Mussorgsky s Pictures at an Exhibition: Identifying the Expressive Narrative through Comparisons with Vocal Literature. A document submitted to the

Transcription

1 Mussorgsky s Pictures at an Exhibition: Identifying the Expressive Narrative through Comparisons with Vocal Literature A document submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in the Keyboard Studies Division of the College-Conservatory of Music by Matthew G. Quick BM, Vanderbilt University, 2007 MM, University of Cincinnati, 2009 July 2014 Committee Chair: Christopher Segall, Ph.D. i

2 Abstract This document reveals connections between Mussorgsky s Pictures at an Exhibition and his vocal literature in order to provide a new perspective on the expressive narrative of the piano cycle. Scholars often treat Pictures at an Exhibition as an isolated monument apart from Mussorgsky s typical endeavors, and this insulated approach has resulted in somewhat dubious and poorly substantiated assertions about the cycle s expressive content. In order to craft a more reliable and penetrating view of the cycle, this document incorporates evidence from Mussorgsky s vocal works as well as Russian folk, chant, and choral music in order to clarify and challenge long-held beliefs about the work while providing new and alternative meanings for the musical text. There has yet to be a study which systematically examines the relationships between Pictures and the composer s vocal literature. What vocal music provides, however, is an intrinsically direct correlation between music and text, binding the musical devices with more concretely descriptive meaning from the composer. This relationship serves as a basis for identifying the expressive roles associated with specific musical textures, which can then be connected back to the piano cycle. Through exploring parallels between Pictures and corresponding textures in vocal repertoire, this document by association reveals and validates expressive concepts in Pictures that would otherwise not have textual grounding in the piano cycle alone. ii

3 Copyright 2014 Matthew G. Quick All Rights Reserved iii

4 Acknowledgements I would like to extend my deepest thanks to those involved in making this document possible. My advisor Christopher Segall was invaluable to this project. His patience, knowledge, and insight allowed me to solidify a topic, focus my research, and take it to new heights. I would also like to thank my readers bruce mcclung and Michael Chertock for their meticulous and discerning revisions. Credit should be extended to my wonderful piano teachers Eugene and Elizabeth Pridonoff, who taught me piano performance from a vocal and orchestral perspective, consequently shaping my perceptions of this topic. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge my incredibly supportive wife and family. Their unwavering encouragement has kept me going through the many challenges of my scholastic career. iv

5 Table of Contents Introduction: Mussorgsky s Pictures at an Exhibition, Vocal Literature, and the Music/Text Relationship 1 Chapter 1: Youth Tuileries (Dispute d enfants après jeux) 1.2 Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks Chapter 2: Satire Samuel Goldenberg und Schmuÿl e 2.2 Limoges: The Market Square (The Big News) Chapter 3: Burden Gnomus 3.2 Bydło Chapter 4: Death Il vecchio castello 4.2 Catcombae / Con mortuis in lingua mortua 4.3 The Hut on Hen s Legs (Baba-Yaga) Chapter 5: Transcendence Promenade 5.2 The Bogatyr Gate (At Kiev, the Ancient Capital) Conclusion: Significance of Mussorgsky s Narrative 113 Bibliography 115 v

6 List of Musical Examples Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Tuileries, mm p. 9 Example Mussorgsky, The Nursery, Evening Prayer, mm p. 10 Example Mussorgsky, The Nursery, Evening Prayer, mm p. 10 Example Mussorgsky, The Nursery, The Beetle, mm p. 11 Example Mussorgsky, The Nursery, The Beetle, mm p. 12 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Tuileries, m. 13. p. 12 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Tuileries, m. 26. p. 12 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Tuileries, mm p. 13 Example Mussorgsky, The Nursery, The Beetle, mm p. 13 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Ballet of the Unhatched p. 17 Chicks, mm Example Mussorgsky, The Nursery, Sailor the Cat, mm p. 17 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Ballet of the Unhatched p. 18 Chicks, mm Example Mussorgsky, The Nursery, Sailor the Cat, mm p. 19 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Ballet of the Unhatched p. 20 Chicks, mm Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Limoges, mm p. 23 Example Mussorgsky, You Drunken Sot, mm p. 25 Example Mussorgsky, You Drunken Sot, m. 6. p. 26 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Limoges, m. 3. p. 26 Example Mussorgsky, You Drunken Sot, mm p. 27 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Limoges, m. 13. p. 27 vi

7 Example Mussorgsky, You Drunken Sot, mm p. 28 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Limoges, m. 5. p. 28 Example Mussorgsky, You Drunken Sot, mm p. 29 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Limoges, mm p. 30 Example Mussorgsky, You Drunken Sot, mm p. 30 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Limoges, m. 37. p. 31 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Samuel Goldenberg p. 35 und Schmuÿl e, mm Example Mussorgsky, Marriage, Act I, Scene I, mm p. 36 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Samuel Goldenberg p. 37 und Schmuÿl e, mm Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Samuel Goldenberg p. 38 und Schmuÿl e, m. 17. Example Mussorgsky, Marriage, Act I, Scene I, mm p. 38 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Samuel Goldenberg p. 39 und Schmuÿl e, mm Example Mussorgsky, Marriage, Act I, Scene I, mm p. 39 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Samuel Goldenberg p. 40 und Schmuÿl e, mm Example Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Motive of Guilt. p. 43 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Gnomus, mm p. 43 Example Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Act II, Hallucination Scene, p p. 44 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Gnomus, mm p. 45 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Gnomus, Reduction of p. 45 Primary Motive. Example Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Act II, Hallucination Scene, p p. 46 vii

8 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Gnomus, mm p. 47 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Gnomus, mm p. 47 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Gnomus, mm p. 47 Example Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Act II, Hallucination Scene, p p. 48 Example Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Act II, Hallucination Scene, p p. 48 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Gnomus, mm p. 49 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Bydło, mm p. 54 Example Song of the Volga Boatmen. p. 55 Example Brown s Reduction of Khovansky s Dignity Theme. p. 56 Example Mussorgsky, Khovanshchina, Act I, p. 35. p. 56 Example Brown s Excerpt from Mussorgsky, Khovanshchina, Act I. p. 57 Example Mussorgsky, Khovanshchina, Act V, p p. 58 Example Mussorgsky, On the Dnieper, mm p. 59 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Il vecchio castello, p. 63 mm Example Mussorgsky, Songs and Dances of Death, Serenade, mm p. 66 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Il vecchio castello, p. 67 mm Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Il vecchio castello, p. 67 mm Example Mussorgsky, Songs and Dances of Death, Serenade, mm p. 68 Example Mussorgsky, Songs and Dances of Death, Serenade, mm p. 68 Example Mussorgsky, Songs and Dances of Death, Serenade, mm p. 69 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Il vecchio castello, p. 69 mm viii

9 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Catacombae, mm p. 74 Example Mussorgsky, Sunless, The Idle, Noisy Day Is Over, mm p. 75 Example Mussorgsky, Sunless, The Idle, Noisy Day is Over, mm p. 76 Example Mussorgsky, Sunless, The Idle, Noisy Day is Over, mm p. 77 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Catacombae, mm p. 77 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Con mortuis in lingua p. 78 mortua, mm Example Mussorgsky, Softly the Spirit Flew up to Heaven, mm p. 80 Example Mussorgsky, Sunless, Elegy, mm p. 81 Example Mussorgsky, Sunless, Elegy, mm p. 82 Example Mussorgsky, Sunless, Elegy, mm p. 82 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Con mortuis in lingua p. 83 mortua, mm Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Baba Yaga, mm p. 86 Example Mussorgsky, Songs and Dances of Death, Trepak, mm p. 88 Example Mussorgsky, Songs and Dances of Death, Trepak, mm p. 88 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Baba Yaga, mm p. 89 Example Mussorgsky, Songs and Dances of Death, The Field Marshal, p. 90 mm Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Baba Yaga, mm p. 91 Example Mussorgsky, Songs and Dances of Death, Lullaby, mm p. 92 Example Mussorgsky, Songs and Dances of Death, Lullaby, mm p. 92 Example Mussorgsky, Songs and Dances of Death, Lullaby, mm p. 93 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Baba Yaga, mm p. 93 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Promenade I, mm p. 97 ix

10 Example Da svaty moi. p. 98 Example Russ s Comparison of Promenade and Boris Coronation Scene p. 99 Melodies. Example Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Prologue, Coronation Scene, p. 37. p. 100 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Promenade I, mm p. 100 Example Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Coronation Scene, p. 42. p. 101 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, The Bogatyr Gate, p. 104 mm Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, The Bogatyr Gate, p. 105 mm Example As You Are Baptized in Christ. p. 105 Example Memory Eternal. p. 107 Example Morosan s Excerpt from Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Act IV, p. 108 Scene 1A. Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, The Bogatyr Gate, p. 108 mm Example Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Prologue, pp p. 109 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, The Bogatyr Gate, p. 109 mm Example Wagner, Tristan und Isolde, Act I, Prelude, mm p. 110 Example Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Coronation Scene, p. 32. p. 110 Example Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Coronation Scene, p.33. p. 111 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, The Bogatyr Gate, p. 111 mm x

11 List of Figures Figure Victor Hartmann, Sketch of Theatre Costumes for the Ballet Trilbi. p. 15 Figure Victor Hartmann, Head of a Jew. p. 32 Figure Victor Hartmann, Poor Jew. p. 32 Figure Gnomus, Graphic Representation of the Primary Motive. p. 45 Figure Victor Hartmann, Scene in Périgueux. p. 62 Figure Victor Hartmann, Paris Catacombs. p. 71 Figure Victor Hartmann, Baba-Yaga s Hut on Hen s Legs. p. 85 Figure Victor Hartmann, Design for Kiev City Gate: Main Façade. p. 103 xi

12 Introduction: Mussorgsky s Pictures at an Exhibition, Vocal Literature, and the Music/Text Relationship Compared to Mussorgsky s operatic and song literature, piano music represents a relatively small percentage of his compositional output, and Pictures at an Exhibition is his only extant large-scale solo piano work. As such, the cycle is often treated as an isolated monument apart from his more typical endeavors, and this insulated approach has resulted in somewhat dubious and poorly substantiated assertions about the cycle s expressive content. In order to craft a more reliable and penetrating view of the cycle, this document incorporates evidence from Mussorgsky s vocal music to clarify and challenge long-held beliefs about the work while providing new and alternative meanings for the musical text. There are a substantial number of literary sources which discuss various aspects of Pictures, including examinations of theory, 1 performance, 2 the relation to the artwork of Victor Hartmann, 3 and its role as an orchestrated work. 4 Many other sources provide broad surveys of Mussorgsky s background and compositions, but generally do not involve a thorough exploration 1 Gordon D. McQuere, Analyzing Musorgsky s Gnome, Indiana Theory Review 13, no. 1 (1992): 21 40; Simon Perry, Mussorgsky s Gnomus: Composer s Score as Analytical Text. Context: A Journal of Music Research, no (1998): 5 20; Derrick Puffett, A Graphic Analysis of Musorgsky s Catacombs, Music Analysis 9, no.1 (1990): Chen-Tien Lee, Mussorgsky s Pictures at an Exhibition: An Analytical and Performance Study (DMA thesis, Ohio State University, 1993); David Sutanto, Pictures at an Exhibition: A Performer s Guide Comparing Recorded Performances by Pianists Vladimir Horowitz and Evgeny Kissin (DMA thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2007). 3 Gerald Abraham, The Artist of Pictures from an Exhibition, in Mussorgsky: In Memoriam , ed. Malcolm Brown (Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1982), ; Alfred Frankenstein, Victor Hartmann and Modeste Musorgsky, Musical Quarterly 25 (1939): Jason Klein, Mussorgsky s Pictures at an Exhibition : A Comparative Analysis of Several Orchestrations (DMA thesis, Stanford University, 1980). 1

13 of Pictures. 5 The most comprehensive sources dedicated specifically to the cycle are Michael Russ s Musorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition 6 and Svetlana Nagachevskaya s Pictures at an Exhibition: A Reconciliation of Divergent Perceptions about Mussorgsky s Renowned Cycle. 7 Russ covers pertinent background information, provides a summary of each piece in their respective order, includes chapters on cultural influences and theory analysis, and briefly mentions some connections to folk, church, and operatic music. 8 Nagachevskaya also examines each movement in order, presenting the various perceptions of Western and Russian scholars on this work. The concept of examining various interpretations is also utilized in this document, as I, too, will survey scholarly opinions and research on each movement. My purpose here, however, is to confirm, clarify, or challenge these perceptions with internal evidence found through comparison with vocal scores. There has yet to be a study which systematically examines the relationships between Pictures and the composer s vocal literature. What vocal music provides, however, is an intrinsically direct correlation between music and text, binding the musical devices with more concretely descriptive meaning from the composer. This relationship serves as a basis for identifying the expressive roles associated with specific musical textures, which can then be connected back to the piano cycle. Through exploring parallels between Pictures and 5 David Brown, Musorgsky: His Life and Works (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002); M. D. Calvocoressi, Musorgsky: The Russian Musical Nationalist, trans. A. Eaglefield Hull (New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1919); M. Montagu-Nathan, M. Moussorgsky (New York: Duffield and Company, 1917); Oskar von Riesemann, Moussorgsky, trans. Paul England (New York: Tudor Publishing Co., 1935); Victor Seroff, Modeste Musorgsky (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1968). 6 Michael Russ, Musorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992). 7 Svetlana Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition: A Reconciliation of Divergent Perceptions about Mussorgsky s Renowned Cycle (DMA thesis, University of Arizona, 2009). 8 Russ, Musorgsky,

14 corresponding textures in vocal repertoire, this document by association reveals and validates expressive concepts in Pictures that would otherwise not have textual grounding in the piano cycle alone. Mussorgsky composed Pictures in 1874 in memory of his close friend Victor Hartmann, a talented artist and architect who died suddenly and unexpectedly the year before. Mussorgsky purportedly drew inspiration for his piano cycle of programmatic miniatures from an exhibition of Hartmann s artwork organized by Vladimir Stasov, the Russian critic and ideological advisor to The Mighty Handful. Stasov was also instrumental in the initial publication of Pictures in 1886, five years after the composer s death. Since Mussorgsky left behind little more than the titles and a few notes in the holograph of Pictures, Stasov notated his own thoughts in the score about its programmatic content. He also included scattered comments in letters to Rimsky- Korsakov and Arkady Kerzin, as well as in his biography of Mussorgsky. 9 Scholars often rely on these presumptive descriptions, using them as the basis for their own conjecture about Mussorgsky s expressive meaning. One of the more controversial examples of reliance on Stasov can be found with the opening Promenade movement, which is commonly interpreted as a manifestation of Mussorgsky physically walking through Hartmann s gallery. 10 According to Stasov, it is Mussorgsky himself there as he strolled through the exhibition; joyfully or sadly recalling the talented deceased artist. 11 The scholar Michael Russ writes that it is a portrait of Musorgsky, now of considerable bulk, shambling through the gallery. 12 The biographer David Brown provides even more detail explaining that there is an 9 Ibid., Seroff, Modeste Musorgsky, 143; Riesemann, Moussorgsky, Russ, Musorgsky, Ibid. 3

15 ebb and flow in the phrasing that indicates his gait is subject to constant slight irregularities. 13 As I will establish in this study, there are potent influences from Russian choral heterophony and folk song which inform the texture, as well as strong ties to his operatic repertoire such as the Coronation Scene in Boris Godunov. Moreover, I will examine how the relationship with the following movement Gnomus exemplified by the attacca in the holograph allows for further comparison with Boris, ultimately reflecting the descent from celebration into anxiety and fear. There are also assertions from Stasov and subsequent scholars that may indeed prove suitable, but the problem lies with a lack of substantial evidence for these interpretations. A good example can be seen with the movement Tuileries (Dispute d enfants après jeux). In line with Stasov s description, many agree that Tuileries depicts the playful antics of children in a garden, specifically their taunts of Nyanya. 14 None of them, however, substantiate this claim with musical evidence, which is particularly important since Hartmann s drawing associated with this movement is no longer extant. This document will contextualize Mussorgsky s use of children s themes and the overall expressive role of Tuileries by illustrating specific correlations with excerpts from his song cycle The Nursery. While this research serves to clarify key expressive moments in individual movements, the primary goal is to precisely expose the overarching narrative of Pictures. Each movement of the cycle embodies very distinct qualities of emotion, ultimately expressing a broad yet penetrating amalgamation of life experience. Mussorgsky wrote to the painter Ilya Repin about his expressive ideals while working on Khovanshchina two years prior to composing Pictures: Here s the point: I want to create the people: I sleep and see them, eat and think about them, 13 Brown, Musorgsky, Russ, Musorgsky, 38; Riesemann, Moussorgsky, 291; Brown, Musorgsky,

