Modest Mussorgsky's "Sunless" is a suite of nine piano pieces that was composed in 1874. The suite is also known by its French title, "Le croque-mort," which means "The Undertaker." The pieces in the suite are named after characters in a story that Mussorgsky wrote, which was inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe.
"Sunless" is a melancholic and dark work that reflects Mussorgsky's troubled state of mind at the time of its composition. The composer had recently lost several close friends, including his mentor, and was struggling with alcohol addiction. These personal struggles are evident in the somber and introspective nature of the music.
The first piece in the suite, "The Old Castle," is a slow and meditative piece that sets the mood for the rest of the suite. The second piece, "The Tuileries," is a more lively and energetic piece, but it still maintains a sense of melancholy. The third piece, "Bydlo," is a slower and more somber piece that is meant to depict a heavy Polish cart being pulled by oxen.
The fourth piece, "Ballet of the Chickens in Their Shells," is a humorous and lighthearted piece that serves as a contrast to the darker pieces that come before and after it. The fifth piece, "Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuÿle," is a slower and more contemplative piece that depicts two wealthy Jewish merchants.
The sixth piece, "The Market at Limoges," is a fast and frenetic piece that captures the chaotic energy of a bustling market. The seventh piece, "Catacombs," is a slow and eerie piece that evokes the atmosphere of a underground burial chamber. The eighth piece, "Cum mortuis in lingua mortua," or "With the Dead in a Dead Language," is a slow and mournful piece that reflects on death and loss.
The final piece in the suite, "The Hut on Fowl's Legs," is a faster and more energetic piece that brings the suite to a close on a more upbeat note.
Overall, "Sunless" is a deeply personal and emotionally charged work that reflects Mussorgsky's state of mind at the time of its composition. It is a suite that explores themes of loss, death, and the human experience in a poignant and thought-provoking way.
List of compositions by Modest Mussorgsky
However, neither work was completed although Khovanshchina, in piano score with only two numbers uncomposed, came close to being finished. The poetry seems to express and bewail the indifference of the world as personified in the disinterest of a former lover. Many of his most important compositions have posthumously come into their own in their original forms, and some of the original scores are now also available. But what has brought about this dissatisfaction? At this point in time the Balakirev circle was disintegrating, something Mussorgsky was especially bitter about. Golenishchev-Kutuzov believed that in Sunless Mussorgsky first revealed his authentic artistic self. Mussorgsky: His Life and Works.
Mussorgsky's "Sunless" Cycle in Russian Criticism: Focus of Controversy on JSTOR
I believe Mussorgsky chose to compose these songs when he did to reflect his degrading mental state of mind, which ultimately led to his demise. In 1863, Mussorgsky returned to Saint Petersburg and began composing his first opera. It was only a moment, but believe me, within it I re-lived again, all the delights of past love, all the bitterness of oblivion and tears! Its music and lyrics especially evoke a continuous feeling of loneliness, hopelessness, insomnia, and boredom. Listening to Music: The Essential Guide to the Classical Repertoire. . Sunless, with the help from Kutuzov, remains one of the bleakest works in the art song repertoire. Constantly striving to achieve a distinctive Russian musical identity, he never once hesitated to defy the orthodox qualities and trends of western music.
For each repetition, he modifies the music slightly to appropriately reflect the changes in the text. As the name suggests, throughout the 29 bars, he repeats the opening statement a total of three times making it a strophic song. Joffe and edited with an introduction by Carl Van Vechten. Throughout the piece, a stationary bass line with its insistent half step supports a eries of extreme chromatic harmonies. Earning little income, and being constantly preoccupied with pointless tasks, his frustration grew, as he was increasingly distracted from his real life as a composer. With its sparing accompaniment, this musically subtle piece tends to center around pedal D first in the bass, later in the mid range, and then returning back to the bass.
The journal focuses on the merging areas in scholarship where much of the challenging new work in the study of music is being produced. The hopeless yearning and disheartening lyrics correspond with music nearly as dark and mysterious as the river portrays. Throughout the text, the line between sanity and madness and crossed, and you find yourself at the threshold of death. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. It will be noticed that Calvocoressi's date given in the preceding remarks 16 August 1878 does not match that given below.
Born March 21, 1839, into a wealthy family living in Karevo, Russia, it was not long before Mussorgsky discovered his love for music. His manners were elegant, aristocratic: his speech likewise, delivered through somewhat clenched teeth, interspersed with French phrases, was rather precious. Table of contents Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky was one of the biggest innovators in Russian music during the Romantic Period. Mussorgsky gladly accepted the challenged and began almost immediately. History, culture and traditions of Ryazan Krai. Although it was in 1867 that Stasov first referred to the ' кучка, lit.
Frequently ending in foreign, unresolved chords, this perfect blend of heightened recitatives and fervent melodies do justice to the associated lyrics provided by Kutuzof. As quoted in Volkov 1995: p. However, he was obliged to take on the family tradition of serving in the military, and was sent to cadet school when he was 13. As quoted in Rimsky-Korsakov 1923: pp. His style impresses the Western ear as barbarously ugly. Opening with a recitative, Mussorgsky continues to a lyrical middle section, where falling modal sixths are introduced. During this time, he was exposed to a heavily creative and intellectual atmosphere where a variety of artistic and scientific ideas were brought to his attention.
Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Alongside remnants of the realist style, there is evidence, of varying degrees of subtlety, for a knowing use of symmetrical pitch organization. Sutgof's daughter was also a pupil of Gerke, and Mussorgsky was allowed to attend lessons with her. This work marked an extreme position in Mussorgsky's pursuit of naturalistic word-setting: he abandoned it unorchestrated after reaching the end of his 'Act 1', and though its characteristically 'Mussorgskyian' declamation is to be heard in all his later vocal music, the naturalistic mode of vocal writing more and more became merely one expressive element among many. Its notably effaced, pared-down, and withdrawn qualities present challenges to critical interpretation.
A Voice Unknown: Undercurrents in Mussorgsky's Sunless
Aware of his destitution, one group of friends organised a stipend designed to support the completion of Khovanshchina; another group organised a similar fund to pay him to complete The Fair at Sorochyntsi. The brief poetic phrasing is as follows: You have not recognized me in the crowd. Press the button next to the criterion you would like to use to sort the list. At the time, he was working in the forestry department of The Russian Government as a clerk. There is a strange contradictive sense of stability and illusion to the piece, something which becomes even more prominent when compared to its poetry. With this mind set, Mussorgsky sought to depict life through music as it was truly lived. Over the years it has published the writings of many important composers and musicologists, including Aaron Copland, Arnold Schoenberg, Marc Blitzstein, Henry Cowell, and Camille Saint-Saens.
At that time Mussorgsky was haunted by the spectre of death—he himself had only seven more years to live. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. The spelling and pronunciation of the composer's name has caused some confusion. However, he had yet to compose a successful opera. The premier took place January 27, 1874, but to his dismay, it received a number of hostile and negative reactions.
