"Night on the Wild Mountain" is a classic that has been performed for a long time
—Aesthetic analysis of Mussorgsky's symphonic poem "Night on a Barren Mountain"
Towards the sun
Night on a Barren Mountain is one of the important masterpieces of the Russian composer Mussorgsky. The song was written by the author Barakileev. The work was conceived for a long time, and had been brewing in Mussorgsky's mind for fifteen years, and the opera "The Witch", which was scheduled to be completed in September 1860, prepared some musical materials such as the collection of witches, the appearance of magicians, and the dance in praise of the demon king, but the opera was not completed. However, it was not until 1866 that he listened to the symphonic poem "The Dance of the Skull" by the French composer Saint-Saën, which aroused the creative music of the "witch", and in 1867, he used the musical materials from the original "Witch" to complete the symphonic poem "The Night of St. John's Day on the Deserted Mountain".
However, at that time, Barakileev put forward a negative opinion on the work, so it was put on hold for the time being. However, Mussorgsky's letter to Barakilev clearly stated his attitude: "I am not ready to change the structure and development of this work, because each part of it is closely integrated with the content of the scene, and there is no place for any embellishment", and every composer can not forget the mood he felt when he wrote a work, and the memory of this mood and feeling can strengthen his confidence in his own judgment. "I have done my best in this work, and I am not ready to move the rest except for the percussion instrument that needs to be modified due to improper use."
In the winter of 1871, the "Five-Man Power Group" was commissioned by the Imperial Theatre in Petersburg to adapt the play "Mlada" into a cabaret, of which the second and third acts were composed by Rimsky Korsakov and Mussorgsky. Mussorgsky adapted St. John's Day Night on the Deserted Mountain several times, adapting it into orchestral and chorus for the scene of the "God of Darkness" in the third act of the cabaret "Mlada". In the end, the performance was aborted due to the personnel change of the theater manager.
In 1874 the author revised the piece to use it as an interlude in the opera Sorochin Bazaar, but the opera author did not complete it during his lifetime. Night on the Barren Mountain was completed in 1896 by Rimsky Korsakov after the author's death, according to a draft, of which Rimsky Korsakov wrote: "The orchestration work of The Night of the Barren Mountain, which has troubled me for a long time, was finally completed by me in order to be performed in the concerts of this season. At the Russian Orchestra Concert in Petersburg on October 27 of that year, which was conducted by Rimsky Korsakov himself, he recorded the performance at that time: "At that time, because of the change in temperature, the sound that was struck in this hall was always inaccurate because of the change in temperature, and the gong was used instead of a gong", "When I performed this work perfectly in the first concert, the audience repeatedly asked to play it again." "The premiere was a great success.
"Night on a Barren Mountain" is a single-movement title symphonic poem, characterized by narrative and depiction, close to sound and painting or loose variations, rich in fantasy style, D minor, 2/2 beat, sharp allegro, due to the need for content, finally ending in D major, and using a more liberal sonata structure.
Presentation Department
The introduction to the beginning of the music has two vivid images: one is the motivation to turn from weak to strong on the strings caused by a continuous triplet (see example (1)) below), and the other is a rapid up-and-down with a nervous repertoire (see example (2)below):
①||: 3＃23 432 323 432 |3＃23 432 323 432:||
② 3 . 3456 7 . 7654 |3 . 3＃456 7 . 7654 |30
The music is based on the allegro, first of all, the first and second violins lead the string group to play the rapid and fine triplets at a very low volume, accompanied by the dull tones played by the viola and cello in the low voice with broken notes, simulating the noise and footsteps of demons coming from the dark hell, creating a scene of fierce winds blowing and eerie barren mountains. Swarming demons gathered on the barren hills of Toligraf in the wilderness, quarreling, making noise, and squeezing. Then the sharp and harsh cries of the piccolo, creepy and disgusting, made people feel that the demons had appeared one after another, and the night began to become uneasy.
Immediately afterward, the trombone, the tuba, and the tuba blew out the main theme, and this eerie and majestic tone represented the image of the Demon King, indicating that the Demon King began to descend:
1 - - - |7 - - - |7 - 6 - |7 - 1 - |＃2 - - - |2 - 3 - |
5 - - - |5 - 5 5 5 |5 - - - |5 - 5 5 5 |60 0 0 0 |70 0 0 0 |
The music seemed so brutal and domineering, like the demon king being called up by the goblins. The music suddenly disappeared again and again, as if the demons heard something and disappeared. The music then repeats itself, surrounded by flutes, oboes, and clarinets arranged in a two-degree harmonic background, like a group of sincere goblins clustered around the demon king, twisting their flattering postures and dancing ugly dances, making people feel that the demons have appeared more unscrupulously. After the rapid progress of the strings, the woodwind and brass instrument groups have joined successively, and the dissonant small two, the fourth degree, the large seventh degree and the polyphonic interval have appeared many times, outlining the crazy scene of the group of demons dancing at the top of the barren mountain. Finally the trombone played a deterrent force, and the Dark Lord stood on the summit of the Barren Mountain.
