Classical Music in Pictures Music in Pictures    

Lesson 5: Pictures at an Exhibition - The Market at Limoges

by Modest Mussorgsky

Performer: Skidmore College Orchestra

Directions

Study the musical selection for one week.

Over the week:

• Each day, listen to the musical selection.
• Read the synopsis.
• Review the vocabulary terms.
• Read about the composer and practice reciting his or her name and the composition title.
• Complete the enrichment activities.
• Study the review questions.

Synopsis

Each movement within Modest Mussorgsky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition' reflects a picture. Mussorgsky used music to represent himself wandering the halls of a museum and stopping to look at pictures of gnomes, gardens, and markets. It's market day in Limoges, France. Markets are where people regularly gather to buy, sell, and trade goods. Traditional open-air markets are held outside. Listen to the music. Do you think it is a busy day at the market or a slow day? During market day, people often haggle over the price of goods. Haggle means to bargain back and forth, where each side is trying to get the best deal. The seller wants to get the most money, and the buyer wants to pay the least money. Can you hear the haggling in the music? Examine the painting, 'Old Smithfield Market' by Jacques-Laurent Agasse. Does the painting accurately reflect the music? Why or why not? Next week, you might want to grab some torches and cloaks before coming with me to check out the next painting in the museum. Get ready to descend into the darkness beneath a city.

Vocabulary

Market: A regular gathering of people for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other commodities.
Market Day: The day that people gather together for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other commodities.
Goods: Merchandise or possessions, often for sale.
Haggling: Dispute or bargain persistently, especially over the cost of something.
Museum: A building in which objects of historical, scientific, artistic, or cultural interest are stored and shown.
Exhibition: A public display of works of art or other items of interest, often held in an art gallery or museum.
Suite: A set of movements or musical pieces meant to be played in a specific order.
Movement: A smaller part of a longer suite or musical work with its own key, tempo, and structure.

Composer

1. Modest Mussorgsky was born in 1839 in Toropets, Russia. See his picture below.

2. Zoom in and find Mussorgsky's country of birth on the map of Europe below.

3. Mussorgsky's mother was a pianist, and she taught him piano starting at the age of six. He published his first composition at the age of twelve.
4. Mussorgsky went to military school and served in the military and as a civil servant.
5. Mussorgsky suffered from alcoholism induced epilepsy, which eventually claimed his life at the age of 42.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Create Your Own Museum Exhibition

• Over an 8-week period, you'll listen to compositions from Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.
• Each week, draw a picture to add to your exhibition.
• At the end of the 8-weeks, you'll use your pictures to create your own museum show.
• This week: Listen to the music, and draw, color, or paint a picture of people at a busy market in any setting. Keep your pictures in a safe place until your exhibition.

Activity 2: Describe the Music

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

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

• Cheerful
• Mournful
• Soft
• Noisy
• Vivacious
• Soothing
• Eerie
• Threatening
• Surreal
• Whimsical
• Rhythmic
• Grand

Activity 3: Study the Painting

Examine the painting paired with the music.

• After you study the painting, narrate the scene shown in the painting aloud using your own words.
• Describe how the painting relates to the music.

Activity 4: Act Out the Music

• Listen to the music, and pretend to be at a market haggling over the price of goods.
• Get a few toys and some pennies.
• Work with a partner - another child or an instructor.
• Sell/buy each toy for a certain number of pennies.
• If you are the seller, you must try to gain the largest number of pennies.
• If you are the buyer, you must try to pay the smallest number of pennies.

Review

Question 1

What is the title of the music?

1 / 3

Answer 1

The title is 'Pictures at an Exhibition - The Market at Limoges.'

1 / 3

Question 2

Who composed the music?

2 / 3

Answer 2

The composer is Modest Mussorgsky.

2 / 3

Question 3

What is a 'market?'

3 / 3

Answer 3

A 'market' is a gathering of people for the purchase and sale of goods.

3 / 3

❮ ❯

1. What is the title of the music? The title is 'Pictures at an Exhibition - The Market at Limoges.'
2. Who composed the music? The composer is Modest Mussorgsky.
3. What is a 'market?' A 'market' is a gathering of people for the purchase and sale of goods.

References

'Modest Mussorgsky.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

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