Dan Bossaller

Dr. Burke
Conducting
4/8/09
A Night on Bald Mountain

"No work of Mussorgsky's has had a more confused history and none is less known.”

This description by the musicologist Gerald Abraham sums up the history of this work perfectly.

This work, Mussorgsky’s first venture into orchestral composition has had a turbid history to say

the least. The piece began as a tone poem, “St. Johns Night on the Bare Mountain.” “My St.

John's Night on the Bare Mountain . . . is, in form and character, Russian and original… [I see]

an original Russian work…springing from our native fields and nourished with Russian bread.”

His fascination with creating a work fed on Russian bread kept him composing at a feverish

pace; this work, in its original form, was composed in 12 days. This work lay unperformed as

Mussorgsky constantly made tweaks to it, transmuting it from a tone poem into an opera-ballet,

Mlada, then into a dream sequence in another opera, Sorochintsy Fair.

None of these was ever performed during the composer’s lifetime. Nicolai Rimsky-

Korsakov, a close friend of Mussorgsky, found the manuscripts after Mussorgsky’s death,

arranged them back into a viable tone poem for orchestra and published the piece in 1886. Since

then, this arrangement and a later arrangement by Leopold Stokowski--featured in the movie

Fantasia--have since become orchestral standards.

Mussorgsky describes the piece thus:

“The witches used to assemble on [the bald] mountain . . . , there to gossip, play

lewd pranks, and await their superior – Satan. Upon his arrival, they . . . would

form a circle around his throne, where he sat in the guise of a he-goat, and would

sing glory to their chief. When Satan became frenzied enough at the witches'
 glorification, he would order the start of the Sabbath. Rimsky-Korsakov adds this

last thought: At the height of the orgy, the bell of the little village church is heard

from afar. The Spirits of Darkness are dispersed. Daybreak.”

The piece is in D minor; but it starts in the mixolydian mode, with A the center of the

chromatic elements in the first section. The piece is scored 1.2.2.2.2-4.2.3.1-timp.perc-harp-

strings, a good size orchestra. There is an emphasis on the trombone and horn parts in many parts

of the score and the orchestra has been beefed up accordingly.

In the introduction pages I’ve handed in to you, there are score notes for this manuscript;

for the most part I will be following these score notes in order matching them to gestures in the

music. After I give an overview of the instrumental parts of the score I will provide some

recommendations for conducting the piece.

I: Subterranean Noises of Supernatural Voices

The violins (I & II) begin on a eighth note triplet pattern, quickly swinging from the

dominant, up a semitone, returning to the dominant, down a semitone, returning to the dominant,

and down a semitone A rumbling bass line in the violas, ‘cellos, and basses at their respective

octaves ads to the fray, A-G#-Bb-G#, giddy with anticipation. The first oboes and first flutes

enter simultaneously, reinforcing the dominant at pitch with the Violins I and II. The textures

build and interact; the woodwinds enter with feverish, excited glissandos. The triplet patterns in

the violins segue, suddenly, into staccato eighth notes entering and leaving consonance and

dissonance. Two measures of this brings the first theme, the bassoons, trombones, tuba, violas

and low strings blast a gloriously rich melody in the relative major. They are joined by the horns

and trumpets on a concert D, creating a howling dissonance with the melody instruments, which
are playing a C at octaves. The dissonance continues until it is halted by two huge orchestra hits,

the first on a second inversion i chord the second on a ii7 chord. The orchestra decays in a 2 over

3 polyrhythm between the flutes and piccolos, and violin I, and pizzicato in the violin II and

viola. A boiling figure in the clarinet, bassoon and viola--continuing in the polyrhythm

mentioned above--leads to two bell tone hits by the orchestra followed by a trill on the dominant

chord and a grand pause.

A chromatic modulation to Eb minor repeats the first section of the piece. The tone is

one of greater urgency, as if in anticipation of something coming. The first set of orchestral hits,

however lead a sixteenth-dotted-eighth rhythm in the woodwinds over triple stops, grace notes

and trills in the strings.

II: Apparition of the Spirits of Darkness

This forms a transition into another chromatic modulation to E minor and a new theme, a

giddy exultation in the woodwinds and strings, supported by perfect fifths and octaves below.

The strings and high woodwinds alternate, providing quick glissandos between phrases. The

bottom drops out leaving the clarinets, violins II, bassoons and violas to pass around the theme

over an eighth note tremolo in the cellos. The ensuing Poco Piu Sostenuto can be taken

marginally slower while the woodwinds explore a softer version of the exultation. The melody

passes from an oboe-bassoon duet to a flute-clarinet duet who introduces a sub-theme of

expectation, all the while accompanied by soft strings. This theme builds to an orchestral forte as

well as a return to the allegro feroce as the orchestra plays a homorhythmic exultation, accented

by grace notes and hits by the piccolos, flutes, trumpets, trombones, tubas and low strings. The

flutes and violins again introduce that subtheme of expectation which leads to a redux of the
exultation by the oboes and clarinets accompanied by a bassoon in the high register, stopped

horns, and second violins and violas playing with the wood of their bows.

III: After them: Chernabog, the black god

Soon alternating orchestral hits and glissandos in the flutes and oboes lead to a gesture of

excitement and anticipation in the oboes and clarinets and violins. The trombones and trumpets

play a fanfare to welcome Chernabog.

