Pictures at an Exhibition

Modest Mussorgsky

Maurice Ravel

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

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

Confident

Poor Jew

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, highpitched 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

Poor Jew

Strings (and woodwinds) playing tutti

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.