Who Animated Chernabog In Disney's Night On Bald Mountain Sequence Of Fantasia?

Composition by Modest Mussorgsky

This article is about the Mussorgsky compositions. For the 1964 Patrick White play, see Night on Bald Mountain (play).

Night on Bald Mountain (Russian: Ночь на лысой горе, romanized: Noch′ na lysoy gore ), likewise known as Night on the Blank Mountain , is a series of compositions by Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881). Inspired past Russian literary works and fable, Mussorgsky composed a "musical picture", St. John'southward Eve on Bald Mountain (Russian: Иванова ночь на лысой горе, romanized: Ivanova noch′ na lysoy gore ) on the theme of a Witches' Sabbath occurring on St. John's Eve, which he completed on that very nighttime, 23 June 1867. Together with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Sadko (1867), it is one of the first tone poems by a Russian composer.^[1]

Although Mussorgsky was proud of his youthful endeavor, his mentor, Mily Balakirev, refused to perform it. To save what he considered worthy material, Mussorgsky attempted to insert his Bald Mountain music, recast for vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra, into two subsequent projects—the collaborative opera-ballet Mlada (1872), and the opera The Fair at Sorochyntsi (1880). However, Dark on Baldheaded Mountain was never performed in whatsoever grade during Mussorgsky'due south lifetime.^[2]

In 1886, five years after Mussorgsky's expiry, Rimsky-Korsakov published an arrangement of the work, described as a "fantasy for orchestra." Some musical scholars consider this version to exist an original composition of Rimsky-Korsakov, admitting 1 based on Mussorgsky'due south last version of the music, for The Fair at Sorochyntsi:

I demand hardly remind the reader that the orchestral piece universally known as 'Mussorgsky'due south Dark on the Bare Mountain' is an orchestral composition past Rimsky-Korsakov based on the afterwards version of the Bare Mountain music which Mussorgsky prepared for Sorochintsy Fair.^[3]

—Gerald Abraham, musicologist and an authorization on Mussorgsky, 1945

It is through Rimsky-Korsakov'due south version that Nighttime on Bald Mount achieved lasting fame. Premiering in Leningrad in 1886, the work became a concert favourite. Half a century after, the work obtained perhaps its greatest exposure through the Walt Disney animated picture Fantasia (1940), featuring an arrangement past Leopold Stokowski, based on Rimsky-Korsakov's version. Mussorgsky'due south tone poem was not published in its original form until 1968. Information technology has started to gain exposure and become familiar to modern audiences.

Name [edit]

The original Russian title of the tone verse form, Иванова ночь на лысой горе, translates literally as Saint John's Eve on Bald Mountain, usually shortened to Night on Bald Mountain. Withal, due to several ambiguities, the composition is also known by a number of alternative titles in English.

The Russian discussion "ночь" (noch′) is literally "night" in English language, but idiomatically this would refer to the night following St. John's Day, variously observed between 21 June (the summer solstice) and 25 June. The night before St. John's Day is usually referred to equally "St. John's Eve" in English language; Russian does not make this distinction.

Bald Mountain is the nigh familiar translation of "лысой горе" (lysoy gore) in English language, and is also the nigh literal. The describing word "bald" is commonly used in English identify names for arid hills, mountains, and other features, and so is also idiomatic. However, because the most familiar use of "baldheaded" describes hairlessness, this part of the title is besides known equally "Bare Mountain". The use of "baldheaded" to draw barren landscapes is mutual in European languages. In French, the piece is known as Une nuit sur le mont Chauve and in Italian Una Notte sul Monte Calvo (A Nighttime on Bald Mount).

Some performances of the work too insert the article "the" earlier "Bald Mountain" or "Blank Mountain". Manufactures are not used in Russian, but are often applied to nouns when translating Russian into languages that regularly use articles, such equally English language and French. Withal, because the title of the work refers to a specific place called "Bald Mountain", an article would not normally be used in English.^[a]

Early unrealized projects [edit]

Opera projection: St. John'southward Eve (1858) [edit]

A canvass of paper apparently found among Mussorgsky'southward manuscripts contains the following argument:

Programme of the opera St. John's Night, in 3 acts, subsequently the tale by Gogol, written past P. Boborïkin, in the presence and with the help of Minor Mussorgsky, Yevgeniy Mussorgsky, and Vasiliy. Witness to the proceedings: Mily Balakirev.^[four]

This curious fragment, dated 25 Dec 1858, has been interpreted as an indication of Mussorgsky's intent to write an opera on the discipline of Gogol's short story St. John's Eve (Russian: Вечер накануне Ивана Купала, Vecher nakanune Ivana Kupala, St. John's Eve). Gogol'due south tale contains the elements of witchcraft mutual to other stories in the Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka collection, merely does non feature a Witches' Sabbath. No farther plans for this project were mentioned.^[v]

