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(Excerpt
I)
(Excerpt
II)
(Excerpt
III)
(Excerpt
IV)
The program of this album
contains compositions which were not originally written for orchestra. M.
Ravel and D. Shostakovich devoted their efforts to orchestrate the pieces.
Mussorsgky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" was inspired by a visit in early 1874 to a posthemus art
exhibit of canvases by the talented artist and
architect Victor Hartman who had been a close friend of the composer's.
The artist's works were boldly and originally converted into music for piano by
Mussorgsky who enlarged and enriched their content.
The work was completed in 1874 and dedicated
to V. Stasov. The brilliant orchestration of "Pictures at an
Exhibition" was made by M. Ravel in 1922.
Vocal cycles "Sunless" and "Songs and
Dances of Death" on words by A. Golenishchev-Kutuzov were written by
Mussorgsky in the middle of the 1870s. "Songs and Dances of
Death" is the way the composer addresses
eternal human problems.
The orchestration was done by D. Shostakovich
in 1962.
The composer worked over "Khovanshchina" from
1872; the opera was not completed. "Golitsyn Train" is a
picturesque symphonic episode from Act IV where the disgraced Prince Golitsyn is
sent to exile.
The score of "Solemn March" (Capture of
Kars)
was completed on February 3, 1880 and soon
performed at the Russian Musical Society.
M. Mussorgsky
(1839 - 1881)
1
Pictures at an Exhibition
- 35:00
Instrumentation by M. Ravel
Promenade
Gnome
Promenade
The Old Castle
Promenade
The Tuileries Garden (Quarrel of the Children After Play)
Bydlo (Ox Cart / Uncultured, Uncivilized Person)
Promenade
Ballet of the Un-hatched Chickens
Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle (Two Jews, One Rich
and One Poor)
Limoges. The Market Place
(The Grand News)
Catacombs (The Roman Sepulchre)
Con Mortuis in Lingua Mortua (With Dead in a Dead Language)
The Hut of Baba Yaga (The Hut on Fowl's Legs)
The Great Gate of Kiev
2
Songs and Dances of Death - 19:41
Vocal Cycle on Words by A. Golenishchev-Kutuzov
Orchestration by D. Shostakovich
Cradle
Song
Serenade
Trepak
The Field Marshal
3. Golitsyn Train ("Khovanshchina",
Act IV) - 3:55
4. Solemn March (Capture
of Kars) - 4:58
Total Time - 63:34
Irina
Arkhipova, mezzo-soprano
The USSR Symphony Orchestra
Conductor - Evgeni Svetlanov