How long is pictures at an exhibition

Two men in top hats whisper to each other, accompanied by a third man holding a lantern that illuminates rows of neatly arranged skulls. A series of strange, often dissonant harmonies rings out in the darkness, the alternation of loud and soft a kind of written-out reverberation that suggests the cavernous space.

Perhaps Mussorgsky is imagining himself in the catacombs. Near the end, the music brightens, and Ravel adds a hint of the heavenly with harp arpeggios.

In Russian folklore, Baba Yaga is a witch who flies through the woods on a mortar and pestle, searching for children to eat. In the music, one can hear the clock ticking, another traditional symbol of mortality. Suddenly, the specter of Baba Yaga is banished by a resplendent chorale.

We have reached the final picture: The Great Gate at Kiev. Ravel unleashes the full power of the orchestra for the climactic return of the great gate theme. Want to learn more about Pictures at an Exhibition? Check out our podcast , featuring musician interviews, extensive musical excerpts, and more! Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Promenade: Winds, beginning with flutes, then in turn oboes and bassoons, do the walking, this time with tranquil steps. Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks: The Hartmann chicks are the ballet dancers in eggshell costumes.

Mussorgsky moves from oxcart to fowlyard with disarming ease. The composer satirizes the pair through haughty pronouncements from the patriarch winds and strings and nervous subservience from the beggar stuttering trumpets.

Catacombs: The music trudges through the ancient catacombs in Rome on the way to a mournful, minor-key statement of the Promenade theme, titled by Mussorgsky, in Latin — Cum mortuis in lingua mortua With the dead in a dead language. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy.

Pictures at an Exhibition arr. About this Piece. This was written in 10 movements and based on the paintings of Viktor Hartmann, a Russian painter. Vladimir Stasov, a critic by profession, honored the deceased artist by setting up an exhibition of his paintings in This display affected Mussorgsky enough to compose Pictures at an Exhibition , although it was published posthumously, as the composer fell to alcoholism.

It is to be noted that despite having nothing but good intentions, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, made some major changes to the original piece before publishing it. A part of the music may have also been based on paintings privately displayed to Mussorgsky by Hartmann. A musical promenade was composed by Mussorgsky, where the artist was himself stated as moving from picture to picture. The promenade acts as a transition between pictures and changing tones.