16 drink and they haunt me an organic unity, immense, not all painted-up and sugar-coated. 15 In this light, the inclusion of his song and operatic literature becomes an imperative considering that so much of it traces this manifold expression of the people. Regarding his song cycles, The Nursery is an exploration of youth, Sunless deals in loneliness and loss, and Songs and Dances of Death depicts various situations in which one is confronted by death. His opera Marriage is based on Gogol s comedic text, Boris Godunov is inspired by Pushkin s dramatic story of the troubled tsar, and Khovanshchina is a nationalist opera about political struggle amidst the rebellion against Peter the Great. This vocal literature contains a wealth of musical textures, which exhibit a wide variety of expression and emotion, and allow for ample comparisons with each of the diverse movements in Pictures in order to clarify their expressive content. In order to highlight this expressive narrative, the chapters of this document are organized into descriptive categories rather than in order of the cycle s movements, classified under concepts of youth, satire, burden, death, and transcendence. The chapter on youth will focus on comparisons with The Nursery. Satire refers to the comedic and caricatured elements of adult life, for which I will examine Marriage and Mussorgsky s song You Drunken Sot from Burden will incorporate movements involving a heavy and tortured state of mind, concepts that permeate the operas Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina. Each movement in the chapter on death will not necessarily involve the explicit ending of life, but through comparisons with Songs and Dances of Death and Sunless, I will draw connections to this topic. As the final commentary on these explorations of human existence, transcendence represents what lies beyond everyday struggles and trivialities. This chapter will include a variety of comparisons, including the Coronation Scene of Boris and the Russian Orthodox chant Memory Eternal. 15 Vladimir Morosan, Folk and Chant Elements in Musorgsky s Choral Writing, in Mussorgsky: In Memoriam , ed. Malcolm Hamrick Brown (Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1982), 97. 5

17 Admittedly, the idea that Mussorgsky s Pictures is an exploration of life is not an entirely novel concept. The issue, however, lies in the fact that the details of its expressive content are often defined solely through Mussorgsky s titles, Stasov s descriptions, and the few remaining sketches from Victor Hartmann where a connection is presumed. This document provides a new approach to defining this content by cross-relating musical concepts from vocal literature to the texture of Pictures, grounding the interpretations in Mussorgsky own compositional language. I will shed new light on the musical text of Pictures by systematically exploring and substantiating the expressive content of the cycle with a more holistic approach than has been previously afforded to this work. 6

18 Chapter One Youth There are two movements in Pictures that are infused with images of youth, representing the playful and uninhibited end of Mussorgsky s expressive spectrum within the cycle. Tuileries (Dispute d enfants après jeux) is alive with the sounds of spirited children, and Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks expresses the newfound life of baby chickens. As we will see, the interpretations of these movements have largely been based on the inferred meaning of their titles, Stasov s notes, which merely provide his personal thoughts, and the artwork from the 1874 exhibition in commemoration of Hartmann. This is, of course, problematic as the titles provide limited connotations, Stasov s notes are inherently unreliable as a source, and there is also debate over aspects of the original artwork. In order to accurately define the content of Tuileries and Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks, I will turn to The Nursery, Mussorgsky s song cycle composed prior to Pictures between the years of 1868 and Not only is The Nursery an excellent resource for attaining a sense of how Mussorgsky depicts youth and imitates the sounds of children in his music, but also there are specific ties to Hartmann. Mussorgsky dedicated the second song from The Nursery, In the Corner, to Hartmann, who was so taken with the composer s work that he planned a stage setting for the entire cycle. 1 Although this theatrical production did not come to fruition, the cycle itself serves as a window into Mussorgsky s varied expressions of youth in music. I will first survey the information and research on these two movements from Pictures, then examine specific motives and textures that have garnered debate over their expressive meaning. By exploring similar 1 Alfred Frankenstein, Victor Hartmann and Modeste Musorgsky, Musical Quarterly 25 (1939),

19 motives in The Nursery, I will establish their meaning within a texted framework and then infer analogous meaning in the piano cycle. 1.1 Tuileries (Dispute d enfants après jeux) In his notes to the 1886 edition of Pictures, Stasov writes that this movement represents a walk in the garden of the Tuileries with a group of children and nurses. 2 Alfred Frankenstein identifies the original drawing in the 1874 exhibition catalogue as No. 33, entitled Jardin des Tuileries. 3 Oskar von Riesemann claims, Hartmann s picture shows a walk in the Tuileries gardens in Paris, crowded with playing children and their nurses. 4 On the other hand, Victor Seroff describes the picture as Hartmann s pencil drawing of one corner of a garden, deserted, and without children. 5 Michael Russ avoids speculation on the original artwork, simply writing that the Hartmann picture for this movement is now lost. 6 Despite the uncertainty over the source of inspiration for Mussorgsky s Tuileries, most scholars agree with Stasov that there are indeed lively children depicted in this movement. Mussorgsky imitates the children s spirited rollicking through playfully uplifting rhythms and articulations, appropriately marked capriccioso (see Example 1.1.1). 2 Ibid., Ibid. 4 Oskar von Riesemann, Moussorgsky, trans. Paul England (New York: Tudor Publishing Co., 1935), Victor Seroff, Modeste Musorgsky (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1968), Michael Russ, Musorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), 38. 8

20 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Tuileries, mm More specifically, Rosa Newmarch claims that the two-note drooping figures in the melody represent the children s taunts of Nyanya, Nyanya ( Nanny, Nanny ). 7 David Brown writes that the sixteenth notes that follow in m. 2 mimic competing appeals for Nanny s support, 8 while Russ believes that they merely create a generally playful atmosphere. 9 Surprisingly, none of these interpretations are accompanied by evidence from Hartmann s original artwork or specific musical examples from other works. For the most part, these statements rely on presumptive interpretations of the title, Stasov s description, and conjecture about the lost painting. Without a Hartmann picture or compete text from Mussorgsky to describe the scene, we must turn to the composer s vocal repertoire for a defensible interpretation. In the fifth song of The Nursery, Evening Prayer, Mussorgsky opens with a piano accompaniment that utilizes a very similar pattern to the beginning of Tuileries (see Example 1.1.2). 7 Quoted in David Brown, Musorgsky: His Life and Works (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), Ibid. 9 Russ, Musorgsky, 39. 9

21 Example Mussorgsky, The Nursery, Evening Prayer, mm Mussorgsky evokes a child-like image in both pieces by constructing their scenes with a similar texture, range, tempo, and rhythm, while utilizing the same common-time meter and piano dynamic. As in Tuileries, the opening motive of Evening Prayer consists of a quarter note slurred to an eighth note followed by an eighth rest. We also find the same interval of a falling minor third in the piano accompaniment from A-flat4 to F4, which is subsequently imitated by the child s voice descending from D-flat5 to B-flat4, and E-flat5 to C5. This gesture of falling intervals is found throughout the song, such as in mm. 28 and 29 when the child calls out Nyanya (see Example 1.1.3). Example Mussorgsky, The Nursery, Evening Prayer, mm

22 Despite the striking musical similarities between Tuileries and Evening Prayer, the expressive and narrative setting is admittedly different. The third song of The Nursery, The Beetle, provides an appropriately energetic context, depicting the child s excitement over discovering a little black bug while playing outside (see Example 1.1.4). Example Mussorgsky, The Nursery, The Beetle, mm The enthusiastic piano part ushers in the child shouting Nanny, Nanny, guess what happened, Nanny dearest! 10 We again see a focus on narrow falling intervals to depict the child s voice, specifically the calls of Nyanya. Additionally, the running eighth-note patterns capture the child s impatient excitement to get Nanny s attention to tell the story, much like Brown had suggested for the eighth notes in Tuileries. When the child begins to describe the insect, we hear in the piano part a series of twonote slurs in the right hand combined with chromatic runs in the left hand, some in the form of rising four-note motives as well as longer runs stretching up and down the octave (see Example 1.1.5). 10 Laurence Richter, Mussorgsky s Complete Song Texts: Russian Texts of the Complete Songs of Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (Geneseo, NY: Leyerle, 2002),

23 Example Mussorgsky, The Nursery, The Beetle, mm In Tuileries, we can find similar two-note slurs alongside rising four-note chromatic motives, as well as longer runs employing chromaticism (see Examples and 1.1.7). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Tuileries, m. 13. Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Tuileries, m. 26. In The Beetle (Example 1.1.4), we see expressive markings and hairpins for both the piano and voice parts, as well as a sforzando in m. 27. Although there are no dynamic shapes or accents notated in Tuileries, the performer may wish to add them to further depict the excitement of the children. 12

24 For the B section of Tuileries, some scholars propose that the energy of the children becomes subdued and physical motion is restrained, perhaps because of the change in rhythmic figuration and compressed range of the left hand (see Example 1.1.8). Russ speculates that the children adopt an attitude of mock contrition, 11 and Vladimir Ashkenazy claims that this section sounds best when performed meno mosso, 12 although neither provide an explanation nor supporting evidence. Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Tuileries, mm In The Beetle, the musical energy decreases when the child explains, I hid, Nanny, and sat very still, afraid to even budge 13 (see Example 1.1.9). Example Mussorgsky, The Nursery, The Beetle, mm Russ, Musorgsky, ), x. 12 Vladimir Ashkenazy, Preface to Bilder einer Ausstellung by Modest Mussorgsky (Vienna: Wiener Urtext, 13 Richter, Mussorgsky s Complete Song Texts,

25 In both examples we find slow rhythmic figuration, chromaticism in the melody and bass, and harmonic thirds employed as accompaniment. We also can find Ashkenazy s suggested meno mosso in the tempo marking of The Beetle. Although Russ states that the B section in Tuileries does not inherently provide a strong contrast to the A material, 14 the pianist may wish to infuse this passage with similar elements from The Beetle to show a change of energy, dropping to a lower dynamic, slowing the motion, and perhaps adding similar hairpins to depict the child s attempts to contain anxiety before bursting out again later in the piece. While there is debate over whether or not Hartmann s drawing actually contained children, we can see by comparison with The Nursery that in Tuileries it is important for the pianist to create the physical excitement of boisterous children as well as evoke their speech patterns in order to bring this movement to its fullest realization. Although Mussorgsky marks the tempo Allegretto non troppo, it is vital to perform this movement with plenty of energy and excitement in order to communicate the enthusiastic and impish nature of the children. In a letter to Arkady Kerzin, Stasov lists metronome markings for each of the movements in Pictures. These were supposedly given to him by Rimsky-Korsakov who had heard Mussorgsky himself perform the cycle. 15 Tuileries is marked at 144 to the quarter note, much faster than one might presume for Allegretto. A pianist would likely choose a somewhat slower tempo to maintain clarity and avoid a frantic sound in this movement, but as Ashkenazy writes, Children argue when they argue and really run when they run.these passages should be full of energy, descriptive of running children rather than of a prim Sunday school outing Russ, Musorgsky, Quoted in Frankenstein, Victor Hartmann and Modeste Musorgsky, Ashkenazy, Preface to Bilder einer Ausstellung, x. 14

26 1.2 Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks Stasov writes that Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks is based on a little picture by Hartmann for the setting of a picturesque scene in the ballet Trilbi. 17 In a 1903 letter to Kerzin, he further explains that in 1870 Hartman designed the costumes for the staging of the ballet Trilbi at the Maryinsky Theatre, St Petersburg. In the cast were a number of boy and girl pupils from the theatre school, arrayed as canaries. Others were dressed up as eggs. 18 Frankenstein tells us that Hartmann s sketch was No. 224 in the catalogue, described as canary-chicks, enclosed in eggs as in suits of armor. Instead of a head-dress, canary heads, put on like helmets, down to the neck 19 (see Figure 1.2.1). Figure Victor Hartmann, Sketch of Theatre Costumes for the Ballet Trilbi. Regarding the music for this movement of Pictures, many scholars focus on the pantomimic and graphic qualities they hear in Mussorgsky s scene. According to Svetlana Nagachevskaya, Alfred Schnittke describes the scene as depicting the embryonic life of 17 Frankenstein, Victor Hartmann and Modeste Musorgsky, Quoted in Russ, Musorgsky, Frankenstein, Victor Hartmann and Modeste Musorgsky,

27 unhatched chicks, 20 while Feodor Lopouhov interprets that the chicks do emerge to perform their ballet dance. 21 Brown describes the movement as a cute scherzino, displaying musical similarity to the trio from Chernomor s March in Glinka s Ruslan and Lyudmila. 22 Riesemann similarly refers to it as a Scherzino of the greatest charm, 23 and Montagu-Nathan describes the piece as daintiness itself. 24 In his biography of Mussorgsky, Arsenii Golenishchev- Kutuzov actually misunderstood this piece to be about kittens, perhaps misled by its Scherzino quality. 25 The concept of this movement, however, goes beyond the imitation of generalized cuteness or even the ballet dancing from Hartmann s drawing. Mussorgsky transports us directly into the newfound life of baby chicks with a number of clever devices. One feature is that the entire movement is written in the treble register for both hands, placing the music in the appropriate range for tiny birds. In addition, the dynamics are pianissimo and pianississimo throughout most of the movement, with the una corda pedal requested at the beginning. The combination of playing so quietly in a high register allows the pianist to create a very light and playful sound characteristic of squawking newborn chicks. Moreover, Mussorgsky adds to their character by employing an abundance of grace note appoggiaturas throughout (see Example 1.2.1). 20 Alfred Schnittke, Kartinki s vïstavki M. P. Musorgskogo (Opït analiza), Voprosïmuzïkoznaniya 1 ( ), 340; quoted in Svetlana Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition: A Reconciliation of Divergent Perceptions about Mussorgsky s Renowned Cycle (DMA thesis, University of Arizona, 2009), Quoted in Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition, Brown, Musorgsky, Riesemann, Moussorgsky, M. Montagu-Nathan, Moussorgsky (New York: Duffield and Company, 1917), Alexandra Orlova, Musorgsky Remembered, trans. Véronique Zaytzeff and Frederick Morrison (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1991),

28 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks, mm Russ proposes that the percussive high piano sounds imitate the chicks tapping to break their shells, 26 and Nagachevskaya relates the alternations between stable F-major tonic chords and unstable German augmented sixth chords to the rocking eggs of the chicks. 27 In order to obtain a defensible perspective on the expressive purpose of these musical gestures, we may again turn to Mussorgsky s song cycle The Nursery for comparison. Sailor the Cat, the seventh song of the cycle, depicts a child attempting to prevent the cat Sailor from catching the family canary. When the chirping of the bird is referenced in the lyrics, it is also reflected in the piano accompaniment with a similar use of grace notes (see Example 1.2.2). Example Mussorgsky, The Nursery, Sailor the Cat, mm Russ, Musorgsky, Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition,

29 In Sailor the Cat we find the same type of grace note in the same range, articulated downward from a step above the principal note. It follows that the grace notes in Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks represent the chirping of the birds after they have come into life, rather than the tapping against their shells before emerging. In mm of Chicks, Mussorgsky employs a running eighth-note passage in the left hand with grace notes interjected by the right hand, crescendoing toward a martellato accent (see Example 1.2.3). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks, mm Nagachevskaya conjectures that the ascending left-hand passages depict a mother hen hurrying to help her hatching chicks. 28 Consistent with this image, Ashkenazy suggests that a small accelerando in these measures can work well for performance. 29 To clarify this, we can find a similar texture in Sailor the Cat as the narrative also builds to its climax. Mussorgsky depicts the child s defense of the bird by dropping to a pianissimo dynamic, employing steady eighth 28 Ibid. 29 Ashkenazy, Preface to Bilder einer Ausstellung, xii. 18

