate 5/4 and 6/4
Allegro giusto, nel modo russico; senza allegrezza,
ma poco sostenuto
Resembles Russian folk songs
Simple strong rhythms in asymmetrical meter
In this piece Mussorgsky depicts himself roving
through the exhibition, first leisurely, then briskly in
order to come close to a picture that had attracted
his attention, and at times sadly, thinking of his
departed friend

No. 1 Gnomus
Key
Meter
Tempo
Comment

Eb minor
Simple triple
Alternating Vivo and Meno mosso, peasante
A sketch depicting a little gnome, clumsily running
with crooked legs. Hartmanns sketch, now lost, is
thought to represent a design for a nutcracker
displaying large teeth. The lurching music in
contrasting tempos with frequent stops and starts,
suggests the movements of the gnome.

Untitled Interlude, Promenade Theme

Key
Meter
Tempo
Comment

Ab Major
Asymmetrical, alternate 5/4 and 6/4
Moderato commodo assai e con delicatezza
A placid statement of the promenade melody depicts
the viewer walking from one display to the next.

No. 2 Il Vecchio Castello

(Italian: The Old Castle)
Key
G# minor
Meter
Compound duple
Tempo
Andante molto cantabile e con dolore
Comment
A medieval castle before which a troubadour sings a
song. This movement is thought to be based on a
water-colour depiction of an Italian castle. Hartmann
often placed appropriate human figures in his
architectural renderings to suggest scale.
Untitled
Interlude,
Promenade
Theme
Key
B Major
Meter
Asymmetrical, alternate 5/4 and 6/4

Tempo
Comment

Moderato non tanto, pesamente

Another brief statement of the promenade melody (8
bars) gives it more extroversion and weight than
before.

No. 3 Tuileries
(French: Dispute between Children at Play
Key
B Major
Meter
Simple quadruple
Tempo
Allegretto non troppo, capriccioso
Comment
An avenue in the garden of the Tuileries, with a
swarm of children and nurses. Hartmanns picture of
the Jardin des Tuileries near the Louvre in Paris is now
lost. Figures of children quarrelling and playing in he
garden, were likely added by the artist for scale. The
movement is cast in through composed ternary form
(ABA).

No. 3 Bydlo
(Polish: Cattle)
Key
G# minor
Meter
Simple duple
Tempo
Sempre moderato, pesante
Comment
A polish cart on enormous wheels, drawn by oxen.
The movement is cast in through-composed ternary
form (ABA) with coda. Mussorgskys original piano
version of this movement begins fortissimo (ff),
suggesting that the lumbering oxcarts journey
begins in the listeners foreground. After reaching a
climax (con tutta forza) the dynamic marking is
abruptly piano, followed by a diminuendo to a final
pianissimo, suggesting the oxcart receding into the
distance. Other arrangements build gradually and
then undergo a diminuendo, suggesting the oxcart
approaching, passing the listener, and then receding.

Untitled Interlude, Promenade Theme

Key
Meter
Tempo
Comment

D minor
Asymmetrical, alternate 5/4, 6/4 and 7/4
Tranquillo
A reflective 10 bar presentation of the promenade
theme.

No. 5 Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks

Key
Meter
Tempo
Comment

F Major
Simple duple
Scherzino vivo, leggiero
Hartmanns design for the dcor of a picturesque
scene in the ballet Trilby. The fledglings were canary
chicks. The movement is cast in ternary form (ABA)
with a literal repeat and terse extension (Coda).

No. 6 Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle

Key
Meter
Tempo
Comment

Bb minor
Simple quadruple
Andante Grave energico and Andantino
Two Jews: Rich and Poor. The movement is thought
to be based on two separate portraits. The use of
augmented second intervals approximate Jewish
modes such as the Phrygian scale. The movement is
in ternary form (AABA+B)
1. Theme 1
2. Theme 2
3. Themes 1 and 2 in counterpoint
4. Coda

Promenade
Key
Meter
Tempo
Comment

Bb Major
Asymmetrical, alternate 5/4 and 6/4
Allegro guisto, nel modo rssico; poco sostenuto
A nearly bar-for-bar statement of the opening
promenade. Differences are slight; condensed
second half, block chords voiced more fully.
Structurally the movement acts as a reboot, giving
listeners another hearing of the opening material
before these are developed in the second half of the
suite. Its appearance at this point in the
programmatic narrative suggests that Mussorgskys
exhibition viewer stands in an economic middle
ground between the wealth of Goldenberg and the
poverty of Schmuyle. Many arrangements omit this
movement.

No. 7 Limoges, le marche (La grande

nouvelle)
(French: The Market at Limoges)
Key
Eb Major
Meter
Simple quadruple
Tempo
Allegretto vivo, sempre scherzando
Comment
French women quarreling violently in the market.
Limgoes is a city in central France. The movement is
a scherzo in through-composed ternary form (ABA).
A scurrying coda leads without a break in to the next
movement.

No. 8 Catacombae and Cum mortuis in lingua

mortua
(Latin: The Catacombs and With the Dead in a Dead Language
Key
B minor
Meter
Simple triple (Sepulcrum) and 6/4 (Cum mortuis)
Tempo
Largo (Sepulcrum) and Andante non troppo con
lamento (Cum mortuis)

Comment

Hartmann represented himself examining the Paris

catacombs by the light of a lantern. The movement
is in two distinct parts. Its two sections consist of a
nearly static Largo consisting of a sequence of block
chords, with elegiac lines adding a touch of
melancholy, and a more flowing, gloomy Andante
that introduces the Promenade theme into the scene.
The first section evokes the grandeur, stillness and
echo of the catacombs. The second section suggests
a merging of observer and scene as the observer
descends into the catacombs.

No. 9 Baba-Yaga
(The Hut on Fowls legs)
Key
C minor
Meter
Simple duple
Tempo
Allegro con brio, feroce and Andante mosso
Comment
Hartmanns drawing depicted a clock in the form of
Baba-Yagas hut on fowls legs. Mussorgsky added
the witchs flight in a mortar. Motives evoke the bells
of a large clock and the whirlwind of a chase.

No. 10 The great Gate of Kiev

Key
Meter
Tempo
Comment

Eb Major
Simple quadruple
Maestoso, con grandezza
Hartmanns sketch wa his design for city gates at
Kiev in the ancient Russian massive style. Hartmann
designed a monumental gate for Tsar Alexander II to
commemorate the monarchs narrow escape from an
assassination attempt. His design won a national
competition but plays to build the structure were
later cancelled. The movement features a grand
main theme along with a solemn secondary theme
which is based on a baptismal hymn from the
repertory of Russian Orthodox chant.