Modest Mussorgski

Night on Bald Mountain

The symphonic poem Night on a Bald Mountain took its inspiration from a story by the well known Russian writer Nicola Gogol. Mussorgsky took no steps to promote his masterpiece and it was only after his death when Rimsky-Korsakov was looking through the enormous stack of manuscripts that the work resurfaced. Written above the score, Mussorgsky gives a brief description of the story of Night on a Bald Mountain: Gathering Witches, their gossip and chit-chat; The Procession of Satan; Pagan Worship of Satan and Witches Sabbath. This transcription for concert band by Tohru Takahasi remains true to the orchestral original.