30 notes in the left hand with grace-note appoggiaturas in the right hand, and gradually crescendoing into a martellato accent, all of which is scored in the treble register (see Example 1.2.4). Example Mussorgsky, The Nursery, Sailor the Cat, mm In this light, the idea of a protective hen seems plausible for Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks, and it would be appropriate to include Ashkenazy s suggested accelerando as we find in this passage of Sailor the Cat. In addition to the copious use of grace notes throughout Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks, Mussorgsky also notates trills in the upper voice of the trio section, a gesture of characterization not found in Sailor the Cat (see Example 1.2.5). 19

31 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks, mm The trills could be interpreted physically from a dance perspective as the shuffling feet of the baby chicks, or as Russ suggests, their tiny fluffy feathers as they totter around. 30 As we have identified with the grace notes, however, it is possible that the trills also represent the vocal characteristics of the birds rather than just their physical motions. When approached from a vocal standpoint, the pianist can exploit this device to create a realistic tweeting sound. Although Mussorgsky deems this piece a ballet, the expression extends well beyond the dance-like character of his music. In this movement, the pianist must take advantage of Mussorgsky s various compositional tools and his specific score markings, not merely to recreate cute dancing or attempt to render Hartmann s image, but to bring the chicks to life by giving them a voice in their exciting moment of birth. As we find in The Nursery, Mussorgsky s music in both Tuileries and Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks is not merely atmospheric but contains the visceral elements of youth. We hear the children s voices, feel their playfulness, and sense their emotions of joy, worry, happiness, and sadness. These are the elements that must also be brought to the instrumental music of Pictures in order for the pianist to communicate the whole story. Mussorgsky not only 30 Russ, Musorgsky,

32 utilizes this vibrant compositional style to illustrate the early stages of life, but we also see him including amusing textures and spirited rhythms to depict satirical scenes from adulthood. When viewing the movements in this order, we see a transition from youth into the rather comical side of later life, as if the adults are still merely grown-up children. I will again examine similarities with Mussorgsky s vocal literature to gain perspective on correlate musical textures. 21

33 Chapter Two Satire The first satirical movement in Pictures I will examine is Limoges: The Market Place (The Big News), which portrays a cacophonous scene of ridiculous gossip and chatter. The other movement is Samuel Goldenberg und Schmuÿl e, representing a caricature of the interaction between the rich and poor (the figurative bully on the playground pushing around the wimp). To define the specific qualities of satire within these movements, I will draw comparisons with two of Mussorgsky s comedic vocal works: his song You Drunken Sot from 1866 and his unfinished opera The Marriage. On one hand, it is commonly accepted that the musical texture of Limoges chiefly portrays the laughing and shouting of women. As I will show through comparisons to You Drunken Sot, this understanding of the narrative elements in Limoges is, in fact, appropriate. But in addition to substantiating the suggested program, my comparison will aid in defining specific moments in the musical text. Samuel Goldenberg und Schmuÿl e, on the other hand, is surrounded by different schools of commentary. There are those who feel that this movement is a sincere drama, and others who view it as a comedy, either positively or negatively. By drawing connections to Mussorgsky s comedic opera The Marriage, I will highlight the satirical aspects and begin to clarify its content. 22

34 2.1 Limoges: The Market Place (The Big News) According to Stasov, Limoges: The Market Place (The Big News) depicts French women furiously disputing in the market place. 1 Stasov also writes: Hartmann spent a fairly long time in the French town [Limoges] in 1866, executing many architectural sketches and genre pictures. The musical version of this sketch [illustrates] the crowd shrieking, disputing, chattering and quarrelling in the market place. 2 Reflecting this quarrelsome atmosphere, Limoges is one of the more pianistically exciting movements of the cycle, full of bustling staccatos, sforzandos, and subito dynamic shifts, all framed within an unrelenting sixteenth-note motor rhythm (see Example 2.1.1). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Limoges, mm Limoges is also one of the rare movements where Mussorgsky notated some of his thoughts in the holograph. He invented two stories about The Big News of Limoges, one depicting conversational chatter about a lost cow and the other describing shallow gossip over disparate topics including the same cow, the women of Limoges, false teeth, and an evidently 1 Alfred Frankenstein, Victor Hartmann and Modeste Musorgsky, Musical Quarterly 25 (1939), Michael Russ, Musorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992),

35 inebriated man. Mussorgsky ultimately rejected these stories and crossed them out, but they are a valuable insight into the expressive inclinations of this piece: The Big News: Monsieur Pimpant from Panta-Pantaléon has just recovered his cow the one that ran away. Yes, Madame, that was yesterday. No, Madame, it was the day before yesterday. Well, Madame, the cow was astray in the neighbourhood. No, Madame, the cow was not astray at all. The Big News: Monsieur de Puissangeout has found his cow Runaway. But the good women of Limoges will have nothing whatsoever to do with this incident because M me de Remboursac has acquired very fine porcelain dentures, while on the other hand M r de Panta-Pantaléon s obtrusive nose obstinately remains as red as a peony. 3 Frankenstein questions Stasov s original program notes for this movement, writing that Mussorgsky s stories about the women hardly suggest their furiously disputing. 4 Furthermore, he claims that none of the catalogue s seventy-five drawings from Limoges actually involve a market place or women in the market place. 5 Brown writes that such a precise scenario was meaningless in what is manifestly a crowd picture of lively but generalized busy-ness, 6 and Russ similarly claims that the story itself is of no consequence.we still depend utterly on the title to understand it. 7 Montagu-Nathan criticizes the music itself, writing that it is one of the movements that are somewhat too formal for their purpose. 8 Further confusion comes from Seroff, who asserts that Mussorgsky himself wrote to Stasov that this 1984), xvii. 3 Vladimir Ashkenazy, Preface to Bilder einer Ausstellung by Modest Mussorgsky (Vienna: Wiener Urtext, 4 Frankenstein, Victor Hartmann and Modeste Musorgsky, Ibid. 6 David Brown, Musorgsky: His Life and Works (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), Russ, Musorgsky, M. Montagu-Nathan, Moussorgsky (New York: Duffield and Company, 1917),

36 movement depicts gossips at the market, 9 but this letter was in fact from Stasov to Rimsky- Korsakov. 10 Admittedly, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to integrate the literal production of Mussorgsky s detailed stories into the pianistic delivery of Limoges. We can, however, defend Mussorgsky s musical text and clarify certain expressive moments by turning again to his song literature. In light of his reference to the red-nosed Monseiur de Panta-Pantaléon, it seems appropriate to draw a comparison with Mussorgsky s song You Drunken Sot from Through the use of turbulent rhythms, chaotic harmonies, and wild dynamic shifts and articulations, the song depicts a peasant woman in a tirade against her drunken husband 11 (see Example 2.1.2). Example Mussorgsky, You Drunken Sot, mm Victor Seroff, Modeste Musorgsky (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1968), Jay Leyda and Sergei Bertensson, The Musorgsky Reader: A Life of Modeste Petrovich Musorgsky in Letters and Documents (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1947), Brown, Musorgsky,

37 The major prevailing characteristic shared by both Limoges and You Drunken Sot is the driving motor rhythm to establish the relentless commotion of their scenes. Both introductions consist of repeated chords, beginning in a loud dynamic as if to demand attention and then dropping down as the characters attempt to contain their impatience. In addition, the texture of You Drunken Sot frequently involves broken phrasing and discordant harmonies layered with sforzandi, such as the descending intervals in m. 6 as the wife reprimands her husband. We can hear a comparable texture in m. 3 of Limoges, creating a similar nagging effect (compare Examples and 2.1.4). Example Mussorgsky, You Drunken Sot, m. 6. Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Limoges, m. 3. In comparing the melodies, we also hear that the strong beats outline appoggiaturas resolving by step. In this light, it appears that Limoges does, in fact, contain elements of people furiously disputing, and we may view these sforzandi as the shouts of the chattering women from Mussorgsky s story. Nagachevskaya claims that this passage is actually representative of 26

38 laughter, although she does not provide any evidence. 12 For a defensible assessment, there is a passage of laughter in You Drunken Sot with which we can draw a parallel to Limoges (compare Examples and 2.1.6). Example Mussorgsky, You Drunken Sot, mm Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Limoges, mm. 13. Mussorgsky creates the woman s laughter in You Drunken Sot through a persistent use of driving repetition and the interjection of sforzandi chords. More specifically, the right-hand piano part begins with a repeating harmonic major second and subsequently opens to a minor third. In Limoges, we likewise find a repeating major second in the right-hand part opening to a repeating minor third, interrupted by sforzandi chords. It is therefore more likely that this particular passagework in Limoges is representative of women s laughter, than the sforzandi found in m. 3 as Nagachevskaya suggests. 12 Svetlana Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition: A Reconciliation of Divergent Perceptions about Mussorgsky s Renowned Cycle (DMA thesis, University of Arizona, 2009),

39 We find additional oddly placed sforzandi throughout both pieces, such as the descending vocal part in You Drunken Sot when the wife demands: Well, what are you ogling at? Why do you just stand there a like a stump? 13 (see Example 2.1.7). Example Mussorgsky, You Drunken Sot, mm There is a passage in Limoges with very similar characteristics, perhaps also exhibiting the women s impatience for a response (see Example 2.1.8). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Limoges, m. 5. Both excerpts contain two sforzandi on strong beats and two that are placed on weak beats. Additionally, their melodic contours descend in small phrases, including turnarounds, which interrupt the downward motion. Another striking similarity between Limoges and You Drunken Sot can be heard in their climaxes. In You Drunken Sot, the energy peaks as the wife promises to get the truth out: 13 Laurence Richter, Mussorgsky s Complete Song Texts: Russian Texts of the Complete Songs of Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (Geneseo, NY: Leyerle, 2002),

40 Your wifey will untie your tongue!...it will tell us all about shameless you, about you, the shameless husband, the old good-for-nothing! 14 (see Example 2.1.9). Example Mussorgsky, You Drunken Sot, mm Here we find an emphasis on repeated notes and syncopated chords, peaking on a fortissimo dynamic, and then dropping away with repeated notes in the right hand as the wife cools down and prepares for another bout. The climax of Limoges also involves syncopated chords and accents, crescendoing into fortissimo and pulling back down as the right hand executes repeating notes (see Example ). 14 Ibid,

41 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Limoges, mm As in You Drunken Sot, the climax in Limoges may, in fact, represent the women s exasperation in trying to reveal all the juicy details of their gossip. The ending of Limoges is more ambiguous, taking the form of a coda and transitioning with a subito attacca into the next movement. To draw on some interpretive ideas, it is helpful to examine the end of You Drunken Sot, where the wife is completely fed up and exclaims: You re sinful, miserable, disgraceful, ridiculous! Get out of my sight, damn you! 15 (see Example ). Example Mussorgsky, You Drunken Sot, mm Ibid.,

42 Here Mussorgsky employs cacophonous alternations between the hands of the piano part to create the intensity of the scene. In Limoges, he uses a very similar effect of a raucous alternating of hands in the finale, also within a fortissimo dynamic (see Example ). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Limoges, m. 37. Instead of viewing the coda of Limoges as merely a transition, the pianist may wish to evoke an exasperated effect, using the final attacca into the following movement as a way of slamming the door on everything that has previously transpired in the movement. Although Limoges is one of the most technically challenging movements of the set, there is no empty virtuosity. Every note propels the scene forward with a variety of articulations and accent placement that illuminates the story. One can hear the rising figures as the women bubble with excitement to break the big news, biting sforzandi as they interrupt one another and quibble, and vigorous repeated figures as they laugh at each other s tales. After establishing these elements of characterization, the pianist will be liberated from approaching this movement as a rapid toccata or show piece and can instead recreate an amusing scene of daily life. 31

43 2.2 Samuel Goldenberg und Schmuÿl e Stasov s notes tell us that Samuel Goldenberg und Schmuÿl e depicts two Polish Jews, one rich, the other poor. 16 Frankenstein writes that the music was inspired by two of Hartmann s pencil drawings, listed in the exhibition as No. 176 ( A rich Jew wearing a fur hat: Sandomir ) and No. 177 ( A poor Sandomir Jew ). 17 According to the catalogue, these drawings were property of Mussorgsky. They were evidently given as a gift from Hartmann, but the drawings are now lost. 18 There are, however, two surviving Hartmann watercolors of Jewish figures, which are often substituted for the missing originals that inspired Mussorgsky (see Figures and 2.2.2). Figure Victor Hartmann, Head of a Jew. Figure Victor Hartmann, Poor Jew. Regarding the music for this movement, there is significant debate over the expressive purpose of Mussorgsky s scene. Nagachevskaya writes: Western and Russian scholars could be divided in two groups: one group claims that this piece is a caricature or a grotesquerie. The other, rather merciful, group states that this piece is about a personal tragedy that reveals a deep 16 Frankenstein, Victor Hartmann and Modeste Musorgsky, Ibid. 18 Ibid. 32

44 social drama. 19 Richard Taruskin has offered one of the more controversial statements, claiming that it is a blatant example of Mussorgsky s extreme anti-semitism. Taruskin describes this movement as a distasteful portrayal of two loathsome Jewish mugs. 20 He writes that Mussorgsky distinguished between the proud biblical yevrei Jews and the contemptible zhid in his music, who embodied nothing more than petulance, rootlessness, and greed. 21 He emphasizes that the correct transcription of the title contains quotation marks around Samuel and Schmuÿle: The use of the quotation marks points up the fact that the two zhidy have the same first name: one Germanized and the other Yiddish. They are in fact one zhid, not two. The portrayal is a brazen insult: no matter how dignified or sophisticated or Europeanized a zhid s exterior, on the inside he is a jabbering, pestering little Schmuÿle. 22 David Brown responds to Taruskin s analysis, arguing that this interpretation is implausible. He notes that Mussorgsky maintained very distinct musical identities for these characters throughout the movement, and that there is no reason to believe the composer would suddenly take a contemptuous angle when he so often presented specimens of humanity in its less attractive forms without ever hinting at a moral posture. 23 Brown maintains that the quotations were used merely for clarifying the very different socio-cultural statuses of his personae Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition, ), Richard Taruskin, Musorgsky: Eight Essays and an Epilogue (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 21 Ibid., Ibid., Brown, Musorgsky, Ibid. 33

45 There are indeed instances where one can find anti-semitism in Mussorgsky s letters as Taruskin cites, 25 but there is also evidence of his genuine interest and respect for the Jewish people. In a letter to Stasov, Mussorgsky writes about his interaction with Jewish music and culture, both the biblical and the everyday: On the steamer from Odessa to Sevastopol I wrote down Greek and Jewish songs, as sung by some women, and I sang the latter with them myself. In Odessa, I went to holy services at two synagogues, and was in raptures. I shall never forget these! 26 In another letter to Stasov regarding the composition of Pictures, Mussorgsky makes special note of the Sandomir drawings for this movement: I should like to add Vityushka s [Hartmann s] Jews. 27 According to Stasov, Mussorgsky was most delighted with the expressiveness of these pictures. 28 Mussorgsky s respect for these drawings, as well as his intention to incorporate more than one Jewish portrait into the music, falls in line with Brown s argument for the integrity of two separate characters rather than a demeaning conflation of one loathsome zhid. The texture of the opening passage in this movement, commonly understood as a depiction of the rich Goldenberg lecturing the deprived Schmuÿle, exemplifies the distinctive qualities of an operatic recitative. Rather than balanced lyricism, we find a very speech-like texture that is doubled in both parts without accompaniment. It is full of assertive rhythm and abundant rests in a declamatory style, laden with a wide variety of articulations. Already in these first four measures we find numerous tenutos, staccatos, sforzandos, and irregular slurs, all of 25 Taruskin, Musorgsky, Leyda and Bertensson, The Musorgsky Reader, Ibid., Alexandra Orlova, Musorgsky s Days and Works: A Biography in Documents, trans. Roy Guenther (Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Research Press, 1983),

