Witching Hour Secrets of Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain
The Best Moments
Night on Bald Mountain
I'm Modest Mussorgsky, and I'm glad to share the best moments of Night on Bald Mountain with you. You'll hear the passages where the music rushes from shivering whispers to full orchestral uproar, which is worth your time because that sudden swing is what makes the piece unforgettable. Here on this site, my fellow composers and I also teach you to recognize our pieces when you hear them, so take a turn with the Trainer .
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Witches Welcome, Coats Optional
I start the evening on Bald Mountain, a hill near Kiev where Russian legend says witches gather on St. John's Night. The opening swirls and flutters in the strings and woodwinds, like guests arriving all at once and none of them looking for the coat rack.
The Party Gets Out of Hand
I let things grow wilder in the middle, and in my original plan this is where Satan's Cortège and the Black Mass take over. The brass growls and the whole orchestra stomps along, like a dance floor where nobody has any intention of going home early.
Last Call for Broomsticks
I should admit that the ending you usually hear isn't quite mine, because Rimsky-Korsakov reworked my music after I died and gave it a calm close using music from Gritsko's aria in Sorochintsy Fair. After all that noise the quiet arrives like a long sigh, and since I never heard any of it performed, you have a better seat than I ever did.
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I hope you enjoyed learning about the best moments of Night on Bald Mountain as much as I enjoy sharing them. Did this walk through the music leave you curious to hear it again? There is still a good deal more to discover about Night on Bald Mountain, from the way it came to be to the different forms it took after I first imagined it. I never had the chance to hear it played in my lifetime, so it moves me that people keep returning to it today. If you'd like to go further, I invite you to click on the links provided and keep exploring Night on Bald Mountain at your own pace.
Recording: Musopen (performer not named), Public domain