Mussorgsky’s Final Diptych in “Pictures from an Exhibition” as the Author’s Summary
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Abstract
Mussorgsky considered the presence of final conclusions, generalizations, and a clear authorʼs summing up to be one of the most important criteria for the perfection of an artistic concept. This refers, in fact, to the problem of the finale, always relevant to the theory and practice of composition.
For “Pictures from an Exhibition” this problem seems especially critical and complicated. Indeed, here the author’s conclusions are intended to summarize the contrasts unprecedented in instrumental chamber art. Drama and epic, activity and contemplation, wealth and poverty, tragedy and jest, life and death, vainness and eternity – these alternatives presented determined the artistic microcosm of the suite. The multinational plot background of the pieces is also noteworthy, which in most cases have even foreign names.
Mussorgsky generalized the vast world of the Russian poetics in a final pair of pieces through three spheres: folk fantasy embodied in a fairy tale, Christianity and bogatyrs. The general solemnly majestic tone of the “Bogatyr Gates”, comparable with the old Russian style of “monumental historicism” (the term by D. Likhachev), is revealed in the mutually emphasizing contrast of lightand shadow, hymn and prayer. The truly triumphal arch between the initial and final sections of the “Pictures” is impressive. While the opening Promenade is a kind of self-portrait, the finale is the embodiment of the authorʼs ideal. From this perspective considerable importance assumes the idea of combining the qualities of the piece and “Promenade” in the finale, that is, the objective and subjective characteristics, the described spectacle and the inclusion of the author into it. The latter appears almost visibly when the initial theme of the composition (the author’s voice) suddenly appears in the peal of bells in “Bogatyr Gates”.
Keywords: Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Bogatyr Gates, final, monumental historicism.
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