Opera projection: The Witch (1860) [edit]

The theme of a witches' sabbath, the central theme in all subsequent Night on Bald Mountain projects, appears to have been derived from the nonextant play The Witch (Russian: Ведьма, Ved′ma) by Baron Georgiy Mengden, a military friend of the composer. In 1860 Mussorgsky informed Balakirev that he had been deputed to write one human activity of an opera on this subject:^[five]

I accept as well received some very interesting work which must be prepared for the coming summer. This work is: a whole human action on The Baldheaded Mount (from Mengden's drama The Witch), a witches' sabbath, separate episodes of sorcerers, a ceremonial march of all this rubbish, a finale—celebrity to the sabbath... The libretto is very skilful. At that place are already some materials, perhaps a very good affair volition come up of information technology.

—Small Mussorgsky, letter to Balakirev, 26 September 1860^[six]

Even so, every bit with the previous project, it is unknown whether whatsoever materials were written down, and, if so, whether they were transferred to subsequent projects.

Piece of work for piano and orchestra (early 1860s) [edit]

Rimsky-Korsakov declares in his memoirs (Chronicle of My Musical Life) that in the early 1860s Mussorgsky, under the influence of Franz Liszt'southward Totentanz, had written a version of the Bald Mount music for piano and orchestra. However, information technology is believed that Mussorgsky did non hear Liszt's piece of work until 1866, past which time he was planning the orchestral tone poem St. John's Eve on Baldheaded Mountain (see below). No trace of a work for piano and orchestra has survived outside Rimsky-Korsakov'southward recollections, so it is assumed that the score has been lost, or, more likely, that it never existed.

Tone poem: St. John'southward Eve on Bald Mountain (1867) [edit]

Limerick history [edit]

In 1866 Mussorgsky wrote to Balakirev expressing a desire to hash out his plans for The Witches, his informal name for his Bald Mount music.^[7] In early June 1867, he began composing the orchestral version of the piece. The score is inscribed with the following details:

Conceived in 1866. Began to write for orchestra 12 June 1867, completed work on the eve of St. John's Day, 23 June 1867, in Luga District on Minkino Farm. Modest Mussorgskiy.

Russian original: Задумана в 1866 году. Начал писать на оркестр 12-го июня 1867 года, окончил работу в Канун Иванова дня 23 июня 1867 года в Лугском уезде на Мызе Минкино. Модест Мусоргский^[8]

Mussorgsky described the slice in a letter to Vladimir Nikolsky:

So far equally my memory doesn't deceive me, the witches used to get together on this mount, ... gossip, play tricks and wait their chief—Satan. On his inflow they, i.e. the witches, formed a circumvolve round the throne on which he sat, in the form of a kid, and sang his praise. When Satan was worked up into a sufficient passion by the witches' praises, he gave the command for the sabbath, in which he chose for himself the witches who caught his fancy. So this is what I've done. At the caput of my score I've put its content: one. Assembly of the witches, their talk and gossip; 2. Satan's journeying; 3. Obscene praises of Satan; and 4. Sabbath ... The form and character of the composition are Russian and original ... I wrote St. John's Eve chop-chop, straight away in full score, I wrote it in about twelve days, celebrity to God ... While at work on St. John's Eve I didn't slumber at nighttime and actually finished the work on the eve of St. John's Solar day, it seethed within me so, and I only didn't know what was happening inside me ... I meet in my wicked prank an independent Russian product, complimentary from German profundity and routine, and, like Savishna, grown on our native fields and nurtured on Russian bread.^[9]

He also stated—incorrectly, every bit it turned out—that he would never re-model information technology: "with whatever shortcomings, information technology is born; and with them it must alive if information technology is to live at all." Having finally completed the piece of work, Mussorgsky was crushed when his mentor Mily Balakirev was savagely critical of information technology. The score is brindled with comments such as "the devil knows what [this is]", "what rubbish", and "this might be of utilise", probably pencilled in by Balakirev.^{[eight] [10]} This "first version" was put bated, and did non appear in print until 1968, in a new edition prepared by Georgiy Kirkor.