After six bars of interludes built on seven chords:
5 5 5 4 |5 5 5 4 |3 2 3 2 |5 5 5 4 |5 5 5 4 |3 2 3 2 |
This brings out the first theme of the sub-department with a dance character:
7 7 1 76 71 |2 3 7 70 |0 3 4 32 34 |5 6 3 30 |
After repeated iterations, softer melodies were developed on flutes and clarinets:
3 . 4 32 12 |3 4 46 54 |3 . ＃4 32 12 |3 ＃4 46 54 |3. ＃4 65 4 |
3 ＃4 65 4 |
The two materials of the first theme of the sub-section are interspersed and repeated on different instruments, changing the intensity and different accompaniment textures, and adding characteristic small interludes, so they have a certain unfolding nature, and seem to depict the appearance and dance of various ghosts and demons. The theme of the Demon King now changes again, and the accompaniment weaving system develops from the introduction change:
3＃2 37 17 12 |3＃2 37 17 12 |3＃2 37 17 12 |3＃2 37 17 12 |
3 - - - |3 - - - | 3 - 3 3 3 ｜| 3 - 3 - ｜
3 3 2 2 1 7 7 6 |6 5 ＃44 3 3 2 2 | 10
3 - - - |3 - - - | 30
The upward chromatic scale leads to a more intense rhythmic pattern, but the music suddenly stops, as if the demon king has ordered the demons to stop dancing. The music once again calmly plays the second theme of the sub-section on the bass woodwind:
67 ＃12 ＃23 43 |65 53 54 432 |
It gradually repeats and changes from weak to strong, gradually adding more instruments, pushing the music to a climax, and it seems that the little demons are tentatively trying again and gradually resuming their wild dance.
The third theme of the sub-section is based on the #f minor, played by brass:
3 33 3 20 |3 3 5 . 4 |3 333 3 20 |3 3 32 12 |
This solemn and solemn tone of style, as if the group of demons and demons were respectfully and reverently performing sacrifices and prayers.
Expand Department
Then, with the strange tone of the wooden pipe in the high-pitched area, the demons who had no scruples about blasphemy sang an ode to the demon king. The large, clumsy, long tone reveals the self-intoxicated and triumphant demeanor of the demon king who has ascended to the throne. When the ceremony of the dancing of the demons was over, the satisfied demon king selected a few banshees as attendants and ordered the feast to be held. As a result, the originally turbulent music became quiet for a moment. After a transition of viola solo, the flute, oboe and black pipes lightly play a charming melody. Staggered between. The charming banshees frequently advised the demon king to drink, and the other demons also drank bitterly. The band's unsteady rhythm of slicing, as well as harsh chromatic progression, filled the entire Sabbath night feast and appeared to be a miasma of smoke. This passage first appears and develops with the motif of the introducer and the main theme, followed by the sub-themes that are intertwined to form a polyphonic relationship, and carry out various transformations in tone, showing the scene of the group of demons reveling in music.
This part is praise, sacrifice, and night feast. The flute plays a strange melody throughout the section, after which the trumpet blows out the forward horn, and the demons and ghosts come out of the way, singing loudly and dancing in praise of the Dark King and the tribute to the ghosts of Hades. Accompanied by the full performance of the violin and drums, the group of demons danced wildly in the feast, reaching the climax of the fierceness.
Reproduction Department
After a continuous, intense musical unfolding, the reproduction department entered. The introduction, main and sub-theme music of the presentation part are reproduced sequentially, but the unfolding passages in the presentation part are omitted, the connection between the themes is more compact, and the acoustic effect of the orchestration is more enthusiastic. At this time, the texture, strength and color of the music have changed greatly. The demons' fast sound patterns, which are composed of continuous triplets, are now moved up to the woodwind part, while the string group is set off by a gloomy whirlwind under the background of the brass pipe. The music returns to fantasia's main key, f major, with the thick and powerful wind instruments of the trombone, horn, trumpet and tuba, playing the theme of the Demon King in its entirety. He gathered a group of demons to have fun, drinking and dancing. From time to time, sharp piccolos flew over the background of the string tremolons, emitting unbridled whistles, and there were cups and plates everywhere, and the ugliness was everywhere. The reproduction ends on a descending chromatic scale, as if the goblins had a premonition that the night was about to pass and slipped away quietly....