IV: Celebration of Chernabog

This is followed by a stunned silence as the violins build chromatically to a raucous

dance belted by the high winds and first violins. An oom-pah beat in the orchestra accompanies

the dance. From there the orchestra segues again into another poco piu sostenuto where the low

woodwinds introduce a gesture of restrained excitement, as more members of the orchestra join

in the dance the score instructs that the orchestra becomes “poco a poco piu animato,” little by

little more animated. The low brass join on off beats while the 4 horns belt a D at octaves,

crescendoing with the fervor until the woodwinds descend in trills from a D down to the A, the

dominant. The brass section spits an eighth note triplet fanfare while the woodwinds respond

gleefully.

V: The Black Service

The piece modulates to A Major with a brass fanfare, mocking the pomp and

circumstance of the church in the town below. The Black Service Begins. With the key change to

F# minor comes a change in tone, a mock reverence as the violins dance on the dominant C#
while the woodwinds play a remarkably consonant unison at octaves: F#-G#-B. At the piu

sostenuto, the magic and mystery begins with an A Major while the woodwinds play a smoothly

ascending and descending eighth note figure in F# Major. The service continues in this solemn

tone, alternating between the dancing figure and the eighth note figure, slowly, ever so slowly

building to a climax at L (Page 41).

VI: Sabbath

The Sabbath celebration follows after the service. The themes and gestures introduced

throughout the piece begin to interact with each other for the first time. The exultation of section

II asserts itself, which is cut off by the building gestures later in that same section. After this

interplay comes a key change to Db Major for an interlude of pesante, heavy, quarter notes and

then a reassertion of the fanfare from the beginning of section V. This fanfare is altered both in

key and instrumentation, played by the trombones II and III. Then comes a reassertion of the

exultation and building gestures two times over, followed by pesante quarter notes once more,

changing key to the original D minor. The fanfare follows in F major, played by the trumpets and

trombones I and II. The melody from the very beginning enters, flipped on its head. The piccolo,

flutes, oboes and clarinets play the triplet figure while the strings are playing the bass line

pizzicato. The melody enters stronger than ever, the brass in unison at octaves followed by 4

fortissimo orchestral hits. The exultation comes next, the woodwinds accompanied by the strings

on triplets. The Bassoons, horns, trumpets, violins and violas wrench the melody from the

woodwinds, who are now relegated to garnishing the melody. An oboe-violin duet retakes the

melody during the building section. The horns assert the exultation again.
 Chernabog intervenes again with his fanfare in a dissonant F Major; there breaks out the

celebration theme in D Major, escalating to a fever pitch. After another pause, there is another

poco piu sostenuto, transposed from section VI. The woodwinds break into their feverish

melody, low to high; then they are joined by the strings. The Black Service theme forces itself on

the scene, muddled by warring sections. This entire time the tone becomes more and more

feverish. Chernabog asserts himself once again!

VII: At the peak of the Sabbath, there resounds from afar the bell of a little village church; its

ringing disperses the spirits of darkness--Daybreak.

Suddenly, as Chernabog’s theme decays chromatically, a bell is struck in the local

church; the tempo slows down to about 66. As the bell hits, the flutes, clarinets, bassoons, bell

and cello play a first inversion E7, fully diminished. This resolves, at the insistence of the bell’s

D and the cellos’ overtone pizzicato, to D Major. The spirits retreat, feebly asserting their theme

in Eb but succumbing to the tonic. The harp enters for the first time, playing a cadenza on D

Major. The spirits attempt the dissonance again, but again resolve to the tonic. The harp enters

again with the cadenza on D Major. A solo clarinet enters and plays a slow melody in B minor.

After a harp cadenza, the melody passes to the flute which plays a variation on the B minor

melody. Finally, the sun begins to rise, and the flute, clarinet, horns and strings play chords in D

Major. Sunlight breaks through with a root position D Major chord.

Works Consulted:
The Kennedy Center Program Notes:
www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/?fuseaction=composition&composition_id=2067
The Owensboro Symphony Program Notes:
www.owensborosymphony.org/documents/program_notes_april_2008.pdf
Wikipedia for translations, musical terms and definitions
www.wikipedia.org
CONDUCTING NOTES:

1) I would not take the introduction at more than half note=92-94. This is quick enough to

convey the urgency and excitement, but also leaves room for an accelerando during

sections IV and VI.

2) At many time throughout the piece, sections will alternate playing on the beat and off the

beat, make sure to have a clean click to your beat when you conduct these passages. The

same goes for sections of offbeats.

3) The trumpets and horns are transposed: trumpet to Bb and Horn to F, but as usual they do

not have key signatures.

4) Both a Bb and an A clarinet are used in this piece, but sometimes the key signature will

not match what the concert key should be. This is merely for ease of reading of the parts.

For example, in part VII, they key signature should be E Major, but it is instead G major.

5) Make sure your horn players are up to snuff and able to tune to the section. Requiring

four horns to play in unison at octaves is nothing short of a task. Make sure their

consonances are consonant and their dissonances are dissonant.

6) Make sure to make a distinction with your clarinet and flute sections between the

glissandos and pick up notes. This requires proper score study on their part and proper

cues from you. The same goes for the violins in section V; make sure they are playing the

notes at full value and not as grace notes.

7) During the Poco Piu Sostenuto on page 18, DO NOT SPEED UP, let the allegro feroce

section come a surprise.

8) Depending on how many timpani you have, make sure you are aware of and can cover all

note changes with the changing key signatures in the prescribed length of time.
9) During the clarinet and flute solos at the end of the piece, feel free to let the clarinet and

flute play rubato. Block chords accompany these melodies; the clarinet and flute have a

hard part; let them have some fun.

10) As always make sure to cue the percussion section. My conducting teacher was serious

when he said, “You can never take back a cymbal crash.”

11) Make sure to cue the trombones.