Performance history [edit]

The original tone poem, St. John'southward Eve on Baldheaded Mountain (1867), was non performed until the 20th century. Musicologist Aleksandra Orlova claims that the original manuscript of this version was discovered in the library of the Saint petersburg Solarium by musicologist Georgiy Orlov in the late 1920s, that it was performed once by the Petrograd Philharmonic Society, and that Nikolay Malko brought along a re-create of it when he emigrated to the West.^[11] Gerald Abraham states that this version was performed by Malko on 3 Feb 1932, evidently in England.^[3] Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi claims that Malko performed this version in several countries in 1933.^[12]

Instrumentation [edit]

• Strings: violins I & Two, violas, cellos, double basses
• Woodwinds: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, ii clarinets, ii bassoons
• Brass: four French horns, 2 cornets, ii trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba
• Percussion: timpani, bass drum, cymbals, tambourine, triangle, snare drum, tam-tam

Program [edit]

Setting [edit]

Russian legend tells of a witches' sabbath taking place on St. John's Dark (23–24 June) on the Lysa Hora (Bald Mount), nigh Kiev.

Programme [edit]

The following program is taken from the score:

Seq.	Original	Transliteration	English language
1	Сбор ведьм, их толки и сплетни	Sbor ved′g, ikh tolki i spletni	Assembly of the witches, their chatter and gossip
2	Поезд Сатаны	Poyezd Satany	Satan's cortege
3	Чёрная служба (Messe noire)	Chyornaya sluzhba (Messe noire)	Black mass
iv	Шабаш	Shabash	Sabbath

Recordings [edit]

• 1961, Lovro Matacic, Philharmonia Orchestra
• 1962, Francesco Mander, Orchestra Sinfonica Torino
• 1971, David Lloyd-Jones, London Philharmonic Orchestra
• 1980, Claudio Abbado, London Symphony Orchestra
• 1988, John Williams, Boston Pops Orchestra
• 1991, Christoph von Dohnányi, Cleveland Orchestra
• 1991, Dmitriy Kitayenko, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
• 1993, Claudio Abbado, Berliner Philharmoniker
• 2001, Peter Richard Conte, transcribed for the Wanamaker Organ^[xiii]
• 2003, Theodore Kuchar, National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine
• 2004, Valery Gergiev, BBC Symphony Orchestra
• 2006, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Los Angeles Philharmonic
• 2011, Kirill Karabits, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Glorification of Chernobog from Mlada (1872) [edit]

Composition history [edit]

The first re-modelling of the tone poem took place in 1872, when Mussorgsky revised and recast it for song soloists, chorus, and orchestra as part of act 3 that he was assigned to contribute to the collaborative opera-ballet Mlada. In this new version the music was to grade the footing of the Nighttime on Mount Triglav (Russian: Ночь на горе Триглаве, Noch′ na gore Triglave) scene.

Mussorgsky referred to this piece under the title Glorification of Chernobog (Russian: Славленье Чёрнобога, Slavlenye Chornoboga) in a listing of his compositions given to Vladimir Stasov.^[14] In 1930, Pavel Lamm, in his edition of Mussorgsky's consummate works, referred to the piece as Worship of the Black Goat (Russian: Служение чёрному козлу, Sluzheniye chornomy kozlu).

Mlada was a project doomed to failure, nonetheless, and this "second version" languished along with the beginning. The score of Glorification of Chernobog has not survived, and was never published or performed.

Plan [edit]

The post-obit scenario is taken from Rimsky-Korsakov'southward later "magic opera-ballet" Mlada (1890), based on the aforementioned libretto by Viktor Krïlov.

Setting [edit]

Mlada is set in the 9th or tenth century metropolis of Retra, in the (formerly) Slavic lands between the Baltic Ocean coast and the Elbe River. This would exist the land of the pre-Christian Polabian Slavs, in the region corresponding to the modern German areas of Holstein, Mecklenburg, or Vorpommern.

The Mlada scenario is the only Baldheaded Mount setting that mentions a "Mt. Triglav", where the supernatural events of act iii have place. The proper name Triglav (tri iii + glav head) happens to be the proper noun of an ancient three-headed Slavic deity or a trinity of deities, and is likewise the name of a famous peak in Slovenia, which is, however, some 750 km (470 miles) distant.

Plot [edit]

Voyslava and her father Mstivoy, the Prince of Retra, take poisoned Mlada, the matrimonial of Yaromir, Prince of Arkona. Voyslava sells her soul to Morena, an evil goddess, to obtain her aid in making Yaromir forget Mlada then she may have him to herself. In human activity 3, the shade (ghost) of Mlada leads Yaromir upward the slopes of Mount Triglav to a pine forest in a gorge on top of the mountain. Mlada's shade joins a gathering of the spirits of the dead. She expresses in mime to Yaromir the wish to be reunited with him in the kingdom of dead souls. He is eager to join her. Nevertheless, there is a rumbling sound announcing the appearance, apparently from underground, of the post-obit fantastic characters (many of whom as well appear in Dream Vision of the Peasant Lad from The Fair at Sorochyntsi, described below):

