Mussorgsky

Being that I wasn't in class, I checked out Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" from Mantor (the EMI Classics version which also has Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring"). There were only eleven tracks, so in attempt to not create any confusion I figured I'd leave my rendering of them separate.

Track 1: This seems very general so far which perhaps means a very open space. Then fast, low, minor (key) movements: a storm? Thunder and lightning and rain. But then a sudden stop? No, it must be something less general. There's a sense of “avoiding”, or mischief and then a turning and a discovery with a subsequent sprint away-- in terror? A return to the original key (an uplifting tune) which could perhaps mean an escape or a realization.

Track 2: A wandering sadness, a lingering, loitering spirit in reflection. There's an obvious passion in the thought of the subject; perhaps a love lost or rejected? And then two movements into silence with a gracious, uplifting demeanor to end the piece.

Track 3: Jester-like movements into sort of a dance, or theatrical representation.

Track 4: An epic or heroic theme before a formidable adversary or dangerous trek. Then the drumroll starts soft and gathers momentum, becomes its most assertive, and fades to soft and then out. This seems like a momentary thought, a foreshadowing or prediction of what is to come. This is the calm before the storm only with an inner battle. Then a very long silence ends with the high winds reintroducing the low cello and bass, while the violas return to the original key. It ends with a subtle, almost mocking motion that almost definitely confirms my assumption: a dream or an overreaction.

Track 5: There is a frantic, almost disorganized movement. There is a sense of many, here, and that all are in confusion, but not in terror, more of a happiness.

Track 6: It starts with a malevolent, authoritative command. Then a higher keyed character (soprano trumpet?) speaks as if to say that he/she will one day have the tools to escape this other negative character. This higher character almost seems conniving or at least in the thought of scheme while the lower character follows along. Both stop at the same time, and then start back up with a harmony, and then a sneakiness most likely on part of the higher character. I sense almost a laughter or general humor in this sneakiness.

Track 7: Someone is running perhaps from something, but in a comical or half-serious way. There's a momental pause and then a continued scurrying.

Track 8: A terrible beholding or surprise. Frozen in terror or disbelief. The silence adds a sense of coming into reality, and then the terror hits again. There is a reflective moment, and a realized sense of duty with a final blow of terror before the piece ends.

Track 9: A melancholic movement, but I can't figure out if there is a movement or a stillness in this piece. The flutes in the very end signify a rising. I see a person with their head hung low, and finally a rise in their head, in courage or confidence.

Track 10: A battle. Constant defensive movements. Running through the woods? Falling into a trap and then an echo (a well, or inescapable hole in the ground). Very quiet, a careful sneaking. More running and the movement has been discovered. The piece ends with no clear definition as to if the subject escapes or not.

Track 11: A grand entrance. Perhaps of a royalty or wedded nobility? Then, the climactic note tells me not so much a particular entrance, but more of “an entrance of all entrances”. About 1/3 through the piece, there could almost be a hint of exiting, then silence. Ominous, slow, low rising back into the original “grandness” of the opening sequence, and once again, the climactic note. Does this insinuate a sight, perhaps, more than an entrance? There is now a sustained suspense, and once again the climactic note with cymbal accompaniment before the piece closes.