There is a region in Northwest France that is named Brittany. This is the home of the ethnic group of Bretons, who speak the ancient Celtic language of Breton. This language is related to Cornish, and more distantly related to Welsh. The ancestors of the Bretons came to this part of France over 1,000 years... Continue Reading →
Exhibitionism Part 3: Showing it All
Two of the most dramatic movements of “Pictures at an Exhibition” are “The Hut on Fowl’s Legs (Baba Yaga)” and “The Great Gate of Kiev”. Fortunately for our discussion here, both of the Hartmann images have survived. These two pictures inspired Mussorgsky to write some of the most memorable music in the entire suite. The... Continue Reading →
More Exhibitionism
Continuing my look at “Pictures at an Exhibition”, I picked one of the movements for which we still have the original image. At the memorial exhibition of the works of Viktor Hartmann, there were several sketches of ballet costumes he designed. The title of the music inspired by one of these images is variously translated... Continue Reading →