Russian	Transliteration	Description
Злые духи	Zlyye dukhi	Evil spirits
Ведьмы	Ved′my	Witches
Кикиморы	Kikimory	Female hobgoblins
Чёрнобог	Chyornobog	Cherno (black) + bog (god), an infernal Slavic deity, in the form of a caprine animal
Морена	Morena	An infernal Slavic deity
Кащей	Kashchey	An ogre familiar from Russian folktales; plays a gusli
Червь	Cherv′	Worm, god of dearth
Чума	Chuma	Plague, god of pestilence
Топелец	Topelets	'Drowner', god of floods

The evil spirits sing in a foreign demonic language, in the manner of the "demons and the damned" of Hector Berlioz's La damnation de Faust. Morena calls on Chernobog to aid make Yaromir abdicate Mlada. Kashchey determines that Morena and Chernobog will be successful if Yaromir is seduced by another. Chernobog commands Yaromir's soul to separate from his torso, and for Queen Cleopatra to appear. Instantly the scene changes to a hall in Egypt, where the shade of Cleopatra attempts to entice Yaromir'southward soul to her side with a seductive dance. She about succeeds in doing and so when a cock crow announcing the break of twenty-four hours causes the entire infernal host to vanish. Yaromir awakens and ponders the mysterious events he has witnessed.

Dream Vision of the Peasant Lad from The Fair at Sorochyntsi (1880) [edit]

Composition history [edit]

The work's "tertiary version", the Dream Vision of the Peasant Lad (Russian: Сонное видение паробка, Sonnoye videniye parobka), was composed eight years later when Mussorgsky revived and revised the second version to function as a "dream intermezzo" in his opera The Off-white at Sorochyntsi (1874–fourscore), a piece of work which was even so incomplete at the time of his death in 1881. Mussorgsky's pianoforte-vocal score is dated ten May 1880.^[eight]

Mussorgsky originally chose the end of deed i of the opera as the location for his choral intermezzo. It is now more often than not performed in the Shebalin version (1930) of the opera, where it is relocated to act 3, just later on a fractional reprise of the peasant lad's dumka. The theme of the dumka also serves as one of the chief themes of the new quiet ending.

Functioning history [edit]

The Dream Vision of the Peasant Lad was first performed equally part of Vissarion Shebalin's performing edition of The Off-white at Sorochyntsi, which premiered in 1931 in Leningrad at the Maly Theater, conducted by Samuil Samosud. Shebalin'south orchestration was published by Muzgiz (IMSLP) in 1934.

Programme [edit]

Setting [edit]

The Off-white at Sorochyntsi is fix in and around the Ukrainian village of Velyki Sorochyntsi, some 500 kilometers east of Kiev and the famous "Baldheaded Mountain" (Lysa Hora), in the year 1800.

Plot [edit]

The peasant Solopiy Cherevik, his domineering wife Khivrya, and pretty daughter Parasya are visiting the Sorochyntsi Off-white. Parasya is wooed past Gritsko Golopupenko, the "peasant lad" of the title. Gritsko desires Cherevik's consent to marry his daughter. Although Cherevik is non against the match, his married woman objects because Gritsko had thrown mud in her face on the manner to the off-white. Gritsko strikes a bargain with a gypsy to assist him in winning Parasya. They exploit the superstitious fears of the fairgoers, who believe that the location of the fair this year is ill-chosen, it being the haunt of a devil who was thrown out of hell, took to drinking, went broke, pawned his jacket, and has returned to claim it. Afterward various pranks and comic circumstances, Gritsko achieves his goal and all ends happily.

At the end of human action 1, Gritsko falls asleep some altitude from the fair, and, considering in that location has been talk of devilry, has a dream of a witches' sabbath. The following remarks are taken from the score (page numbers supplied):

Act one, scene 2 – "Dream Vision of the Peasant Lad" (Intermezzo)

p. ane) A hilly desolate area. An budgeted subterranean choir of infernal forces. The curtain rises. The peasant lad sleeps at the human foot of a hill.

p. 3) Witches and devils surround the sleeping peasant lad.

p. five) On a hill appear fiery serpents. The approach of Chernobog. Chernobog rises from underground. Post-obit him are Kashchey, Cherv, Chuma, Topelets, Smert, and the residuum of his retinue.

p. 7) Worship of Chernobog.

p. ten) Sabbath.

p. 11) Ballet.

p. 16) Stroke of a matins bell.

p. 17) Satan and his retinue vanish. The scene is covered by clouds.

p. 21) The peasant lad awakens and stands up, stretching and looking around wildly. The clouds disperse. The scene is illuminated by the rising lord's day.