46 which provide an ample palette for emulating Goldenberg s bold speech patterns (see Example 2.2.1). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Samuel Goldenberg und Schmuÿl e, mm We can better establish these qualities of speech imitation by turning to Mussorgsky s unfinished opera Marriage, a comedy begun in 1868, six years prior to Pictures. Mussorgsky writes that his work on Marriage is the exercise of a musician, or rather a nonmusician, desirous of studying and mastering the flexes of human speech. 29 In the opening of the opera, the main character Podkolyosin is lying on a divan, smoking his pipe, and delivering a hypocritical monologue about the importance of getting married 30 (see Example 2.2.2). 29 Taruskin, Musorgsky, Ibid.,

47 Example Mussorgsky, Marriage, Act I, Scene I, mm Podkolyosin is wealthy and presumptuous like Goldenberg, and his recitative employs numerous compositional devices that are also utilized in Goldenberg s speech. In both examples we find abundant rests, reflecting the breath and dramatic pauses of the characters as they take time to clearly articulate their arrogant moralizing. Like Goldenberg, Podkolyosin speaks with crisp dotted rhythms in mm. 8 and 11, infusing an air of assertiveness into the text. Both speakers even conclude their phrases with the same interval of a falling major third. From this comparison, it seems plausible that in Pictures an overconfident Goldenberg is indeed lecturing Schmuÿle, and there is an element of the comical involved. We also find numerous augmented seconds in Goldenberg s theme, which Taruskin argues is Mussorgsky s way of representing the unbecoming qualities of the zhidy. 31 Schmuÿle s main theme, however, contains no augmented seconds that would identify him in this way (see Example 2.2.3). 31 Ibid.,

48 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Samuel Goldenberg und Schmuÿl e, mm Although this character supposedly represents the true loathsome nature of Goldenberg, the essence of the theme is a slow and simple harmonic rhythm sinking downward. The right-hand pattern does create a shaking effect in the sound, which Taruskin describes as jabbering and pestering, 32 but this could also be interpreted as the genuine discomfort of the dejected Schmuÿl e. Russ interprets this motive as his teeth chattering or his body trembling, 33 and likewise Ashkenazy refers to it as the poor man s trembling. 34 Nagachevskaya takes a more figurative approach, hearing it as his nervousness and severe emotional discomfort. 35 Pierre d Alheim writes that Schmuÿle moves quaintly, tries to catch the other s eye, begs, 36 and Riesemann explains that he does this without making the slightest impression on 32 Ibid., Russ, Musorgsky, Ashkenazy, Preface to Bilder einer Ausstellung, xii. 35 Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition, Quoted in M. D. Calvocoressi, Musorgsky: The Russian Musical Nationalist, trans. A. Eaglefield Hull (New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1919),

49 his partner. 37 There is, however, a passage from Schmuÿle which hints at the bolder qualities of Goldenberg (see Example 2.2.4). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Samuel Goldenberg und Schmuÿl e, m. 17. At first glance, this may appear to be a sign of conflation of the two characters as Schmuÿl e assimilates some of Goldenberg s brash nature, showing two sides of the same coin as in Taruskin s analysis. It could, however, be a candid moment of frustration for Schmuÿle as Goldenberg continues to ignore his appeals. Indeed, we can find a similar outburst in Marriage when Podkolyosin s servant Stepan becomes irritated with his master (see Example 2.2.5). Example Mussorgsky, Marriage, Act I, Scene I, mm After Schmuÿle s resistant outcry, Goldenberg engages him in a heated argument, represented by the juxtaposition of their themes (see Example 2.2.6). 37 Oskar von Riesemann, Moussorgsky, trans. Paul England (New York: Tudor Publishing Co., 1935),

50 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Samuel Goldenberg und Schmuÿl e, mm The agitation is not only evident in the intensity of the octaves, but the sense of pulse as well. When Goldenberg was speaking by himself, his theme embodied a confident and patient demeanor. When placed alongside against Schmuÿle s theme, we feel the intensity of every beat, and Goldenberg begins to display additional accents that were not present in the beginning. We find a similar development in the beginning of Marriage. When Podkolyosin begins to feel the anxiety that the thought of marriage has aroused in the confirmed old bachelor, 38 the accents become more active compared to the beginning, shifting from larger phrases around half-note beats to emphasizing more of the quarter beats (see Example 2.2.7). Example Mussorgsky, Marriage, Act I, Scene I, mm Taruskin, Musorgsky,

51 By the end of Samuel Goldenberg und Schmuÿl e, the two characters are given separate melodies once again. Schmuÿle gives his final pleas, and Goldenberg rejects him with sforzandi interruptions and a haughty fortissimo ending (see Example 2.2.8). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Samuel Goldenberg und Schmuÿl e, mm As we can hear from Mussorgsky s exaggeration of various musical elements, as well as comparisons with the comedic setting of Marriage, this movement indeed contains elements of satire. Although there is disagreement as to the intent of this caricature, an enduring view of the movement involves one character hectoring the other. In Marriage the wealthy and entitled Podkolyosin speaks with an arrogant tone about how one should live life, and based on the similarities to Goldenberg s musical characteristics, we can infer that Goldenberg is, in fact, a figure of ridiculous pomp. Although Schmuÿle is the poor man on the receiving end of this rant, we hear that he is not simply a pathetic and weak figure, but he exposes his daring side much like Stepan. It is important that the pianist convey these theatrical elements of the scene, bringing the characters to life by recreating their melodramatic dialogue, expressive interaction, and exaggerated demeanor. 40

52 Chapter Three Burden After surveying the more lighthearted sides of life with themes of youth and satire, I will move into the movements of Pictures that reflect the hardships of life, embodying heavy struggle and emotional discomfort. With the theme of burden, Mussorgsky shows us that adversities are unavoidable and life can become severe. There are two movements in particular from Pictures that are saturated with anxiety, encumbrance, and struggle. This chapter will challenge the commonplace assumptions about these movements by probing into their underlying psychology through comparisons with Mussorgsky s operatic and song literature. The first movement is Gnomus, traditionally understood as a representation of a disfigured dwarf, but I will question this assessment through comparisons with Mussorgsky s opera Boris Godunov. The other movement is Bydło, which is commonly translated as Cattle, but again I will challenge this interpretation by relating it to his opera Khovanshchina and his song On the Dnieper. 3.1 Gnomus In his notes Stasov writes, A drawing representing a little gnome walking awkwardly on deformed legs. 1 In one of his letters, he further explains, This gnome is a child s plaything, fashioned after Hartman s design [for a nutcracker] in wood, for the Christmas tree at the Artists Club. 2 Frankenstein writes that the design was No. 239 in the catalogue, but both the 1 Alfred Frankenstein, Victor Hartmann and Modeste Musorgsky, Musical Quarterly 25 (1939), Michael Russ, Musorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992),

53 nutcracker and the drawing have disappeared. 3 Without these items, Stasov s description has been the primary basis for interpreting this movement. Riesemann concurs that it is a representation of a dwarf who waddles with awkward steps on his short, bandy legs; the grotesque jumps of the music, and the clumsy, crawling movements with which these are interspersed, are forcibly suggestive. 4 Russ also views the music as depicting the awkward gait and the frequent stumbles of the gnome, 5 and Montagu-Nathan concludes that the grotesque little goblin s awkward movements are wonderfully suggested. 6 Emelia Fried, in her notes to the holograph facsimile, probes deeper into the character of the gnome. She writes: Mussorgsky s piece is grotesque, with a touch of tragedy, a convincing example of the humanization of a ridiculous prototype. The gnome is related to other characters in Mussorgsky s works where behind an ugly outward appearance one senses a living and suffering soul. 7 Nagachevskaya takes this idea a step further, suggesting that because Pictures was begun soon after the premiere of Boris Godunov, some of Boris dramatic facility and intention is extended to the Pictures. Consequently, Mussorgsky was perhaps not so much interested in literally drawing a caricature of the Gnome in music, but rather in sharing the emotional suffering and pain of this wretched creature. 8 Neither Fried nor Nagachevskaya provides detailed examples of influence from these other works, but I will look to Boris to find many striking parallels. 3 Frankenstein, Victor Hartmann and Modeste Musorgsky, Oskar von Riesemann, Moussorgsky, trans. Paul England (New York: Tudor Publishing Co., 1935), Russ, Musorgsky, M. Montagu-Nathan, Moussorgsky (New York: Duffield and Company, 1917), Quoted in Russ, Musorgsky, Svetlana Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition: A Reconciliation of Divergent Perceptions about Mussorgsky s Renowned Cycle (DMA thesis, University of Arizona, 2009),

54 Caryl Emerson and Robert Oldani have identified specific keys and motives throughout Boris that signify certain characters and emotional states. They have identified the key of e-flat minor, the same key of Gnomus, as emphasizing a state of guilt. 9 More specifically, they have associated the use of chromaticism as a representation of Boris s heavy conscience over killing the child Dmitry (see Example 3.1.1). Example Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Motive of Guilt. 10 We need only look at m. 60 of Gnomus to find a strong connection with Boris s guilt motive. In Example we find a similarly constructed passage in the same key, beginning with a low E-flat pedal tone and followed by a two-voice texture where the lower part descends chromatically under dissonant intervals created by the upper part: Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Gnomus, mm In his article on Mussorgsky s song cycle Sunless, Simon Perry offers a more explicit description of Mussorgsky s use of chromaticism. He discusses the Russian tradition of using 9 Caryl Emerson and Robert Oldani, Modest Musorgsky and Boris Godunov (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), Ibid.,

55 symmetrical or synthetic chromaticism to signify the world of magic and fairy tale (evil or benign), opposed to the worldly and human. 11 Furthermore, he mentions its use in Boris Godunov, where the signification of evil remained a vital component in the drama, and synthetic chromaticism plays an important role in connoting the complex of ideas of murder, guilt, paranoia, and so on. 12 We find chromaticism potently utilized in the final scene of Act II when Boris begins to hallucinate and is haunted by the appearance Dmitry s ghost. Before the beginning of Boris s monologue, Mussorgsky utilizes sets of chromaticism splitting symmetrically away from a central note (see Example 3.1.3). Variations of this motive frequently recur as Boris is tortured by his own conscience. Example Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Act II, Hallucination Scene, p Throughout Gnomus, we also find symmetrical tendencies in the use of chromaticism. In the very opening motive, Mussorgsky employs chromaticism balanced around a central point (see Example 3.1.4). no. 1 (2004): Simon Perry, A Voice Unknown: Undercurrents in Mussorgsky s Sunless, 19th-Century Music 28, 12 Ibid. 13 Because of the complications involved with various editions and edits to both Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina, I will refer to the page numbers for these works in the Kalmus editions of the vocal scores edited by Paul Lamm. 44

56 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Gnomus, mm When reduced, we can see the symmetry which converges onto a single note (see Example 3.1.5). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Gnomus, Reduction of Primary Motive. Nagachevskaya provides a graph of this motive, showing a spiral that pulls back in on itself, as if the gnome cannot escape from his own fears 14 (see Figure 3.1.1). Figure Gnomus, graphic representation of the primary motive. Russ describes this motive as the stumbling of the gnome, 15 but in light of its structure, one might view this as a representation of the main character s tortured psyche. 14 Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition, Russ, Musorgsky,

57 Regarding Boris, Perry emphasizes the use of tritones in the opera since they were integral to Mussorgsky s thinking in symmetrical structures. 16 Emerson and Oldani discuss a more specific use of tritones, particularly evident in the Hallucination Scene. They propose that the pitch center of E-flat represents Dmitry, while the pitch center of A signifies the release from Dmitry. 17 This tritone opposition creates a powerful struggle in Boris s mind throughout the opera, something that demands resolution but is only resolved with Boris s death. 18 In the Hallucination Scene, this tritone appears most overtly when Boris begins to question the integrity of his soul: Now I know if you are stained, but once are stained, then nothing can preserve you from damnation; your soul will burn 19 (see Example 3.1.6). Example Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Act II, Hallucination Scene, p In this excerpt, the bass alternates between A3 and the enharmonic equivalent of E-flat3, while the upper notes create a wedge gesture splitting outward amidst a swirling chromatic violin figuration. In Gnomus, there are also numerous instances of an E-flat/A tritone. The first implication of this interval can be seen in the opening motive of Gnomus which is centered on 16 Perry, A Voice Unknown, Emerson and Oldani, Modest Musorgsky and Boris Godunov, Ibid., Nicholas John, Boris Godunov (New York: Riverrun Press, 1982),

58 G-flat, the midpoint between E-flat and A. Shortly thereafter, these two notes appear together in the left-hand part beginning in m. 19 (see Example 3.1.7). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Gnomus, mm Particularly similar to Example from Boris is the ending section of Gnomus, where the left-hand part consists of ostinato shifts between E-flat2 and A2, connected with chromatic runs (see Example 3.1.8). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Gnomus, mm This ostinato in Gnomus eventually spirals out of control and abruptly ends with both hands playing jarring chords (see Example 3.1.9). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Gnomus, mm

59 We find a comparable moment in the opera when Boris shouts, Oh conscience of my soul, how savagely you punish! 20 (see Example ). Example Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Act II, Hallucination Scene, p Here we also have chromaticism launching abruptly into accented chords, with the upper part rising a half-step like the chords in Gnomus. Schnittke suggests that the Gnome s chords are representative of his screams, 21 which seems plausible given this comparison. In addition to the general angst shared by the two characters, it is also possible that the Gnome, like Boris, is facing a second dark presence which haunts him. In the Boris Hallucination Scene, precisely when Boris begins to see Dmitry s ghost in the corner, a low E- flat pedal appears which underlines his frightened pleas to the apparition 22 (see Example ). Example Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Act II, Hallucination Scene, p Ibid. 21 Alfred Schnittke, Kartinki s vïstavki M. P. Musorgskogo (Opït analiza), Voprosïmuzïkoznaniya 1 ( ), ; quoted in Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition, Emerson and Oldani, Modest Musorgsky and Boris Godunov,

60 It is possible that the low E-flat pedals in Gnomus also signify an ominous presence from which the Gnome is trying to escape. This interpretation would coincide with Mussorgsky s change of tempo and character marking to Poco meno mosso, pesante (see Example ). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Gnomus, mm Emerson and Oldani recount Boris s powerful underlying emotions: Fears and agonies are half-formed and then abandoned as he races ahead to another thought, perhaps unrelated to its predecessor. Even sleep escapes him, he says, and in the darkness of the night the child Dmitry rises up before him. This devastating image will not leave him; it possesses him, exhausts him, and leaves him crying to God. 23 We can infer similar emotional content in Gnomus by examining the numerous musical parallels with Boris, particularly the sensations of fear, anxiety, and burden. Like Boris, the Gnome may be running away from his own mind, either a tortured conscience from a past evil, or merely his own insecurities brought about by his inherently outcast nature. Whichever the case, we can conclude that Gnomus embodies qualities far beyond portraying the physical encumbrances of a dwarf. It is still possible, however, that Hartmann s nutcracker design did play an important role in Mussorgsky s composition as Stasov asserts. Previously in Act II of Boris, a chiming clock is introduced that delights the children. In the Hallucination Scene, it is this clock that sets Boris s 23 Ibid.,

61 mind on a downward spiral. Perhaps Stasov was accurate in saying that the Gnome is based on a child s plaything since in Boris, it is a child s toy, after all, that unhinges his mind so completely at the scene s end. 24 The pianist is challenged with distinguishing between the hunter and the hunted, creating sharp contrasts, biting sforzandos, and an accelerando that should sound terrifying. One must understand these elements of the score for a successful performance, but also bear in mind Mussorgky s concern with the suffering of the individual as well as his own personal struggles and demons. 25 The pianist must ultimately delve into the raw emotions of pain, fear, and tragedy in order to bring to life the larger purpose of this piece. 3.2 Bydło Stasov notated the title of Bydło as Polish Cart in the 1886 edition of Pictures, 26 writing that it depicts a Polish wagon on enormous wheels drawn by oxen. 27 Frankenstein tells us that the exhibition catalogue did not contain a picture of a wagon or oxen, 28 but Seroff speculates that Mussorgsky probably saw this drawing at Hartmann s home. 29 Although no Hartmann original has been identified to link Bydło to a Polish wagon, many still concur with Stasov s assertion. Arsenii Golenishchev-Kutuzov describes the piece as a representation of 24 Emerson and Oldani, Modest Musorgsky and Boris Godunov, Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition, David Brown, Musorgsky: His Life and Works (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), Frankenstein, Victor Hartmann and Modeste Musorgsky, Ibid. 29 Victor Seroff, Modeste Musorgsky (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1968),

