Modest Mussorgskij

A Night on the Bare Mountain

Mussorgsky never heard this piece performed in his lifetime, certainly not in this version, the most famous, which was compiled by Rimsky-Korsakov from all the various versions Mussorgsky composed. The piece depicts an assembly of witches on the Bare Mountain near Kiev, and is a perpetual whirlwind of terror that lasts until the church bell sounds at dawn. This piece sounds wonderfully gothic for full flute orchestra, with plenty of challenging material in the upper parts to set the fingers flying; however, the bass, 2nd alto and 3rd flute parts would be suitable for confident grade 5s-6s. (Score and parts)