Modeste Mussorgsky's "ballet of the Unhatched Chicks", and the Romantic Period

Romantic Period (circa 1800-1900)

The Romantic Era sprung from literature and free thinking caused by the French Revolution (1789-1794). Stories and poems of heroics written in the Romance languages - French, Spanish, Italian and other Latin-based languages - conjured images of fantasy and imaginary other worlds. The Romantic period was somewhat detached from reality, and focused less on the present than on the past and future. Music was seen as the best medium to express the values of the Romantic Era. Many composers, apart from Mussorgsky, are renowned for their Romantic works; these include: Schubert, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Liszt, Verdi, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak and many others.

During the Romantic period musical style and its characteristics were dramatically different from the style of the Classical period preceding it. Lyrical melodies were emphasized, rather than rhythm, and complex harmonies were employed. Chromatic harmonies were very prominent. Adherence to musical form was not exceedingly strict, and a deep, rich orchestral tone was sought. The Industrial Revolution made instruments cheaper and better, thus leading to larger orchestras, and brass, woodwind and percussion instruments played more active roles in the orchestra. New orchestral effects were introduced. Composers were more precise in the expressive elements to be utilized in their pieces, elaborating on the articulation, dynamics, phrasing and descriptive terminology. The rhythm involved frequent alterations in tempo and time signature.

However, not all changes from classical style were positive - a distinct decline was evident in the skill of improvisation.

Romantic music also defines a clear gap between absolute music and program music - music which is written to reflect a specific scene, story or theme. In fact, program music was referred to as "the music of the future".

The Romantic period was a time for great change in the musical world, which opened up many pathways leading to the modern musical style.

Programmatic Intention

Mussorgsky wrote "Pictures at an Exhibition" shortly after his friend, architect and occasional artist Viktor Hartmann, died at age 39. In 1874 a commemorative exhibition of Hartmann's works was displayed, and on these pictures Mussorgsky modeled the suite. A recurring theme in the suite is the Promenade, where the listener/viewer walks between the pictures. Each piece of music depicts a painting/sketch done by Hartmann, although only three of the ten pictures represented by Mussorgsky were present at the 1874 exhibit. These were The Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks, Baba Yaga's Hut and The Great Gate of Kiev.

The picture Balet nevylupivshikhsya ptentsov, or The Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks, was a sketch for the costume design of the ballet Trilby or Trilbi, which featured students of the Russian Imperial Ballet School dressed as birds, butterflies and chicks still in their eggs. The choreography for Trilby was done by the famous Marius Petipa, and the music was written by Julius Gerber.

Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition was originally written for piano but was adapted for the orchestra by Maurice Ravel in 1922. The Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks is a slow Promenade theme interrupted by irregular, spasmodic pecking and running around. It can be described as a frenetic, chaotic dance.