62 rattling carts, 30 while Riesemann provides more detail, explaining that Bydło is a big Polish dray, drawn by a team of oxen on its high, rumbling wheels. 31 Russ agrees that a huge Polish cart arrives on the scene with thick, ponderous, left-hand chords, representing the rumbling of the wheels and the tread of the hooves. 32 Riesemann believes that the reproduction of this would not be very musical had not Moussorgsky introduced a swinging folk-song in the Aeolian mode, evidently sung by the driver. 33 drivers. 34 Russ also proposes that the bass is set against a folk-like melody sung by the cart Calvocoressi mentions the worker s song as well, providing a rather mundane description of its qualities: The heavy basses which come lumbering along are in themselves characteristic: beneath them comes a theme of a labour song which becomes brighter towards the middle of the piece; and that is all; but it is moving. Here the emotion results more from the description, and one sees that the mere description of the subject has sufficed for Musorgsky without giving rein to a single moment s effusion or amplification of his piece by a musically emotional commentary. 35 Through further examination, however, we will find that there is indeed a level of emotional commentary behind this piece. In a letter to Stasov, Mussorgsky refers to this movement as Sandomirzsko bydło (le télégue), 36 often translated as Polish Ox-Cart. 30 Alexandra Orlova, Musorgsky s Days and Works: A Biography in Documents, trans. Roy Guenther (Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Research Press, 1983), Riesemann, Moussorgsky, Russ, Musorgsky, Ibid., Russ, Musorgsky, M. D. Calvocoressi, Musorgsky: The Russian Musical Nationalist, trans. A. Eaglefield Hull (New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1919), Jay Leyda and Sergei Bertensson, The Musorgsky Reader: A Life of Modeste Petrovich Musorgsky in Letters and Documents (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1947),

63 Mussorgsky, however, alludes to a different meaning behind this title when he writes: it stands to reason that le télégue [the cart] isn t named, but this is between us. 37 Brown asserts that what Musorgsky s cryptic remark to Stasov concerning le télégue was all about remains a mystery. 38 Russ, however, offers one theory: One might speculate that he is acknowledging some unrecorded discussion with Stasov about the scenario for this piece or even that, given Mussorgsky s Russophile tendencies, the Sandomir cattle are the Polish people themselves. 39 (By Russophile tendencies, Russ is referring to Russian anti-semitism, particularly toward Polish Jews.) 40 Nagachevskaya argues for a sympathetic view of Mussorgsky s intentions. Her first point is that as a socially progressive composer, Mussorgsky longed to reveal social problems through his art (a concept frequently termed populism ) 41 and would be unlikely to attack the peasants of Sandomir in his music. 42 Her second point concerns the meaning of the title. In step with most translations, Frankenstein writes, the title, as is well known, is a Polish word meaning cattle. 43 cattle. 44 Brown concurs that the word bydło in both Russian and Polish means simply Nagachevskaya, however, claims that the word bydło can translate from Russian as 37 Ibid. 38 Brown, Musorgsky, Russ, Musorgsky, Ibid., Ibid., Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition, Frankenstein, Victor Hartmann and Modeste Musorgsky, Brown, Musorgsky,

64 rabble, 45 which according to Feodor Lopouhov is one of the names for the Russian peasantry. 46 Perhaps Mussorgsky never intended to scrutinize the Poles but was representing the working class of his own Russian countrymen. Indeed, the composer never used the word Sandomir in his manuscript for the final title of this movement. Nagachevskaya also argues that Russ contradicts his own analysis of Bydło, since on the one hand he conjectures about Mussorgsky s underhanded representation of Polish Jews, but also writes that this movement is one of the most melancholic and Russian pieces. 47 Russ s argument comes further into question when he cites Fried s notes to the holograph facsimile, where she explains that Bydło contains more Ukranian rather than Polish characteristics. 48 Nagachevskaya thus asks: Why would [Mussorgsky] create such a sorrowful and Russian-sounding Picture to mock the Poles? 49 As we have seen, Bydło is often interpreted solely based on the images of the cattle and cart. This was partly due to Stasov s notations, but it was also exacerbated by Rimsky-Korsakov, the man responsible for editing Pictures for its initial publication. He altered Mussorgsky s opening fortissimo dynamic to piano with poco a poco cresc., creating the effect of a cart gradually approaching from a distance. 50 This misconception also found its way into the famous orchestration by Ravel. 45 Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition, Quoted in Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition, Russ, Musorgsky, Ibid. 49 Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition, Brown, Musorgsky,

65 Mussorgsky, however, wrote to Stasov that he intended this piece to hit right between the eyes, 51 and indicated as such with the fortissimo present in his autograph (see Example 3.2.1). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Bydło, mm Over the despairing atmosphere of the left-hand part, the right hand melody of Bydło is indeed very characteristic of a Russian laborer s song, distinguished by the natural minor mode (G-sharp minor), a lumbering rhythm, and short, disconnected phrases with ample rests. Nagachevskaya proposes that a possible source of inspiration for this melody is the barge haulers Song of the Volga Boatmen. 52 This seems plausible, not only because it is a traditional Russian folksong, but also because it was collected and published by Mily Balakirev, a fellow member of the Mighty Five (see Example 3.2.2). 51 Leyda and Bertensson, The Musorgsky Reader, Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition,

66 Example Song of the Volga Boatmen. As with the melody of Bydło, here too we find lumbering rhythms and short phrases broken apart by rests. Both melodies are in the bass register, straining higher with rising gestures but are inevitably weighed back down. Additionally, the contour of the melody emphasizes a range of a minor sixth like the first four measures of Bydło. The powerful exclamations in the Song of the Volga Boatmen are reflected in Bydło by Mussorgsky s fortissimo dynamic and abundant tenutos, effectively conveying a struggle against a heavy burden. Through this texture, Mussorgsky is able to transcend a mundane portrayal of cattle and take us into the lives of working people, weighed down through oppression, hard labor, and unimaginable effort. We may also turn to Mussorgsky s song literature to glean understanding about the role of the melodies and textures in Bydło. Mussorgsky s opera Khovanshchina reflects the struggle against the elite during the Moscow Uprising of It regards the reign of Tsar Peter the Great and his conflict with several rebellious factions in Russia. According to Brown: The main characters on stage represent three of the elements Peter must crush if he is to drag an almost medieval Russia into the modern age. The first is the old nobility with its entrenched mores and privileges.the second is the Old Believers, a schismatic group of the Orthodox Church.The third element is the Europeanizing party in Russian society. 53 Themes of burden permeate the opera, with Tsar Peter s victory coming with the price of exile, murder, and suicide for the losing parties. Much of the musical content contains characteristics similar to Bydło and the Song of the Volga Boatmen. In Brown s analysis of 53 Brown, Musorgsky,

67 the opera, he identifies one melody in particular that relates to the dignity of Prince Ivan Khovansky, the personification of the old nobility 54 (see Example 3.2.3). Example Brown s Reduction of Khovansky s Dignity Theme. As in Bydło and Song of the Volga Boatmen, Khovansky s theme begins in the lower register and reaches higher, always returning down again. The rhythms are simple and weighty, and the harmonization is not complex, containing octave doublings of the melody which add to the stark intensity. These melodic traits can be found throughout Khovanshchina, with abundant rising and falling perfect fourths and fifths. We hear another example of this when the boyar Shaklovity dictates a letter to Peter, informing him of the plot for Ivan Khovansky and his son Andrey to rebel against the Tsar (see Example 3.2.4). Example Mussorgsky, Khovanshchina, Act I, p Ibid.,

68 Like in Bydło, here we see the natural minor mode (A minor), square rhythms, stark accompaniment, and a persistent return to the dominant with a range of a minor sixth. From this example, it appears that a texture such as this for Mussorgsky connotes not only ideas of struggle, but a sense of defiance as well. Regarding Bydło, Nagachevskaya proposes that the higher registers in the B section may be associated with the appearance of female characters, creating the impression of women crying. 55 Indeed in Khovanshchina, women are also given prominent roles with similar melodic qualities. When Khovansky sets his sights on the German girl Emma, Andrey threatens to kill her rather than let his father have her. Emma cries out to be saved 56 (see Example 3.2.5). Example Brown s Excerpt from Mussorgsky, Khovanshchina, Act I. Although certainly more agitated than the previous melodies, Emma s melody exhibits the same fundamental traits of simple rhythms, upward motion, particularly with the opening perfect fourth, and an overall stretch of a minor sixth. Another example occurs at the close of the opera when Andrey s mistress, Marfa, speaks of their love, convincing Andrey to accept their fate and die together before the arrival of Peter s troops (see Example 3.2.6). 55 Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition, Brown, Musorgsky,

69 Example Mussorgsky, Khovanshchina, Act V, p Here Mussorgsky returns to a weighty texture, accompanied by octaves and a simple but effective bass line in a Lamentoso context. Yet again, this melody features lumbering rhythms, gestures that strain higher, and an emphasis on a minor sixth span in the opening. In light of the very similar rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic qualities among the melodies, it would be appropriate that the melody of Bydło be interpreted as more than a cart driver s song. The pianist should consider imbuing it with a sense of dignity for the people, defiance against oppression, and perhaps even a nostalgic despair felt by those who can do nothing to help. Although these are sincere emotions, we should not overlook the possibility that Bydło contains characteristics that do imply negative connotations for the Polish. Mussorgsky s song On the Dnieper from 1867 is a setting of the poem Yarema s Song from Shevchenko s Haydamaki, concerning the subject of the Ukrainian insurrection against the Polish gentry in Although the text is not Mussorgsky s, he chose to set it with a musical texture to match Shevchenko s heroic vision of a free Ukraine. 58 The song boasts a dark text: Free to the Sea. 57 Ibid., Ibid. 58

70 No Polish landowners, no monks! The Dnieper has borne away their bones 59 (see Example 3.2.7). Example Mussorgsky, On the Dnieper, mm Again, Mussorgsky s melody utilizes heavy rhythms in the natural minor mode (D minor), and the plodding chords of the accompaniment are frequently outlined at the octave and filled in with a third, fourth, or fifth, creating a sparse but brutally direct texture much like the chords in Bydło. Perhaps this texture is, in fact, representative of dignity for Mussorgsky s own country of Russia above all else. For interpreting Bydło, Mussorgsky left us little more than a cryptic note to Stasov and clues in the score itself. Although it is impossible to conclusively define its musically emotional commentary, we may infer certain expressive qualities with comparisons to the composer s vocal literature. Certainly, it is unlikely that Bydło is as literal as a Polish wagon 59 Ibid. 59

71 and cattle passing by with a tuneful driver atop. From Song of the Volga Boatmen, we see that this type of melody is reminiscent of a Russian rather than Polish worker s song, and with the comparison to On the Dnieper, a Russian sentiment seems even more likely. The similarities in Khovanshchina suggest that for Mussorgsky, this style of writing connotes ideas of struggle, burden, defiance, and dignity for those involved. The pianist should convey these sentiments, infusing an otherwise commonplace worker s song with the weight and intensity needed to bring these deep emotions to the surface. As if on the other side of the coin from satire, both Gnomus and Bydlo are laden with the responsibilities of adult life. These pressures are almost unbearable for the characters, and in the operas Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina, these burdens ultimately lead to death. For Boris, his troubled path brings about his own demise. By the end of Khovanshchina, death surrounds all the characters as an inevitable necessity for Tsar Peter and Russia itself to progress forward. Accordingly, the topic of death is the next category I will explore. 60

72 Chapter 4: Death The movements of Pictures that involve death are not all explicitly about murder or sacrificing one s life, but each of them does carry elements of loss in their musical text. The first movement I will examine, Il vecchio castello, is often likened to a troubadour s song of loneliness or lost love. Although death is not inherent to the subject matter, we will see that Mussorgsky uses a very similar texture for Death s Serenade in his song cycle Songs and Dances of Death, from which we can infer certain expressive qualities. Catacombae (Sepulcrum romanum) and Con mortuis in lingua mortua are intrinsically about death, literally based on the image of catacombs. I will explore, however, the more personal expression for Mussorgsky based on comparisons with songs from his song cycle Sunless. The final movement containing death is The Hut on Hen s Legs (Baba Yaga), which is based on the dark Russian fairy-tale of a murderous witch. Although there are no figures of witches in Mussorgsky s song literature, we can return to Songs and Dances of Death as a basis for defining its musical characteristics. 4.1 Il vecchio castello From Stasov s notes, we have the description of a mediaeval castle before which stands a singing troubadour. 1 According to Frankenstein: The Italian title suggests the locale, but nothing like this is listed in the catalogue. The picture was obviously one of Hartmann s architectural watercolors done in Italy. The closest one can come to it at present is the Scene in Périgueux, which typifies Hartmann s paintings of architectural monuments during his Wanderjahre. This picture, unlisted in the catalogue, represents the tower of the cathedral of St. Front at Périgueux, rising above dwelling houses in the foreground. 2 [see Figure 4.1.1] 1 Alfred Frankenstein, Victor Hartmann and Modeste Musorgsky, Musical Quarterly 25 (1939),

73 Figure Victor Hartmann, Scene in Périgueux. Il vecchio castello is one of the few movements in Pictures where the musical characteristics tie it directly to Stasov s description. The piece is often likened to a complex blend of several forms that reflect the Italian title, a medieval setting, and the singing of a troubadour. The musical texture mirrors the traits of an Italian siciliana, such as the 6/8 meter, lilting rhythms, minor key, lyrical melody, slow tempo, and incorporation of Neapolitan harmonies. 3 It is also strongly reminiscent of a medieval ballade due to the repetitive nature of the melodies as well as its three-part texture the lower part consisting of a sustained pedal point, the middle a lute accompaniment, and the upper the melody of a troubadour s song. 4 In addition to these features, there are elements of Russian sound in Il vecchio castello. Russ writes that this serenade with its guitar accompaniment turns into a Russian song without words strongly influenced by the shapes of Russian folk music. 5 He claims that Castello 2 Ibid. 3 Svetlana Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition: A Reconciliation of Divergent Perceptions about Mussorgsky s Renowned Cycle (DMA thesis, University of Arizona, 2009), Ibid., Michael Russ, Musorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992),

74 contains aspects of diatonic melismatic writing, which may reflect the influence of a type of melismatic peasant song known as the protyazhnaya. 6 Brown also hears these elements of Russian influence, writing that the musical texture is a blend of Italian siciliana with Russian melancholy. 7 As a mixture of vocal genres, Il vecchio castello is perhaps the most lyrical of all the movements in Pictures. Mussorgsky first establishes the scene in the left-hand part, a pattern that subsequently reveals itself as an accompaniment to the entrance of a melody marked con espressione. The pedal bass line throughout is comprised solely of a repeated G-sharp2, which is completely unsubservient to the harmonic changes above, often resulting in tense clashes with the overlying chords and melody (see Example 4.1.1) Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Il vecchio castello, mm There seems to be a divide among scholars reactions to the compositional quality of Il vecchio castello. Some believe that Mussorgsky s writing is less than successful, the final product being ultimately too repetitive and uninventive. Russ describes the movement as beset 6 Ibid., David Brown, Musorgsky: His Life and Works (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002),

75 with monotony and unremarkable harmony, writing that the lack of contrast between sections is a weakness. 8 Similarly, Brown writes, Il vecchio castello seems almost too safe, 9 and Calvocoressi claims that the movement is no more than mere platitudes. 10 On the other hand, there are those who appreciate the mysterious and melancholic effects that this movement evokes. Rather than interpret it as a monotonous rendering of a troubadour song or an ordinary castle scene, a pianist could explore the penetrating depths of expression made possible by the austere texture. Riesemann writes that the movement creates a long-drawn, unspeakably melancholy melody from which the beholder apparently cannot tear himself away. 11 Nagachevskaya also believes that it creates an atmosphere of melancholic solitude, painting a picture of mysterious ruins that silently keep their dark secrets. 12 In the notes to the holograph facsimile, Emelia Fried probes even deeper into the expressive qualities of this movement, writing that it reflects Mussorgsky s broodings on the perishable nature of our earthly existence that were tormenting him at the time. 13 Russ evaluates Fried s statement as questionable, implying that Il vecchio castello should be taken more at face value rather than as an outpouring of inner emotion. 14 After all, as Russ claims, Hartmann added small figures to show the scale of his architectural illustrations and such is the origin of the troubadour here Russ, Musorgsky, Brown, Musorgsky, M. D. Calvocoressi, Musorgsky: The Russian Musical Nationalist, trans. A. Eaglefield Hull (New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1919), Oskar von Riesemann, Moussorgsky, trans. Paul England (New York: Tudor Publishing Co., 1935), Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition, Quoted in Russ, Musorgsky, Russ, Musorgsky, Ibid. 64

