Classical Music for the Seasons Music for the Seasons    

Lesson 32: Pictures at an Exhibition - V. The Ballet of Unhatched Chicks in their Shells

by Modest Mussorgsky

Performer: Skidmore College

Directions

Study the musical selection for one week.

Over the week:

• Each day, listen to the musical selection.
• Practice reciting the title of the composition and the composer's name.
• Read the synopsis.
• Complete the enrichment activities.
• Study the review questions.

Synopsis

Birds singing, leaves budding, and baby animals frolicking, you'll listen to the last selection that embodies the bloom of spring. Get outside or throw open some windows. Listen to this music and enjoy the renewing sunshine and refreshing breezes of spring. Modest Mussorgsky wrote 'Pictures at an Exhibition' in memory of his friend, Viktor Hartmann, who died young at the age of 39. Each movement within the suite represents one of Hartmann's pictures. This piece was inspired by Hartmann's painting, 'Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks,' of a child wearing a costume of a hatching chick.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Describe the Music

After listening to the music, describe and discuss what you heard.

Read the list of adjectives below. Select those that describe the music or think up additional adjectives.

• Happy
• Sad
• Quiet
• Loud
• Fast
• Slow
• Scary
• Dreamy
• Magical
• Rhythmic
• Dignified

Activity 2: Act Out the Poem

Pretend to be a chick hatching from a shell while listening to the music.

Activity 3: Create a Hatching Chick Drawing

• One day this week, draw a chick hatching from a shell while listening to the music.

Review

Question 1

What is the title of the music?

1 / 3

Answer 1

The title is 'Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks.'

1 / 3

Question 2

Who composed the music?

2 / 3

Answer 2

The composer is Modest Mussorgsky.

2 / 3

Question 3

What is 'Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks' about?

3 / 3

Answer 3

'Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks' is based on a painting of a child wearing a costume of an unhatched chick.

3 / 3

❮ ❯

1. What is the title of the music? The title is 'Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks.'
2. Who composed the music? The composer is Modest Mussorgsky.
3. What is 'Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks' about? 'Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks' is based on a painting of a child wearing a costume of an unhatched chick.

References

'Pictures at an Exhibition.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.