Russian original

Первое действие, вторая картина: «Сонное видение паробка» (Intermezzo)

л. 1: Холмистая глухая местность. Подземный приближающийся хор адских сил. Занавес поднимается. У подножия холма спит Паробок.

л. 3: Ведьмы и бесы окружают спящего паробка.

л. 5: На холме показываются огненные змеи; приближение Чернобога. Из под земли поднимается Чернобог; за ним Кащей, Червь, Топелец, Чума, Смерть и прочая свита.

л. vii: Служба Чернобогу.

л. 10: Шабаш.

л. 11: Балет.

л. sixteen: Удар утреннего колокола.

л. 17: Сатана и его свита исчезают. Сцена покрывается облаками.

л. 21: Паробок просыпается и встает, потягиваясь и дико оглядываясь. Облака разбегаются. Сцена освещается восходящим солнцем.^{[viii] [fifteen]}

Surviving the transfer from Glorification of Chernobog are the same supernatural characters, although Morena has been replaced by Death (Russian: Смерть, Smert'). Chernobog and his accomplices form a kind of Half dozen Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The demon language the characters sing, of which Mussorgsky was cynical in a letter, is preserved.

Mussorgsky sent the following program to Vladimir Stasov about three months afterward its composition in 1880:

The peasant lad sleeps at the foot of a hillock at some distance from the hut where he should take been. In his slumber announced to him:

1. Subterranean roar of non-human voices, uttering non-human words.
2. The subterranean kingdom of darkness comes into its own—mocking the sleeping peasant lad.
3. Foreshadowing of the appearance of Chernobog (Satan).
4. The peasant lad left by the spirits of darkness. Advent of Chernobog.
5. Worship of Chernobog and the blackness mass.
6. Sabbath.
7. At the wildest moment of the sabbath the audio of a Christian church bong. Chernobog suddenly disappears.
8. Suffering of the demons.
9. Voices of the clergy in church.
10. Disappearance of the demons and the peasant lad's awakening.^[16]

Russian original

Паробок спит у подножия пригорка, далеко, вдали от хаты, куда бы должен попасть. Во сне ему мерещатся:

1. Подземный гул нечеловеческих голосов, произносящих нечеловеческие слова.
2. Подземное царство тьмы входит в свои права – трунит над спящим Паробком.
3. Предзнамение появления Чернобога (Сатаны).
4. Паробок оставлен духами тьмы. Появление Чернобога.
5. Величание Чернобога и Черная служба.
6. Шабаш.
7. В самом разгаре шабаша удар колокола христианской церкви. Чернобог исчезает мгновенно.
8. Страдания бесов.
9. Голоса церковного клира.
10. Исчезновение бесов и пробуждение Паробка.^[17]

Recordings [edit]

As part of The Off-white at Sorochyntsi:

• 1969, Yuriy Aronovich, Moscow Radio Orchestra and Chorus
• 1983, Vladimir Yesipov, Stanislavsky Theater Orchestra and Chorus

Concert version:

• 1981, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Radio Orchestra
• 1997, Valeriy Polyansky, Country Symphony Capella of Russia
• 1997, Claudio Abbado, Berliner Philharmoniker
• 1997, Zdeněk Mácal, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

Rimsky-Korsakov's fantasy: Night on Bald Mountain (1886) [edit]

Composition history [edit]

In the years afterwards Mussorgsky's death, his friends prepared his manuscripts for publication and created performing editions of his unfinished works to enable them to enter the repertoire. The majority of the editorial work was done by Rimsky-Korsakov, who in 1886 produced a redacted edition of Night on Bald Mount from the Dream Vision of the Peasant Lad vocal score. Rimsky-Korsakov discusses his work on the slice, designated a "fantasy for orchestra", in his memoirs, Relate of My Musical Life (1909):