The ghostly night will also be replaced by the dawn of the East. At the end of fantasia, a drum suddenly appeared, as if it were the morning bell of dawn, and slowly struck six times. This melodious and clear bell intertwines with the harmonics of the cello and the chord length of the woodwind, creating a poetic picture of a country morning. In the confrontation between beauty and ugliness, beauty finally used its irresistible strength to dispel the demons that fled everywhere and ushered in another dawn in the East. Finally, in the crisp arpeggiator of the harp, a beautiful and beautiful melody played by the clarinet and flute is derived: the melody of the clarinet is in G natural minor, (see example (1) below), and the melody played by the flute is in d major (see example (2)below):
①1 - 16 31 ｜7 5 3 3 - ｜6 - 654 456 ｜5 - 3 30 ｜45 66 5 4 ｜
3 1 3 1 1 1 ｜7 - 6 - ｜3 - - - ｜
②6 - 64 16 ｜5 3 1 5 - ｜4 - 5432 ＃1234 ｜3 - 6 - ｜23 44 3 2 ｜
1 6 1 6 6 6 ｜5 - 4 - ｜1 - - - ｜1 -
The soft arpeggiator played by the harp, as if it were a mist pervading the trees, and like a breeze blowing on the field, merged with the beautiful morning song on the clarinet and reverberated in people's ears for a long time. The harp appeared, the trumpet dominated, and the flute fused, as if the dawn of dawn was about to shine on the earth. The demons and ghosts looked panicked and fled. The final music ends in D major, a beautiful melody that is completely different from the music of the ghosts in the main and vice parts, bringing people back to the world. Against the backdrop of the harp, everything returned to calm, the clarinet played the scene of the dawn regaining its life, and the earth began a new day. This melody is the dominant motivational music representing young farmers in the opera "Sorochin Bazaar" created by the author. The young peasant Glitsko, who had now awoken from a nightmare, rubbed his eyes and was pleasantly surprised to find that there was any shadow of the devil, and what was in front of him was a brilliant glow. When "Night on a Barren Mountain" is used in the play, this melody is added in order to unify with the music in the play, as a music that expresses the feelings of the world after the dawn of dawn, and its beautiful and quiet atmosphere contrasts with the previous music, making people feel more intimate, thus producing a sense of happiness in the human life.
Originally titled "Night of St. John's Day on the Barren Mountain", "Night of the Barren Mountain" refers to Therry Graf Mountain near Kiev, and it is said that demons and ghosts appear every year on the Sabbath of witches. The entire work can be explained by a textual description on the original manuscript: "A mysterious sound coming from underground." The dark elves appeared, followed by the demon king Chernopocku. Praises to the god of darkness and sacrifices to Hades, Sabbath feasts, carnivals. At the climax of the feast, the bells of the village church were heard in the distance, and the elves in the night scattered and fled. Dawn in the East".
As can be seen from this description, there are a variety of different characters appearing here, as well as a variety of different scene transitions, there are images, there are plots, and they are all quite vivid and vivid. Some of the up-and-down swirling patterns of the violin at the beginning of the piece, combined with the gliding motives of the woodwinds, provide a fierce, eerie background, which is the swirling sound that springs out from under the ground and the strange cries of the elves, and in this rough noise, the Satan King appears—a theme played in unison by three trombones and a tuba, with a deterrent force, which is presented twice in different keys (the second raised semitone), which reinforces its power and drama.
Mussorgsky's song is not simply a playful feast between the elves and the Satanic king, he ends with the bells of the world, and there is a metaphor of light triumphing over darkness, which is the social significance of the piece. Mussorgsky once said that his musical belief is to reproduce the imagination of the people. He advocated that music must reflect reality and express the spiritual outlook of the people.
Night of the Barren Mountain was conceived from the description of the Shabbat shabbat of the witch in the Russian writer Gogol's novel The Night of St. John. This is an outstanding musical symphonic poem sketched by the Russian national music school after the rise of the European national music school in the 19th century, using its own folk music, legends and other materials. This is a very representative work, the various instruments are vividly colored, in the work we can clearly feel the contrast of different timbres brought by the orchestration, which is a classic that has been performed for a long time.