Modeste Mussorgsky (1839 - 1881)
St. John's Night on a Bare Mountain
(orch. Rimsky-Korsakov)

On St. John's Eve (23rd June), according to Russian folklore, Tchemobog (Satan) and his witches, sorcerers, and evil spirits gather on Bare Mountain for a night of revelry. It is also Midsummer's Eve, the night of the summer solstice, and a time for pagan celebrations of summer.

In a letter to his friend composer Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky noted that he finished "St. John's Night on the Bald Mountain" on St. John's Eve, 23rd June, 1867. However, he could not get a performance arranged, and was under some pressure from colleagues to improve the orchestration, which they considered crude and barbaric. It wasn't until after Mussorgsky's death that Rimsky-Korsakov revised and re-orchestrated the piece and introduced it to audiences in 1886. Only later did Mussorgsky's original version turn up - it seems Rimsky's version was based on other earlier sketches, now lost.

Mussorgsky creates a supernatural atmosphere at the beginning with violins playing in the upper register, coupled with woodwinds, trombones and bassoons. Violins and clarinets softly herald the beginning of the wild revelry, but soon break into wilder frenzy as passions mount. For a brief time, the excitement subsides into a more subdued treatment by the woodwinds and strings until they explode with wild abandon. A sudden pause allows the sound of church bells to be heard. Muted violins describe the retreat of the witches and demons as a clarinet heralds the approach of dawn.