During the season of 1882/83, I continued working on Khovanshchina and other compositions of Mussorgsky's. A Night on Bald Mountain was the only matter I could non find my fashion with. Originally equanimous in the sixties under the influence of Liszt's Danse Macabre (Totentanz) for the pianoforte with accessory of orchestra, this piece (so called St. John's Eve, and both severely and justly criticized by Balakirev) had long been utterly neglected by its author, gathering dust among his unfinished works. When composing Gedeonov'south Mlada, Mussorgsky had made use of the fabric to be constitute in Night, and, introducing singing into it, had written the scene of Chernobog on Mountain Triglav. That was the 2d grade of the aforementioned piece in substance. Its third class had developed in his composing of Sorochintsï Off-white, when Mussorgsky conceived the queer and incoherent idea of making the peasant lad, without rhyme or reason, run into the sabbath of devilry in a dream, which was to form a sort of stage intermezzo that did non chinkle at all with the rest of the scenario of Sorochintsy Fair. This time the piece concluded with the ringing of the village church bell, at the sounds of which the frightened evil spirits vanished. Tranquility and dawn were congenital on the theme of the peasant lad himself, who had seen the fantastic dream. In working on Mussorgsky'southward piece, I fabricated utilise of its last version for the purpose of closing the composition. Now then, the outset grade of the piece was for piano solo with orchestra; the 2d form and the third, vocal compositions and for the stage, into the bargain (unorchestrated). None of these forms was fit to be published and performed. With Mussorgsky's material as a footing, I decided to create an instrumental piece by retaining all of the author's best and coherent cloth, adding the fewest possible interpolations of my own. It was necessary to create a course in which Mussorgsky's ideas would mould in the best way. It was a difficult chore, of which the satisfactory solution baffled me for two years, though in the other works of Mussorgsky I had got on with comparative ease. I had been unable to get at either class, modulation, or orchestration, and the piece lay inert until the following yr.^[18]

Russian original

«В сезоне 1882/83 года я продолжал работу над «Хованщиной» и другими сочинениями Мусоргского. Не давалась мне только «Ночь на Лысой горе». Сочиненная первоначально в threescore-х годах под влиянием листовского «Danse macabre» для фортепиано с сопровождением оркестра, пьеса эта (называвшаяся в то время «Ивановой ночью» и подвергшаяся суровой и справедливой критике Балакирева) была надолго совершенно заброшена автором и лежала без движения среди его «inachevé». При сочинении гедеоновской «Млады» Мусоргский воспользовался имеющимся в «Ночи» материалом и, введя туда пение, написал сцену Чернобога на горе Триглаве. Это был второй вид той же пьесы по существу. Третий вид ее образовался при сочинении «Сорочйнской ярмарки», когда Мусоргскому пришла странная и несуразная мысль заставить парубка, ни с того ни с сего, увидеть шабаш чертовщины во сне, что должно было составить некое сценическое интермеццо, отнюдь не вяжущееся со всем остальным сценариумом «Сорочинской ярмарки». На этот раз пьеса оканчивалась звоном колокола деревенской церкви, при звуках которого испуганная нечистая сила исчезала. Успокоение и рассвет были построены на теме самого парубка, видевшего фантастическое сновидение. При работе над пьесой Мусоргского я воспользовался последним вариантом для заключения сочинения. Итак, первый вид пьесы был solo фортепиано с оркестром, второй и третий вид – вокальное произведение, и притом сценическое (не оркестрованное). Ни один из видов этих не годился для издания и исполнения. Я решился создать из материала Мусоргского инструментальную пьесу, сохранив в ней все, что было лучшего и связного у автора, и добавляя своего по возможности менее. Надо было создать форму, в которую уложились бы наилучшим способом мысли Мусоргского. Задача была трудная, удовлетворительно разрешить которую мне не удавалось в течение двух лет, между тем как с другими сочинениями Мусоргского я справился сравнительно легко. Не давались мне ни форма, ни модуляции, ни оркестровка, и пьеса лежала без движения до следующего года.»

Rimsky-Korsakov made "corrections" typical of him, every bit he did with Khovanshchina, and was afterwards to do with Boris Godunov, preserving the general thematic structure, only calculation or omitting bars, and making modifications to melody, harmony, rhythm, and dynamics.

Operation history [edit]

Rimsky-Korsakov's edition was completed in 1886, and published in the same year past V. Bessel and Co. It received its premiere on xv October 1886 in St. petersburg's Kononov Hall, performed by the orchestra of the Russian Symphony Concerts. Rimsky-Korsakov conducted the performance himself, and gives the post-obit account of it in his memoirs, Chronicle of My Musical Life (1909):

The orchestration of A Night on Bald Mount, which had baffled me so long, was finished for the concerts of [the 1886/87] flavour, and the piece, given by me at the first concert in a manner that could not be improved upon, was demanded once more and again with unanimity. Simply a tam-tam had to be substituted for the bell; the one I selected at the bell-shop proved to exist off pitch in the hall, attributable to a change in temperature.^[19]

The Western European premiere performance of his edition was likely the one described further on:

In the summer of 1889, the Paris Universal Exposition took place. Belyayev decided to requite there two symphonic concerts of Russian music at the Trocadéro, under my direction... The concerts were ready for Saturdays 22 and 29 June, new fashion. Upon our inflow in Paris, rehearsals commenced. The orchestra, which proved to be excellent, the men existence affable and painstaking, had been borrowed from Colonne. Their playing in the concerts was fine... The success was considerable, with enough of applause, but the attendance was not big.^[20]