76 In order to defend the expressive qualities within this movement, I will turn to Mussorgsky s song cycle Songs and Dances of Death, examining in particular the aspects of longing and loss. Mussorgsky composed the four songs in this cycle in 1775 shortly after Pictures, setting the poems of Golenishchev-Kutuzov that depict the figure of Death in various forms and scenarios. The second song, Serenade, represents Death wooing a young girl in the guise of a lover. 16 Russ, in fact, does reference this song as having strong musical similarities to Il vecchio castello. 17 But rather than drawing expressive correlations, he merely writes that in the song, Musorgsky employed the idea of a serenade to more powerful effect. 18 I will, however, take a closer look at these similarities in order to understand the expressive elements in Il vecchio castello, which might otherwise be overlooked. The opening of Serenade describes the scene of a gravely ill young girl on a magical spring evening. In the silence of night, Death begins sings a serenade under the dying girl s window: In the gloom of your bleak and oppressive confinement, your youthfulness withers away. I, a mysterious knight, will free you with my wondrous powers 19 (see Example 4.1.2). 16 Brown, Musorgsky, Russ, Musorgsky, Ibid. 19 Laurence Richter, Mussorgsky s Complete Song Texts: Russian Texts of the Complete Songs of Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (Geneseo, NY: Leyerle, 2002),

77 Example Mussorgsky, Songs and Dances of Death, Serenade, mm Already, the subject of a mysterious knight amidst withering youth provides an appropriate thematic complement to the old castle from Pictures. As with Il vecchio castello, we find a 6/8 siciliana rhythm in the bass and dotted patterns in the melody, providing an appropriate rhythmic backdrop for Death s serenade. Additionally, there is a tendency to utilize lower neighbor tones with the eighth- and sixteenth-note rhythms, which is something also found in Il vecchio castello (see Example 4.1.3). 66

78 Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Il vecchio castello, mm Both of these excerpts also exhibit a texture that frequently outlines an octave filled in with a single note for harmonization. As mentioned above in regard to the siciliana style, another important trait to Il vecchio castello is the use of Neapolitan harmony (see Example 4.1.4). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Il vecchio castello, mm G-sharp minor: N 6 N 6 In Serenade, the use of the Neapolitan seems to reflect Death s own feelings of being seduced by the girl s presence. The first Neapolitan harmony occurs in the melody of m. 74 as Death professes: Your breath hotter than the midday sun. You have seduced me totally! 20 (see Example 4.1.5). 20 Ibid.,

79 Example Mussorgsky, Songs and Dances of Death, Serenade, mm F-sharp minor: N 6 Additional instances of the lowered G-sharp appear as Death is further enticed: How lovely your body, how intoxicating your trembling 21 (see Example 4.1.6). Example Mussorgsky, Songs and Dances of Death, Serenade, mm Like in Il vecchio castello, we hear a pedal tone with the same lilting 6/8 siciliana rhythm overlaid with harmonies independent from the bass. Perhaps the use of the lowered second is not merely to satisfy the conditions of a siciliana, resulting in unremarkable harmony, but to signify heightened moments of yearning as it does with Death s appeals. Of particular note is the ending to Serenade, which is very similar to the conclusion of Il vecchio castello (compare Examples and 4.1.8). 21 Ibid. 68

80 Example Mussorgsky, Songs and Dances of Death, Serenade, mm Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Il vecchio castello, mm In Serenade the rests reflect death s seductive pauses and inflections as he lulls the girl into complacency and then suddenly claims her in the fortissimo ending: Hark to my entreaties of love Hush now You are mine! 22 Regarding Il vecchio castello, scholars do not agree on the interpretive meaning. Russ merely addresses the formal aspects, describing the ending as a coda which typically ends the piece with fragments of the previously heard ideas which gradually fade away. 23 Schnittke proposes a more programmatic scenario, suggesting that the gaps at the end represent the 22 Ibid. 23 Russ, Musorgsky,

81 storyteller s memory loss. 24 Nagachevskaya takes an emotional tack, claiming that the troubadour is possibly overwhelmed by sad memories from the past, cannot sing smoothly, and must take several short breaks in order to finish his story. 25 With this comparison to the ending of Serenade, we can infer that there is indeed a greater emotional weight that certainly surpasses memory loss and is perhaps accompanied by death itself for the singer or for someone close to the singer s heart. Although we cannot know exactly what sentiment Mussorgsky intended, from the parallels to Serenade, we can see that there is likely a deeper expression behind this music than the composer abiding by formal requirements. It appears that this texture for Mussorgsky carries more implications than mere platitudes as Calvocoressi suggests and likely connotes ideas of yearning, aging, and possibly death. Part of the interpretive issues with Il vecchio castello result from the fact that the only dynamic marking in the movement is pianissimo (aside from the forte outburst at the very end) and there are very few expressive markings throughout, allowing for relatively bland interpretations. But the pianist must not fall into the trap of rolling through this piece with a gentle one-dimensional andantino. Mussorgsky does provide a clue in the tempo marking: molto cantabile e con dolore (very singing and with sorrow). Rather than recreating a droning atmospheric accompaniment to a castle scene, the pianist is charged with crafting a story to fill the musical space as an actual singer would. Throughout Serenade, Mussorgsky employs an abundance of hairpins, accents, and dynamic shifts to express Death s yearning. It would seem appropriate, then, to utilize more of these expressive tools in Il vecchio castello to convey the sentiment implied by the texture. The siciliano rhythm can be 24 Alfred Schnittke, Kartinki s vïstavki M. P. Musorgskogo (Opït analiza), Voprosïmuzïkoznaniya 1 ( ), 336; quoted in Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition, Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition,

82 transformed into the heavy heartbeat of the singer, and the pianist should not shy away from the overlying clashes with the pedal tone, but express their strain to the fullest as an intense yearning. Whether it is a song of loneliness, seduction, love, or death, it is important to transcend the literal image of a troubadour at a castle, and bring the lone singer s emotional world to the foreground Catacombae (Sepulcrum romanum) / Con mortuis in lingua mortua Stasov writes, Hartmann s picture [of the Paris Catacombs ] represented the artist himself looking at the catacombs in Paris by the light of a lantern. 26 According to Frankenstein, the catalogue gives a little more precise information (No. 36): Interior of Paris catacombs with figures of Hartmann, the architect Kenel, and the guide holding a lamp 27 (see Figure 4.2.1). Figure Victor Hartmann, Paris Catacombs. Brown refers to this movement as purely atmospheric, stating that this first part of Catacombae is the weirdest piece Musorgsky ever created. 28 Likewise, Derrick Puffett 26 Frankenstein, Victor Hartmann and Modeste Musorgsky, Ibid. 28 Brown, Musorgsky,

83 believes that it is the strangest of all the movements in Pictures. 29 Calvocoressi asserts that Catacombae is only moderately expressive in spite of an evident intention of seeking after sonority. 30 These comments give the impression that Mussorgsky was attempting to create an atmospheric ambiguity with this movement, without necessarily succeeding at the same level of communicative expressivity found in the rest of Pictures. Mussorgsky s music, however, certainly embodies a deeper and more personal expression than implied here. This is the only movement that directly involves Hartmann himself, and the images of catacombs no doubt stirred Mussorgsky s emotions over his death as he was composing the movement. Hartmann s very sudden and unexpected passing affected Mussorgsky greatly. In a letter to Stasov, the composer reveals his emotions: My very dear friend, what a terrible blow! Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, live on? and creatures like Hartmann must die! 31 Also in the same letter, Mussorgsky expressed his shame for not recognizing Hartmann s poor health during their last trip together to St. Petersburg: When you ve got your wind again, old boy, we ll go on. That was all I could say, when I knew that his death-warrant had been signed! What clumsy fools we are! When I recall that talk, I feel wretched, because it was fear that made me a coward.i shall not soon forget what happened, it will haunt me. 32 Mussorgsky felt deep remorse for the loss of his friend, as well as sincere regret for not doing more to help him. These events not only inspired his work on Pictures to memorialize Hartmann, but he also began work on his song cycle entitled Sunless. Mussorgsky chose to set poems of Golenishchev-Kutuzov for the cycle, particularly those which express elements of 29 Derrick Puffett, A Graphic Analysis of Musorgsky s Catacombs, Music Analysis 9, no.1 (1990), Calvocoressi, Musorgsky, Quoted in Riesemann, Moussorgsky, Ibid. 72

84 loneliness, nostalgia, and loss. Instead of portraying real-world images, both the poetry and musical texture of Sunless are driven by abstract Romantic ideals of conveying one s inner life and emotional turmoil. The third song of the cycle, The Idle, Noisy Day Is Over, evokes a number of images that concern loss and could be paralleled to Catacombae. Golenishchev-Kutuzov s poem is as follows: The idle, noisy day is over; Human life, fallen silent, is slumbering. All s quiet. The shadow of a May night Embraces the sleeping city. But sleep flies from my eyes. And, by the dawn of a new day, My imagination turns over The pages of years lost. As if breathing in again the poison Of spring, of passionate dreams, In my soul I resurrect a series Of hopes, impulses, and mistakes Alas, they are but ghosts! I m bored with their deathly crowd, And the noise of their old chatter Has lost its hold on me. But one shadow, of all the shadows, Appeared to me, breathing love, And, faithful friend of days past, Bent quietly towards the bed. And bravely I gave to her alone All my soul in a silent tear, Visible to no one, full of happiness, In a tear, I cherished since long ago! Quoted in Simon Perry, A Voice Unknown: Undercurrents in Mussorgsky s Sunless, 19th-Century Music 28, no. 1 (2004),

85 The poem describes slumbering human life in quiet darkness, reminiscent of the catacombs in Hartmann s drawing. The speaker turns over the pages of years lost and resurrects a series of hopes, impulses, and mistakes, not unlike Mussorgsky has done with his own regrets concerning Hartmann. According to Perry, this song was originally to have been titled Shade or Shadow, which he writes may refer to darkness or to beings no longer among the living. 34 Perhaps the faithful friend of days past indeed reminded Mussorgsky of his own loss. As we will see, the musical texture of the song is also comparable to Catacombae, which will allow us to infer emotional qualities of remembrance and nostalgia in the piano piece. Catacombae consists of a sustained chordal texture which emphasizes vertical sonority, unconventional tonal progressions, and extreme contrast. The numerous fermatas, venturous harmony without regard to key signature, and the unexpected use of dynamics all create the sense of something mysterious, ethereal, and void of beginning or end, like eternity itself (see Example 4.2.1). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Catacombae, mm Brown describes the setting as an experience of irrational terror that subsides with only painful slowness dehumanized, disorientated and unpredictable. 35 According to Nagachevskaya, 34 Ibid., Brown, Musorgsky,

86 Schnittke feels that the sudden contrasts represent frightening images of destruction, while Golovinsky and Sabinina suggest that the echoes create an atmosphere of grandeur and space. 36 Nagachevskaya herself believes that these extreme changes may indicate the severe mental and emotional state of a person who, being affected and disturbed by horrible images, feels disoriented and lost. 37 In The Idle, Noisy Day Is Over, we see that Golenishchev-Kutuzov s poem, although replete with poignant emotion, gives a much different impression than experiencing irrational terror or being disturbed by horrible images. Rather, the poem speaks of the shadows on a quiet spring night, and the musical setting Mussorgsky composed for it bears many resemblances to Catacombae. From the opening of the song, we see an emphasis on vertical sonority, dynamic contrast, unexpected harmony, a slow tempo, and an almost rhythmless sense of floating through the piece (see Example 4.2.2). Example Mussorgsky, Sunless, The Idle, Noisy Day Is Over, mm Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition, Ibid. 75

87 Another salient aspect of the opening of Catacombae is the low octave bassline, which makes a brooding, stepwise descent. Nagachevskaya proposes that this creates the effect of literally going underground into the mysterious passageways. 38 There is again, however, a similar passage in the song, which creates a different effect. It is the moment when the speaker s imagination turns over the pages of years lost. Nagachevskaya s suggestion for Catacombae seems plausible based on the picture, but perhaps the bassline represents a more figurative concept. This could be Mussorgsky s way of recalling the past, creating a mental descent into precious memories (see Example 4.2.3). Example Mussorgsky, Sunless, The Idle, Noisy Day is Over, mm At the close of the song, we find additional extreme contrasts like in Catacombae, not only in dynamics, but also in range. Particularly striking is the sudden move from pianissimo to forte as the poem speaks of a soul full of happiness (see Example 4.2.4). 38 Ibid.,

88 Example Mussorgsky, Sunless, The Idle, Noisy Day is Over, mm We find a similar gesture toward the end of Catacombae, with a subito accented chord in the treble register, followed by piano (see Example 4.2.5). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Catacombae, mm As in the song, perhaps the sforzando major chord is Mussorgsky recalling positive instead of negative emotion, being flooded with a memory of happiness instead of fear or pain. The next section of this movement, Con mortuis in lingua mortua, is unusual in that Mussorgsky incorporated the Promenade theme into the picture instead of being employed as an interlude between movements. It is in the key of B minor, which Frankenstein writes is really an extremely sad restatement of the Promenade theme. 39 Calvocoressi does not offer 39 Frankenstein, Victor Hartmann and Modeste Musorgsky,

89 much more, providing a mundane description of this section as a rhythmless transformation of the theme of the Promenade, with an ineffective high tremolo 40 (see Example 4.2.6). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Con mortuis in lingua mortua, mm As we will see, there is more to this use of the Promenade theme than inducing a sad or rhythmless effect. Many interpret this as Mussorgsky himself becoming part of Hartmann s drawing, particularly since the Promenade theme is thought to represent the composer. Brown writes, by founding the second part of the latter on the main theme of his Promenades, Musorgsky draws himself into the scene as observer 41 and now imagines himself their companion. 42 Russ also believes that here is the very point where the composer is drawn into the pictures themselves. 43 For further insight, we can turn to Mussorgsky s own notations, as he provided a clue to his expressive intentions with a note he left in the holograph. Above this section in the margin, 40 Calvocoressi, Musorgsky, Brown, Musorgsky, Ibid., Russ, Musorgsky,

90 he wrote: A Latin text: with the dead in a dead language. It should be a Latin text. The creative spirit of the departed Hartmann leads me toward the skulls and invokes them the skulls begin to glow faintly. 44 This notation seems to set a different scene from Hartmann s drawing. In the artwork, Hartmann is alive and well, exploring the catacombs with a friend and a guide, neither of whom are Mussorgsky. The notation in the holograph, however, implies that Mussorgsky is taking his own journey into the catacombs rather than becoming an observer or companion in the drawing, and is, in fact, following the spirit of the already departed Hartmann. Nagachevskaya suggests that the Promenade theme is Mussorgsky speaking to Hartmann, and the lower octaves represent Hartmann s ominous replies from deep within the catacombs. 45 Stasov falls in line with this more figurative interpretation from his description in a letter to Rimsky-Korsakov: tremolando comes in a minor key the theme of the first promenades these are faint lights glimmering in the skulls, and here suddenly is sounded the magic, poetic appeal of Hartmann to Musorgsky. 46 In Rimsky-Korsakov s reply to Stasov, he seems reluctant to agree that Mussorgsky s texture contains this spiritual dialogue: The place from Catacombs which you describe is beautiful, but it is taken out of the middle and thus is not very clear to me; how this appeal happens to be made by Hartmann to Musorgsky I don t understand this at all. 47 On one hand, Russ claims that for Mussorgsky, since faith and religion featured little in his life, we can assume that he held little hope for an after-life. Life on earth constituted all that 44 Jay Leyda and Sergei Bertensson, The Musorgsky Reader: A Life of Modeste Petrovich Musorgsky in Letters and Documents (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1947), Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition, Leyda and Bertensson, The Musorgsky Reader, Ibid.,

