Night on Bald Mountain
Night on Bald Mountain is the common name for St. John's Night on the Bare Mountain, a musical piece by Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (Моде́ст Петро́вич Му́соргский) (March 21, 1839 - March 28, 1881; sometimes spelt Modeste Moussorgsky), a Russian composer and member of The Five, Mily Balakirev's group dedicated to producing a distinctly Russian kind of music.
Some have interpreted the music of this composition as St. John being caught outside on top of a mountain during a violent storm, or maybe must struggle to the top of this Mountain, as a test of his faith in God.
The piece begins with a crescendo of legato high strings, soon joined by low strings playing marcato accents, with rising and falling woodwinds. Brass come in with forte hits, accented by percussion as the strings halt to make way. This form repeats, thickening and deepening as the piece goes on. Briefly throughout are sections of peace and tranquility, but these are quickly interrupted by the nervousness of the original theme of struggle. Mussorgsky's usage of dynamics, as well as his usage of all of the sections of the orchestra demonstrates a deep musical knowledge and an understanding of how to create certain emotions and paint a picture with music. Occasionally throughout, sections of what seems to be silliness appear, they seem to refer to the human ability to always inject humor into any situation, even one as dire as St. John's struggle on the Bare Mountain.
About three quarters of the way through the piece, a very light section, played piano, almost pianissimo, begins, with the strings playing legato phrases in an almost waltz feel that implies a quiet, contemplative point during St. John's struggle. The woodwinds play pianissimo phrases behind the strings and a harp arpeggiates throughout. A clarinet solo occurs, followed by a flute solo. The piece ends on this light note, giving the impression that morning has also come while St. John is pondering his evening spent out upon the mountain.