Night on Bald Mountain was performed at the second concert, on 29 June 1889, where it followed Borodin's 'Polovtsian Dances' and 'Polovtsian March' from Prince Igor in the second one-half of the program.^[21] Rimsky-Korsakov later mentions another performance of the piece, taking place on 25 April 1890, at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels.^[22]

Instrumentation [edit]

• Strings: violins, violas, cellos, double basses, harp
• Woodwinds: piccolo, 2 flutes, ii oboes, ii clarinets, 2 bassoons
• Brass: 4 French horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba
• Percussion: timpani, bass pulsate, cymbals, tam-tam, bong

Programme [edit]

The following program is printed in Rimsky-Korsakov'due south edition of Night on Bald Mountain, published in 1886 by V. Bessel and Co.:

Subterranean sounds of not-human being voices. Advent of the spirits of darkness, followed by that of Chernobog. Glorification of Chernobog and Black Service. Sabbath. At the peak of the sabbath, the distant ringing of a hamlet church building bell is heard; it disperses the spirits of darkness. Morning.^[b]

Leopold Stokowski'due south arrangement: Night on Bald Mount (1940) [edit]

Limerick history [edit]

Millions of 20th-century listeners owe their initial acquaintance with Mussorgsky's tone-poem to Leopold Stokowski's version, specially produced for Walt Disney'southward 1940 film Fantasia. Stokowski stated that he based it on the Rimsky-Korsakov organisation in form and content (though notably without the "fanfare" that marks the entrance of Chernobog), but on Mussorgsky'southward original in orchestration. Notwithstanding, similar Rimsky-Korsakov himself, Stokowski had no re-create of the original tone poem from 1867, so he did what he felt Mussorgsky would have washed, being somewhat familiar with Mussorgsky's way. Stokowski had conducted the U.S. premiere of the original version of Boris Godunov in 1929, and subsequently produced a symphonic synthesis of Boris for concert purposes.^[23] Despite the success of Fantasia, Rimsky-Korsakov's orchestration remains the concert favorite, and the one most often programmed.

Instrumentation [edit]

• Strings: violins, violas, cellos, double basses, two harps
• Woodwinds: 2 piccolos, 2 flutes, ii oboes, one cor anglais, i E-apartment clarinet, ii clarinets, i bass clarinet, two bassoons, i contrabassoon
• Brass: 5 french horns, 4 trumpets, iv trombones, 1 tuba
• Percussion: timpani, snare drum, bass pulsate, cymbals, xylophone, tam-tam, bong

Recordings [edit]

• 1940, Leopold Stokowski, Philadelphia Orchestra
• 1953, Stokowski, "His Symphony Orchestra"
• 1967, Stokowski, London Symphony Orchestra
• 1986, Erich Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
• 1995, James Sedares, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
• 1996, Matthias Bamert, BBC Philharmonic
• 2004, Oliver Knussen, Cleveland Orchestra
• 2005, José Serebrier, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Other arrangements [edit]

David Shire arranged an orchestral disco adaptation, "Night on Disco Mountain", for the 1977 motion picture show Saturday Night Fever. The arrangement was released as part of the film's soundtrack. "Nighttime on Disco Mountain" is based on the first portion of Mussorgsky'southward limerick, complementing the composer's unusual selection of instruments with "wah-wah electric guitar solo, synthesized bells, a constantly throbbing electric bass, hello-lid, snare drum, and a diversity of exotic bongos and percussion instruments", "diverse studio sound effects", and "an otherworldly synthesized chorus".^{[24] [25]}

The German progressive thrash metal band Mekong Delta features a encompass of the piece on their fourth studio album, Dances of Death (and Other Walking Shadows).^[26]

Yoko Shimomura arranged a version of the piece for the international release of the 2002 video game Kingdom Hearts.^[27] Re-arrangements of that version were then used in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Altitude and Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix.^{[28] [29]}

A version of the piece was bundled for the game The End Is About titled Golgotha – Night On Baldheaded Mountain (Mussorgsky 1867) by video game composer squad Ridiculon (Matthias Bossi and Jon Evans).^[30]

The Russian dancer and choreographer Igor Moiseyev also created a piece from variations of the same theme.^[31]

Notes [edit]

1. ^ In fact, the use of "the" in this context changes "Baldheaded Mountain" from a proper name, referring to a particular identify, to a mutual noun, which might refer to whatever mountain fitting the description.
2. ^ Russian: «Подземный гулъ нечеловѣчeскихъ голосовъ. Появление духовъ тьмы и, вследъ за ними, Чернобога. Величаніе Чернобога и Черная Служба. Шабашъ. Въ самомъ разгарѣ шабаша, раздаются отдаленные удары колокола деревенской церкви; они разсѣеваютъ духовъ тьмы. Утро.»