91 was available, early death was simply a waste. 48 He also responds to Mussorgsky s notation, writing that this idea of the skulls glowing probably came to him from the illustration where in the lamplight the skulls themselves seem to light up. 49 On the other hand, Seroff claims that Moussorgsky never lost his interest in spiritualism and quite often attended séances with Stassov s brother Dmitri and Kutusov. 50 Although we cannot presume to know the level of Mussorgsky s spiritual life, we can glean insight from his vocal writing. The first song for comparison is titled Softly the Spirit Flew Up to Heaven, a suspiciously religious choice of text for someone who held little hope for an after-life (see Example 4.2.7). Example Mussorgsky, Softly the Spirit Flew Up to Heaven, mm As with Con mortuis, Mussorgsky begins in a 6/4 time signature with sustained tremolos in the treble register, creating an appropriately spiritual setting. Additionally, after a measure of introduction, Mussorgsky introduces a Lamentoso melody in quarter notes underneath. From this comparison, it would seem that Mussorgsky s delicate tremolos and melodic placement in Con Mortuis reach beyond creating an atmosphere of mystery and into the realm of the divine. 48 Russ, Musorgsky, Ibid. 50 Victor Seroff, Modeste Musorgsky (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1968),

92 For the next comparison we will turn to the fifth song of Sunless, Elegy. The title alone bears certain connotations of remembrance for those who have passed, and although Hartmann s death is likely an influence for this music, Mussorgsky was also deeply struck by the passing of his close friend Nadezhda Opochinina. She died in 1874, shortly after Mussorgsky completed Pictures but before he returned to composing the last two songs of Sunless. Mussorgsky had begun a dedication to her entitled Epitaph for voice and piano, but he never finished the project. An excerpt from the text gives a sense of the deep sorrow he felt over her death: Cruel death, like a ravenous vulture, thrust her talons into your heart and killed you; this executioner, cursed throughout the ages, has carried you, too, away. O, if only all those for whom I know my maddened cry sounds wild, could comprehend the power of grief! O, if only it could give me tears, bitter and comforting tears then, perhaps, in a luminous thought, I could portray for people your shining image, glowing with the love of truth. 51 Elegy from Songs and Dances of Death, written around the same time as Epitaph, expresses comparable sentiments in its text. One striking feature in Elegy is the clang of the bell of death, which Brown tells us is not only the dynamic height of the song, but indeed the climax of the entire Sunless cycle 52 (see Example 4.2.8). Example Mussorgsky, Sunless, Elegy, mm Leyda and Bertensson, The Musorgsky Reader, Brown, Musorgsky,

93 Immediately following this texture of Death s melancholy tolling, 53 there appears a texture in the piano accompaniment that is very similar to Con mortuis. The right-hand part begins with a pianissimo tremolo, and the left-hand part enters underneath with a lamenting theme (see Example 4.2.9). Example Mussorgsky, Sunless, Elegy, mm Also like Con mortuis, the theme in the treble register is answered with a low bass melody in octaves, and the piece ends on a sustained tremolo (see Example ). Example Mussorgsky, Sunless, Elegy, mm F minor: i 6/4 iv 6 i 53 Richter, Mussorgsky s Complete Song Texts,

94 The poem here gives the impression of a disheartened speaker: A prescient star, as if overcome by shame, conceals its bright countenance in a morose haze, not unlike my future, mute and impenetrable. 54 This despondent conclusion is manifested in the song by Mussorgsky avoiding any decisive cadence and maintaining the minor harmony to the end. The crucial difference in Con mortuis is that Mussorgsky eventually resolves the gloomy harmonies to B major, creating a more uplifting close to the piece (see Example ). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Con mortuis in lingua mortua, mm B Major: V I V I In Elegy, the speaker seems to have lost hope in a future without this person they care about so greatly. Perhaps in Con mortuis, the rising B-major ending is Mussorgsky s way of providing hope in the midst of tragedy, allowing light to penetrate as Hartmann s spirit ascends to a greater place after their final exchange. As we have seen with comparisons to Mussorgsky s vocal literature, Catacombae and Con mortuis are neither merely atmospheric colorations of mystery or fear nor literal depictions of Mussorgsky joining Hartmann s entourage underground. From The Idle Noisy Day Is Over, we can infer that there is likely a figurative journey into past memories. Softly 54 Ibid. 83

95 the Spirit Flew Up to Heaven shows us that there are aspects of the spiritual involved, and Elegy confirms a sense of loss and deep remorse after death. The pianist should understand that the purpose of these movements in Pictures is not to simply recreate the image of travelling through the catacombs in Hartmann s drawing, but to take part in Mussorgsky s spiritual homage to his close friend. 4.3 The Hut on Hen s Legs (Baba Yaga) She lives deep in the woods in a hut whose hen s legs allow it to rotate to face each unfortunate newcomer. There she lures lost children to eat them, crushing their bones in the giant mortar in which she rides through the woods propelling herself with the pestle and covering her tracks with a broomstick. 55 Such is Russ s description of the dark Russian fairytale of Baba Yaga. Hartmann s drawing, however, depicts a very different image. Rather than a menacing, ferocious witch, he drew an ornate clock. It is decorated with many elaborate features, but only the hen s feet link it to the fairy tale. Frankenstein tells us that this is described in the catalogue (No. 247) as Baba Yaga s hut on fowl s legs. Clock, Russian style of the 14 th century. Bronze and enamel. The carved gables, cock motives, and elaborate ornamentation after textile and rope patterns, are all highly typical of Hartmann s architectural style 56 (see Figure 4.3.1). 55 Russ, Musorgsky, Frankenstein, Victor Hartmann and Modeste Musorgsky,

96 Figure Victor Hartmann, Baba-Yaga s Hut on Hen s Legs. Although Hartmann s clock seems outside the realm of Baba Yaga s savagery, he certainly understood the barbaric aspects of the fairytale. The first time Stasov had seen him, Hartmann evidently made quite a stir at an artist s ball dressed as the witch. While everyone else was in costume according to clichéforeign models, Hartmann appeared there, along rows of plaster of Paris Greek gods and goddesses, a witch, Baba Yaga, was running her red braids streaming out behind her. A big fuzzy hat was pulled down over her eyes, her feet were wrapped in onuchi, bony arms stuck out of the sleeves of her robe, a sparse beard protruded from her chin, her horrible eyes gleamed maliciously on her painted face, tusks stuck out of her half opened mouth. 57 One can imagine that this story had been told to Mussorgsky, who no doubt thought of this image when composing Baba Yaba in memory of Hartmann. Some scholars, however, still link Mussorgsky s movement to aspects of a clock. According to the 1886 edition, the metronome marking is set at 120 to the quarter note. 58 Russ explains that if the metronome marking is correct, then the indication [quarter note] = 120 leaves each bar with a duration of exactly one second; this, and the mechanical rhythm, gives the impression of a giant clock Ibid., Russ, Musorgsky, Ibid.,

97 Similarly, Brown claims, the witch s pendulum begins the frantic ticking that determines the pace of her ride. 60 Although a speed of 120 to the quarter note would hinder the necessary feverish delivery of a performance, the aspect of a relentless pulse is certainly appropriate. But perhaps the idea of a ticking clock is not so inapt, for as we have seen in the Boris Hallucination Scene, it can be associated with the supernatural as it was with Dmitry s ghost, and even has the power to drive one insane. The intense outer sections of Baba Yaga are often thought to portray the witch s frenzied ride through the forest. Stasov tells us that Musorgsky has added the ride of Baba Yaga in her mortar, 61 Seroff writes Moussorgsky s picture represents one of Baba-Yaga s rides on a broomstick, 62 and Riesemann concurs that Moussorgsky has written for this a wild scherzo a sort of witches ride. 63 Appropriately, the opening is replete with brutal octaves and biting chords (see Example 4.3.1). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Baba Yaga, mm Brown, Musorgsky, Frankenstein, Victor Hartmann and Modeste Musorgsky, Seroff, Modeste Moussorgsky, Riesemann, Moussorgsky,

98 Mussorgsky utilizes an intense crescendo into fortissimo, sforzando accents, chromaticism, and a sense of intervallic opposition with symmetrical tendencies in the patterns. Although not emphasizing tritones, this passage from Baba Yaga is reminiscent of the texture in Gnomus, crafting an atmosphere of angst and terror. Nagachevskaya refers to this section as takeoff music for the witch, based on the forcefully rising bassline. 64 In the context of the fairy tale, this would make sense. Unfortunately Mussorgsky did not leave behind a vocal composition about Baba Yaga in order to suggest the intentions of each musical pattern. Other than his orchestral work St. John s Night on Bare Mountain, the closest reference we have to a terrifying supernatural force like Baba Yaga is Death itself in his Songs and Dances of Death. In the song Trepak, Death traps a wayward peasant in a dreadful snow storm, feigning to comfort him as his life slips away. There is a passage comparable to Baba Yaga where the poem describes the storm, like a witch, rose up and pushed you from field to forest, drowsy, not knowing she snatched you 65 (see Example 4.3.2). 64 Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition, Peter Barton, Modeste Mussorgsky s Songs and Dances of Death (DMA thesis, University of South Carolina, 2011),

99 Example Mussorgsky, Songs and Dances of Death, Trepak, mm Although not bearing the same frantic drive as Baba Yaga, Trepak has a sense of an ominous presence from the heavy bass octaves crescendoing upward, answered by descending chords with grace notes in the right hand. A more agitated texture occurs subsequently in the song when Death commands: Spread a fluffy bed my darling storm! 66 (see Example 4.3.3). Example Mussorgsky, Songs and Dances of Death, Trepak, mm Ibid. 88

100 The cascading chromatic scales in Trepak are comparable to the ending of the A section in Baba Yaga, which also dramatically descends while emphasizing half steps. Much like the storm that envelops the hapless victim in Trepak, this passage in Baba Yaga could be interpreted as the witch swooping down to close in on her prey (see Example 4.3.4). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Baba Yaga, mm Another piece in the Songs and Dances of Death cycle, The Field Marshal, also utilizes compositional tools that exhibit many similarities to the A section of Baba Yaga. As the poem describes a vicious battle scene ushering in the appearance of Death, we find sforzando accents, brooding bass octaves, appoggiaturas in the right hand, and rising and falling chromaticism (see Example 4.3.5). 89

101 Example Mussorgsky, Songs and Dances of Death, The Field Marshal, mm From these similarities to the A section of Baba Yaga we can get a sense that Mussorgsky s witch is indeed a figure of terror and destruction far removed from Hartmann s decorative clock. The B section of Baba Yaga, conversely, is a much less active Andante mosso. Calvocoressi argues that this middle section gives an example of purely musical suggestion, perhaps unique in the instrumental works of the composer. Everyone will feel the mysterious atmosphere of this episode. 67 Russ explains, the central section mixes diminished and augmented harmonies creating tonal ambiguity and an atmosphere of spookiness Calvocoressi, Musorgsky, Russ, Musorgsky,

102 Riesemann also believes that the strange harmonies and halting melodies produce a weird effect of unreality 69 (see Example 4.3.6). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Baba Yaga, mm Although the texture of the B section indeed suggests a magical atmosphere, a more precise explanation could be that Baba Yaga is actually seducing her victim rather than generating a vague mysticism. Nagachevskaya points out that the left-hand melody of the B section begins with the same rhythm as the opening of the piece, indicating that this is likely Baba Yaga speaking to her victim. 70 Additionally, the non legato marking indicates the imitation of speechlike patterns. 71 For comparison, we will again look to Songs and Dances of Death. In the song Lullaby, Death promises to ease the suffering of a mother s sickly child and give him peaceful sleep. 69 Riesemann, Moussorgsky, Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition, Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition,

103 When Death begins to sing, the right hand of the accompaniment slips into a triplet pattern like the B section of Baba Yaga (see Example 4.3.7). Example Mussorgsky, Songs and Dances of Death, Lullaby, mm When Death professes I will quickly quiet him; hush, my little one, my own, 72 we see an emphasis on falling intervals in the melody, much like the left-hand part in Baba Yaga (compare Examples and 4.3.8). Example Mussorgsky, Songs and Dances of Death, Lullaby, mm These textures serve as a deceitfully seductive entreaty, supporting the interpretation that Baba Yaga is attempting a similar ruse with her victim. 72 Barton, Modeste Mussorgsky s Songs and Dances of Death,

104 In Lullaby, soon after these comforting promises from Death, the left-hand part begins leaping up as the mother becomes more agitated, her cries accompanied by tremelando. She implores Death to stop: Have mercy! Cease your ghastly song, I beg you, if only for a moment! 73 (see Example 4.3.9). Example Mussorgsky, Songs and Dances of Death, Lullaby, mm In the B section of Baba Yaga, there are also agitated interjections alongside tremelando accompaniment. Perhaps these motives are the shouts of the victim as he or she realizes what is actually happening, that this seduction is a ploy to claim the victim s life (see Example ). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Baba Yaga, mm Richter, Mussorgsky s Complete Song Texts,

105 After the screams subside, Baba Yaga abruptly takes off and resumes her hunt for another victim. From the musical details as well as the comparisons to Mussorgsky s Songs and Dances of Death, we see that the musical realization of Baba Yaga takes the listener into a world far removed from the decorative clock of Hartmann s design. Hartmann s sketch provides a subject, but ultimately does very little for the spirit of Mussorgsky s music. Far from ornate, the music is raw and direct, wild and frantic, primal and brutal. Although this piece demands a strong technique, it is not a Lisztian bravura that drives Mussorgsky s composition, but a need to cut straight to the aggression, terror, and deceit of Baba Yaga. The pianist should tear the audience from their seats onto the ride of her mortar, become the seductress, and communicate a brutality that comes from a very different spirit than Hartmann s clock. With the category of death in Pictures, Mussorgsky has shown us a nuanced variety of emotions. Il vecchio castello embodies qualities of yearning, Catacombae and Con mortuis represent grief in a spiritual context, and Baba Yaga is driven by terror and seduction. For the cycle as a whole, death represents the last step in a journey through the stages of life. We have seen the beginning of life, the lighthearted sides of life, the severe sides of life, and the end of life. Mussorgsky, however, does not leave us with an exploration of life within only these boundaries. He also incorporates movements which transcend these worldly concerns. These are pieces that contextualize the expressive journey of Pictures, providing a measure of triumph and hope amidst topics of frivolity, struggle, and loss. 94

106 Chapter Five Transcendence The category of transcendence consists of the bookends of the cycle, the opening Promenade and the finale The Bogatyr Gate. Promenade sets a celebratory tone for the opening before we are dragged into the turbulent emotional ride of the cycle. I will examine traits of Russian folk and choral music to better understand the texture, and then draw comparisons with the Coronation Scene in Boris Godunov in order to illuminate the exultant qualities in this movement. The Bogatyr Gate returns us to a sense of glorious triumph while incorporating elements of the divine. I will again look to Boris for determining expressive and textural meaning, as well as examine the Russian Orthodox chant Memory Eternal in order to highlight the connection to spiritual elements. 5.1 Promenade It is commonly accepted that Promenade represents Mussorgsky physically walking through Hartmann s exhibition. According to Russ, this is a portrait of Musorgsky, now of considerable bulk, shambling through the gallery. 1 Also commenting on his bodily weight, Frankenstein describes this movement as a kind of musical portrait of Musorgsky himself walking about in the gallery. The curious rhythm measures of 5/4 alternating with measures of 6/4 creates an awkward waddly effect: Musorgsky was no sylph. 2 Brown provides even more detail, writing, Promenade I brilliantly suggests him walking purposefully into the room, 1 Michael Russ, Musorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), Alfred Frankenstein, Victor Hartmann and Modeste Musorgsky, Musical Quarterly 25 (1939),

