Listening Recommendation: Tuileries (Pictures)

Dear Friends,

Today, let's talk about the second movement of Pictures at an Exhibition: Tuileries (Children Quarreling After Play). Unfortunately Hartmann's artwork that inspired this movement has been lost,  and I'll spare you my own rendition. Instead, you can take a look at pictures of the Tuileries Garden at Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau site: 

Tuilerie's Garden

The music is cheeky, fast paced, and repetitive. Repetitive in a sense that Mussorgsky uses simple motives (for example, notice the first 2 notes) and mockingly uses them throughout the movement. If you ever watch children play, you know they love repeating a funny phrase or word over and over and over again. (<= yes, this observation comes from myself homeschooling my child the past 2+ months.)

In terms of orchestration, Ravel uses woodwinds, 2 horns, harp, triangle, and strings without bass. This instrumentation keeps the texture light and nimble.

Take a listen:
Tuileries

Enjoy!

Best,

Kayoko

Listening Recommendation: The Old Castle (Pictures)

Dear Friends,

Today, let's talk about the second movement of Pictures at an Exhibition: The Old Castle. Hartmann's artwork that inspired this movement did not survive. It is thought to be a watercolor of an Italian medieval castle with a "troubadour singing a song." I will spare you my own rendition of this artwork. (You're welcome)

Ok, let's get back to Ravel's orchestration to The Old Castle.
The bassoon at the beginning of this movement sets the tone: lonely and melancholy. The alto saxophone joins in with a beautiful and sorrowful melody, representing a troubadour singing a song.

The Old Castle

Let's take a moment to talk about saxophones. Besides Pops/Jazz concerts, you rarely see them in orchestral works. There are only a handful of symphonic works that have saxophones. Most notable works besides this piece include Ravel Bolero, Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances, Prokofiev Lt. Kije Suite, and Gershwin American in Paris. It's always a delight to have a saxophone in an orchestra, because it adds an instantly unique timbre to the traditional instrumentation.

Next post, we will talk about the third movement, Tuileries.

Until then, stay healthy!

Best,

Kayoko

Listening Recommendation: The Gnome (Pictures)

Dear Friends,
Today, let's talk about the first movement of Mussorgsky/Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition, The Gnome.

Hartmann's artwork that inspired Mussorgsky to write this movement is now lost, but Vladimir Stasov (a critic and a champion of Russian music and Mussorgsky's friend) recalls that it was a wooden nutcracker in a form of a gnome with large teeth and crooked legs.

I image it looked like this:

*Please excuse my drawing. I got a B in art class in middle school

In any case, the music reflects erratic behavior of a gnome: rapidly changing tempos, abrupt interjections of forzandi, frequent start and stop depicting erratic movement, dark lurking orchestration by Ravel (prominent use of low strings and woodwinds), and jagged intervals. 

Take a listen:

Gnome

I hope you enjoy this movement. Next time, we'll chat about The Old Castle. Until then, stay healthy!

Best,

Kayoko

Listening Recommendation: Promenades (Pictures)

Dear Friends,

I hope this finds you well and healthy.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I will introduce each movement of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, orchestrated by Ravel.

Here is the list of the movements:
Promenade
1. The Gnome
Promenade
2. The Old Castle
Promenade
3. Tuileries
4. Cattle
Promenade
5. Ballet of Unhatched Chicks
6. Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle
7. Limoges
8. Catacombs
9. Baba Yaga
10. The Great Gate of Kiev

As you can see, Promenade appears 4 times in this work. So today, let's explore these Promenades.

The first Promenade opens with a solo trumpet joined by the rest of the brass, followed by the entire orchestra:

Promenade 1

How did this make you feel? I always imagine myself having a nice slow stroll through a magnificent and historic museum on a sunny afternoon, with nothing else to do but to enjoy the marvelous art works.

Now let's explore the rest of the Promenades.
The melody is the same, but the orchestration is very different. Ravel changes the combination of instrument, dynamic, and articulations. These changes provide different "feel" to the same melody.

I would like you to listen to the following Promenades and imagine what you will "see" next if you were to walk down the hallway listening to these Promenades.

Promenade 2

Promenade 3

Promenade 4

Fun fact: There is another Promenade, after Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle, in Mussorgsky's original composition, but many orchestrations (including Ravel's) omit it.

Happy Listening!

Best,

Kayoko