References [edit]

1. ^ Calvocoressi 1956, p. 78.
2. ^ Calvocoressi & Abraham 1974, p. 21.
3. ^ ^{a b} Calvocoressi & Abraham 1974, p. 175
4. ^ Calvocoressi 1956, p. 31.
5. ^ ^{a b} Calvocoressi & Abraham 1974, p. 20
6. ^ Musorgskiy 1984, p. 27.
7. ^ Calvocoressi & Abraham 1974, p. xx.
8. ^ ^{a b c d} Catalog
9. ^ Musorgskiy 1984, pp. 73–74.
10. ^ Lloyd-Jones 1974.
11. ^ Orlova 1991, p. 166.
12. ^ Calvocoressi 1956, p. 74.
13. ^ "Peter Richard Conte and the Wanamaker G Court Organ", American Public Media, October 2003, about a recording in July 2002 on Dorian DOR-90308
14. ^ Calvocoressi 1956, p. eleven.
15. ^ Musorgskiy 1971, pp. 172–174.
16. ^ Calvocoressi & Abraham 1974, p. 162.
17. ^ Musorgskiy 1971, p. 154.
18. ^ Rimsky-Korsakov 1923, pp. 261–262.
19. ^ Rimsky-Korsakov 1923, pp. 281–282.
20. ^ Rimsky-Korsakov 1923, pp. 301–302.
21. ^ Rimsky-Korsakov 1923, p. 471.
22. ^ Rimsky-Korsakov 1923, p. 306.
23. ^ Serebrier, José, notes for Naxos 8.557645, Mussorgsky-Stokowski Transcriptions.
24. ^ McLeod, Ken (Fall 2006). " 'A Fifth of Beethoven': Disco, Classical Music, and the Politics of Inclusion". American Music. 24 (3): 347–363, at 357, 358. doi:10.2307/25046036. JSTOR 25046036.
25. ^ David Cheal: "The Life of a Song: Night on Disco Mountain", Financial Times, two Oct 2015.
26. ^ "Mekong Delta - Dances of Death (and other Walking Shadows)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
27. ^ "Kingdom Hearts – Final Mix – Boosted Tracks". Video Game Music Database. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
28. ^ "Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Altitude] Original Soundtrack". Video Game Music Database. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
29. ^ "Kingdom Hearts Hard disk drive 1.5 ReMIX – Original Soundtrack". Video Game Music Database. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
30. ^ "Golgotha – Night On Bald Mountain (Mussorgsky 1867) from The End Is Well-nigh: OST by Ridiculon". Ridiculon / Bandcamp. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
31. ^ Kisselgoff, Anna (5 September 1986). "DANCE: FOLK ENSEMBLE, THE MOISEYEV TROUPE". The New York Times . Retrieved nine Jan 2022.

Sources [edit]

• Calvocoressi, Yard.-D. (1956). Modest Mussorgsky: His Life and Works. London: Rockliff.
• Calvocoressi, Michel-Dimitri; Abraham, Gerald (1974). Mussorgsky. Chief Musicians Serial. London: J. G. Paring & Sons.
• Catalog of autographs of M. P. Mussorgsky in the manuscript department of the Petrograd Conservatory [in Russian] (accessed Dec 26, 2007)
• Lloyd-Jones, D., notes to CD RD70405 (Mussorgsky: Orchestral and Choral works) RCA Records, 1974
• Musorgskiy, K., Literary Legacy (Literaturnoye naslediye), Orlova, A., Pekelis, M. (editors), Moscow: Muzïka (Music, publisher), 1971 [Мусоргский, М., Литературное наследие, Орлова, А., Пекелис, М., Москва: Музыка, 1971] ^{[ description needed ]}
• Musorgskiy, G., M. P. Musorgskiy: Letters, second edition, Gordeyeva, Ye. (editor), Moscow: Muzïka (Music, publisher), 1984 [Мусоргский, М., М. П. Мусоргский: Письма, Гордеева, Е., Москва: Музыка, 1984]
• Orlova, Aleksandra (1991). Musorgsky Remembered. Translated by Zaytzeff, V.; Morrison, F. Bloomington and Indianopolis: Indiana University Press.
• Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai (1923). Chronicle of My Musical Life. Translated past Joffe, J. A. New York: Knopf.

External links [edit]

• Media related to Night on Bald Mountain at Wikimedia Eatables
• Night on Bald Mount: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_on_Bald_Mountain

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