107 though there is an ebb and flow in the phrasing that indicates that his gait is subject to constant slight irregularities, perhaps through momentary shifts of direction as he turns to give the pictures a preliminary survey. 3 Curiously, Stasov s note for this movement does not provide any descriptive imagery, writing only that the introduction bears the title Promenade. 4 In his biography of Mussorgsky, however, he does offer his thoughts on the Promenade interludes: The composer has shown himself pacing here and there; sometimes loitering, sometimes hastening to get nearer to a picture; sometimes the joyful gait slackens Musorgsky thinking mournfully of his dead friend. 5 In Mussorgsky s letter to Stasov regarding Pictures, he writes that his own physiognomy peeps out all through the intermezzos. 6 At first glance, it would seem that this explanation validates the aforementioned interpretations. There are, nonetheless, two fundamental assumptions that would have to be imposed on Mussorgsky s letter to arrive at this conclusion. The first issue concerns the distinction between the intermezzos and the Promenade. Although the intermezzos are titled [Promenade] and are thematically linked, they do not have movement numbers and they contain brackets around their headings, whereas the actual Promenade movements are labeled. Mussorgsky distinguished between the Promenade and the subsequent recurrences of its theme, and thus was not necessarily referring to the opening movement in his letter. The other issue relates to the interpretation of the word physiognomy. Although the term can be defined as a manifestation of bodily features, it may 3 David Brown, Musorgsky: His Life and Works (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), Frankenstein, Victor Hartmann and Modeste Musorgsky, Quoted in M. D. Calvocoressi, Musorgsky: The Russian Musical Nationalist, trans. A. Eaglefield Hull (New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1919), Quoted in Oskar von Riesemann, Moussorgsky, trans. Paul England (New York: Tudor Publishing Co., 1935),

108 also be understood as a reflection of one s character and spirit. Riesemann touches on this more figurative concept, explaining that Promenade reveals a clever and intelligent face nel modo russico, which reflects the objects seen, but in a form transfigured by art. 7 The musical texture of Promenade is comparable to that of a Russian choir, where a soloist initiates a theme and is then followed by alternating choral responses, creating a pattern of antiphonal singing. 8 There are constant meter fluctuations in the A section between 5/4 and 6/4, adding to a sense of unrestricted chant-like singing. Mussorgsky creates an atmosphere of grandeur with the forte dynamic, tenutos on every note of the main theme, and grand chords with a supportive bassline in octaves (see Example 5.1.1). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Promenade I, mm In order to clarify the associations with Russian folk and choral music, we must examine some of the salient characteristics of these genres. Russ explains, the folk-influence may be felt in a variety of ways, most significantly in modal alterations, a narrow range, obsessively 7 Riesemann, Moussorgsky, Russ, Musorgsky,

109 reiterated small diatonic collections, heterophony, parallelism and the use of pedals. 9 He offers a reproduction of the heterophonic folk song Da svaty moi as an example of the Russian choral style 10 (see Example 5.1.2). Example Da svaty moi. According to the Russian folk specialist Evgenia Linyova, Russian folk heterophony usually begins with a solo or unison which then changes into polyphony, periodically returning to unison.both the lead singer (zapevalo) and the supporting singers (podgoloski or podgolosochniki) sing essentially the same melody, but the supporting voices constantly deviate from it, changing it at will. 11 As in Promenade, Da svaty moi indeed opens with a solo melody answered by polyphony, and the essence of the melody from the opening zapevalo is reflected in the podgoloski response. In both examples we also find the use of a 6/4 time signature and a strong bassline in contrary motion. It would thus be appropriate that when interpreting Promenade, the pianist should feel the breath of the soloist and choir, the 9 Ibid., Ibid., Vladimir Morosan, Folk and Chant Elements in Musorgsky s Choral Writing, in Mussorgsky: In Memoriam , ed. Malcolm Hamrick Brown (Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1982),

110 antiphonal shadings of color and dynamics, and convey the elements of the Russian folk and choral sound in the music. Russ also discusses a close similarity between the melody of Promenade and the chorus in the Coronation Scene of Boris Godunov. He explains that the Coronation melody is the Russian hymn Glory to God in the Highest and notes several parallels to Promenade that exemplify the Russian style, including the reiterations of motifs based on diatonic seconds and fourths, the distinctive eighth- eighth- quarter-note rhythm, and the changing metric contexts. 12 Emerson and Oldani write that the Coronation melody is one of the few genuine folk melodies in Boris. 13 Below is Russ s chart comparing Promenade and the Coronation melody of Boris Godunov 14 (see Example 5.1.3). Example Russ Comparison of Promenade and Boris Coronation Scene Melodies. 12 Russ, Musorgsky, Caryl Emerson and Robert Oldani, Modest Musorgsky and Boris Godunov (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), Russ, Musorgsky,

111 Comparing (a)(i) with (b)(i), we see that both melodies are comprised of a collection of five notes with an octave range between lower and upper dominant scale degrees. There is also the use of eighth-note dyad patterns, and both openings employ a rising perfect fourth. These melodic similarities are indeed prominent, but we may also look to their textures for resemblances as well. When looking at a reduction of the chorus and orchestra in the Coronation Scene of Boris, we see chords in the treble partnered with octaves in the bass moving in contrary motion, much like the chordal textures in Promenade (see Example 5.1.4). Example Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Prologue, Coronation Scene, p. 37. There is yet another aspect of Promenade that we can compare with the Coronation Scene in Boris, which Russ does not mention. These are the sections which begin as a reflection of the theme, but proceed into steady eighth-note figuration (see Example 5.1.5). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Promenade I, mm A similar transition into eighth notes can be identified in the Coronation Scene as bells begin ringing out over the chorus (see Example 5.1.6). 100

112 Example Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Coronation Scene, p. 42. While Russ touches on comparisons to Boris, he does not delve into the implications that this type of analysis might have for the expressive purpose of Promenade. In this scene, the crowd is singing amidst trumpet fanfares and bellringing in praise of the Tsar: As the beautiful sun is above us in heaven, glory, glory, so Tsar Boris is above us in Russia, glory, glory! 15 The music here is momentously uplifting, reflecting a spirit of nobility, pride, and hope. Undeniably, the majority of the opera is, in fact, beset with trepidation, but this scene provides a moment of transcendence beyond the onerous trials that the characters must inevitably face. The overall layout of Pictures reflects this sentiment as well. At the end of the first Promenade, we come to an issue regarding transitions. When Rimsky-Korsakov edited Mussorgsky s manuscript, he removed the attacca markings at the end of several movements, including the one at the end of Promenade I. Consequently, since Ravel created his orchestration before an edition true to the manuscript was published, his orchestral version is also plagued by this problem. Without the attacca, we are left with the effect of Promenade I 15 Emerson and Oldani, Modest Musorgsky and Boris Godunov,

113 and Gnomus standing apart as nonintegrated and incoherent vignettes. With the attacca reinstated, these two movements are linked, and we can feel the inevitable pull into the expressive world of Pictures as we are abruptly transported between emotions. In this context, Promenade I serves as the glorious and hopeful celebration not unlike the Coronation Scene in Boris, whereas the following Gnomus unveils a truly tortured nature as we saw with comparisons to the Hallucination Scene later in the opera. Another clue about the function of Promenade comes from the tempo marking Allegro giusto, which is commonly understood as a true or exact allegro. Within the context of this comparison, however, we could interpret giusto as embodying a sense of the just and righteous. In order to create the arc that Mussorgsky intended for the set, the pianist should infuse some of this noble spirit into Promenade I, establishing the appropriate expressive basis for initiating the cycle. 5.2 The Bogatyr Gate (at Kiev, the Ancient Capital) In this final movement, we return to the triumphant essence that frames the cycle of Pictures. The Bogatyr Gate, also referred to as The Great Gate of Kiev, was inspired by Hartmann s design that was part of a competition to commemorate Emperor Alexander II s escape from attempted assassination. 16 Here we have a more extensive description of Hartmann s drawing, no doubt because this sketch was one of his most notorious and respected pieces: 16 Victor Seroff, Modeste Musorgsky (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1968),

114 Six views and plans of the gate are mentioned in the catalogue (Nos ), of which ours is apparently No. 265: Stone city-gates for Kiev, Russian style, with a small church inside; the city council had planned to build these in 1869, in place of the wooden gates, to commemorate the event of April 4, The archway rests on granite pillars, three quarters sunk in the ground. Its head is decorated with a huge headpiece of Russian carved designs, with the Russian state eagle above the peak. To the right is a belfry in three stories with a cupola in the shape of a Slav helmet. The project was never carried out. A photograph of this drawing may be found in Hartmann s edition of Illustrations of Russian Ornament, Moscow, The inscription on the arch of the gateway is in Old Slavonic and says: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. 17 Stasov writes that the columns seem sunk into the earth as though weighted down with old age, and as though God knows how many centuries ago they had been built. Above, instead of a copula, is a Slavonic war helmet with a pointed peak. The walls are decorated with a pattern of coloured brick! How original is this! 18 (see Figure 5.2.1). Figure Victor Hartmann, Design for Kiev City Gate: Main Façade. Stasov was obviously quite taken with Hartmann s work. His comments on Mussorgsky s The Bogatyr Gate, however, are somewhat underhanded. In a letter to Rimsky- Korsakov, Stasov describes this movement as in the manner of a hymn or a finale a la Slavsiya of course a million times worse and weaker, but all the same a lovely, mighty and 17 Frankenstein, Victor Hartmann and Modeste Musorgsky, Quoted in Russ, Musorgsky,

115 original thing. 19 Calvocoressi feels that it is evidently laborious writing for a quest after sonority that is perhaps more ambitious than successful. 20 Riesemann describes it as a somewhat conventionally designed apotheosis, 21 and Seroff claims that it has nothing photographically resembling Hartmann s design for the great Gate of Kiev. 22 We will see, however, that there are in fact links to Hartmann s drawing, as well as a sentiment that reaches far beyond a quest after sonority. We are reminded of the expressive character of Promenade as The Bogatyr Gate opens in a grand and heroic fashion. Like Promenade, it has a chordal texture with an opening melody comprised of similar scale tones involving the first, second, third, and fifth degrees, ultimately spanning an octave dominant to dominant. Aside from these similarities, the tempo markings of maestoso and con grandezza alone give insight into the expressive qualities of this movement (see Example 5.2.1). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, The Bogatyr Gate, mm Jay Leyda and Sergei Bertensson, The Musorgsky Reader: A Life of Modeste Petrovich Musorgsky in Letters and Documents (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1947), Calvocoressi, Musorgsky, Riesemann, Moussorgsky, Seroff, Modeste Moussorgsky,

116 After this glorious opening, the music suddenly transforms into a texture reminiscent of a four-part church chorale, as if we are transported from the celebration outside the gate to a service inside the chapel above (see Example 5.2.2). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, The Bogatyr Gate, mm A-flat minor: i i i 6 iv V/VI VI (F-flat major: vi V I) Stasov describes this section to Rimsky-Korsakov as a particularly lovely church motif: As you are baptized in Christ 23 (see Example 5.2.3). Example As You Are Baptized in Christ Leyda and Bertensson, The Musorgsky Reader, Russ, Musorgsky,

117 Brown agrees that Musorgsky invented, as human participation, a choir intoning the traditional chant As you are baptized in Christ. 25 Russ concurs as well, but questions its use: Musorgsky s piece includes a reworking of the Russian hymn identified by Stasov above, but his setting does not reveal a very deep understanding of what ancient Russian Church music was like. This hymn has nothing to do with Musorgsky s faith, or lack of it, it is there because of associations with Russian history and culture and because of the chapel in Hartman s design. 26 These statements are problematic for two reasons. First, as we have seen in the examinations of Catacombae and Con mortuis, it would be a mistake to assume that Mussorgsky was not spiritual, lacked faith, or preferred not to express it. Second, the assertion that Mussorgsky actually based his chorale on As you are baptized in Christ is debatable since the two share little more than the quality of stepwise motion. Not only is the melody quite different, but also Mussorgsky s sustained rhythms, piano marking with hairpin dynamics, and description of senza espressione all point to music that transcends the performance of an everyday church hymn. Considering that Mussorgsky composed Pictures in memory of his late friend Victor Hartmann, a more thematically appropriate Russian chorale for comparison is one that he might have known from traditional Russian Orthodox memorial services. Memory Eternal is an ancient Russian chant, which was reworked in the Obikhod collections disseminated by the Imperial Chapel in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries 27 and is traditionally chanted at the end of Russian memorial services to commemorate the dead. The soloist first intones a prayer: In a blessed falling asleep, grant, O Lord, eternal rest unto Thy departed servant and make their 25 Brown, Musorgksy, Russ, Musorgsky, Morosan, Folk and Chant Elements in Musorgsky s Choral Writing,

118 memory to be eternal! The choir humbly responds by echoing the words memory eternal (see Example 5.2.4). Example Memory Eternal. C-sharp minor: i V/III III (E major: vi V I) The air of reverence in Mussorgsky s The Bogatyr Gate chorale is inherent to the musical texture and message of Memory Eternal. In addition to the sustained four-part writing in both examples, there is also a similarity in the harmonic progression which frequently utilizes vi-v-i patterns, in this instance creating shifts between C-sharp minor and E major. We may also find instances of Mussorgsky utilizing elements of Memory Eternal in his operatic repertoire for funereal connotations. Vladimir Morosan proposes that Mussorgsky incorporated a derivation of Memory Eternal in the fourth act of Boris Godunov, foreshadowing Boris impending death 28 (see Example 5.2.5). 28 Ibid.,

119 Example Morosan s Excerpt from Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Act IV, Scene 1A. C-sharp minor: i i i V/III III (E Major: vi V I) We again find vi-v-i patterns, creating a sense of shifting between the relative keys of C-sharp minor and E major. Looking back to The Bogatyr Gate choral, if respelled enharmonically, it also can fit effortlessly into four sharps and promptly shifts into E major. Perhaps there are deeper spiritual reasons for incorporating this chant-like texture into The Bogatyr Gate. When viewing the chorale in light of Memory Eternal, the expressive connotations shift from a generalized Christian reverence to an appropriate and powerful moment of commemoration and remembrance. After this moment of spiritual repose in The Bogatyr Gate, the opening theme suddenly returns in a thundering bass part with rapid octaves cascading from above (see Example 5.2.6). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, The Bogatyr Gate, mm This texture is comparable to an excerpt from the opening of Boris Godunov, where the melody is also accompanied by energetic octaves in a forte dynamic (see Example 5.2.7). 108

120 Example Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Prologue, pp The sixteenth notes in this instance are played by the violins, giving a sense of sweeping grandeur to the texture. In the correlate passage from The Bogatry Gate, the pianist may likewise wish to create a warm, rich sound rather than the bell-like stridency to which the piano more immediately lends itself. After a fortissimo reprise of the chorale, however, Mussorgsky does give us chords which indeed imitate the ringing of bells (see Example 5.2.8). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, The Bogatyr Gate, mm Nagachevskaya explains that the sonority of the first bell chord in m. 81 forms the sound of the famous Tristan chord of Wagner, setting a tone of doom and hopelessness. 29 Indeed, we could 29 Svetlana Nagachevskaya, Pictures at an Exhibition: A Reconciliation of Divergent Perceptions about Mussorgsky s Renowned Cycle (DMA thesis, University of Arizona, 2009),

121 respell Mussorgsky s F3, A-flat2, C-flat4, E-flat4 to F3, G-sharp4, B3, D-sharp4 as in the second measure below (see Example 5.2.9). Example Wagner, Tristan und Isolde, Act I, Prelude, mm The bell texture in The Bogatyr Gate also shares many features with the bells in the Coronation Scene of Boris. In this scene of the opera there are actual theater bells on stage, with a similar alternation between high and low bells (see Example ). Example Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Coronation Scene, p. 32. We hear a juxtaposition of two major-minor seventh chords with roots a tritone apart (A-flat and D), creating an apprehension in the harmony as well. After these bells are introduced, Mussorgsky employs increasingly energetic rhythmic patterns, which usher in the uplifting choral celebration (see Example ). 110

122 Example Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov, Coronation Scene, p. 33. A similar effect happens in The Bogatyr Gate as the bells continue to build on each other and rhythmic energy also increases. Eventually, the upper bells begin clanging with the resilient Promenade theme as hope dispels the darkness, preparing for the glorious return of the opening theme (see Example ). Example Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, The Bogatyr Gate, mm