Commentary
Nostalgia of the Future – Harmonia
Nostalgie du Futur “Harmonia”
This is a commentary by pianist Mana Fukui on the musical compositions found in Nostalgia of the Future – Harmonia.
We hope this will help listeners find even deeper enjoyment from these works.
Vol. 4 Nostalgia of the Future – Harmonia I
Pictures at an Exhibition was composed by the Russian composer Mussorgsky during the same period in which Japonism was sweeping across Europe.
The expression found in this work cannot be fully understood within the framework of Western harmonics or musicology. It is easy to recognize that the work was born from the soil of Russia, a land situated between East and West. It is a masterpiece that evokes vast landscapes through indigenous expression, combining it with a sense of cosmic scale and the sublime.
Modest Mussorgsky
Pictures at an Exhibition
Composed during the same period in which Japonism was sweeping across Europe, this work was later orchestrated by Ravel in 1922.
It is said that Mussorgsky visited an exhibition of works by his friend, the painter Viktor Hartmann, who had died suddenly at the young age of 39, curated by many of Hartmann’s friends, who lamented his lost talent, and that Mussorgsky was inspired by the paintings and composed the work in around a mere 20 days. The work became widely known through Ravel’s orchestration, but it was never performed during Mussorgsky’s lifetime.
The work consists of 10 impressions of Hartmann’s paintings, interspersed with five “Promenades.”
Mussorgsky, influenced by Russian church modes and folk music, established a unique, concrete musical language independent of Western musical conventions. The paintings that inspired Pictures at an Exhibition were of landscapes in various countries, including France, Poland, and Italy, giving the work a great diversity.
Like Debussy’s L’isle joyeuse and Ravel’s Une barque sur l’océan, the work was inspired by fine art. With its broad perspective and creative diversity, it instills a sense of boundless fusion not limited to elements of just one ethnic identity.
It is a masterpiece that combines earthly expression that cannot be understood through Western reasoning with a sense of cosmic scale and the sublime.
Track Commentary
Promenade I
The Promenade represents Mussorgsky himself walking from painting to painting, its musical character changing each time it appears.
Although the theme is the same each time, its changing character represents Mussorgsky’s changing mood.
It appears frequently at first, gradually appearing less frequently as the viewer becomes more deeply absorbed in the art, paying less attention to the transitions between them. Unlike the regular rhythm of Western classical music, strong and weak beats are intermingled, creating a sense of expansiveness.
No. 1: The Gnome
This piece is based on one of Hartmann’s lost sketches, which depicts a nutcracker in the shape of a gnome with crooked legs.
The fragmented melodies and rhythms beautifully depict an imaginary world in which the gnome springs to life, jumping, pausing, and darting nimbly around. Within the eerie tonality, the uninhibited harmonies and accents create a playful atmosphere. From time to time, the gnome stops as if sensing danger, remaining alert until finally fleeing, vanishing like the wind amid the fast-paced melody of the climax.
Promenade II
In contrast to the passionate tone of the first Promenade, we move to the next scene, instilled with a new sense of harmony and kindness, as if lost in thought.
No. 2: The Old Castle
This piece is based on a watercolor painting produced by Hartmann during his time studying architecture in Italy. According to Stasov, an art critic and mutual friend of Mussorgsky and Hartmann, the painting depicted an old castle in the background, with a lute-playing troubadour in the foreground. However, the painting cannot be found in the exhibition catalog.
Its beautiful melody, steeped in pathos, echoes freely, creating a quiet, somber atmosphere evocative of the castle’s former glory. It fades as if gradually falling into slumber, but the final powerful chord feels like a farewell kiss reaching out across time.
Promenade III
An extremely brief 8-measure Promenade that serves as a transition to the next scene.
No. 3: Tuileries (Children’s Quarrel after Games)
Stasov recalls a painting that depicted a walkway in the Tuileries Garden in Paris.
A scene in which there are “many children with their nannies,” the main theme, evoking nursery rhymes and children’s mischief, contrasts with the previous piece. The rhythm creates the impression of speech, suggesting the intonation of nannies attempting to calm the children. Later, the initial theme returns as the children ignore these pleas and continue their games, conjuring up the lively atmosphere of a summer garden.
No. 4: Bydlo
In a letter to Stasov, Mussorgsky calls this piece “The Ox-Cart of Sandomir.” It depicts a Polish cart with enormous wheels pulled by an ox, with the heavy steps of the ox and Eastern European folk songs sung sorrowfully by the peasants. A bleak picture emerges of the oppressive lives of both oxen and peasants forced to spend their entire lives laboring without hope and without salvation. In Mussorgsky’s handwritten manuscript, the piece begins with the instruction “ff” (fortissimo), but in Ravel’s orchestration, it begins softly and gradually crescendoes as it nears the climax, in a dramatic portrayal of the approaching cart.
Promenade IV
This Promenade is written in a minor key, reflecting Mussorgsky’s own dark and somber mood. The sadness is interrupted by the opening notes of the movement, as if Mussorgsky had caught a glimpse of the lively scene in the corner of his eye and decided to pursue that impression.
No. 5: Ballet of Unhatched Chicks
Mussorgsky composed this piece after being inspired by sketches that Hartmann created as part of the costume design for Jules Gustavovich Herbert’s (1831-1883) ballet, Trilby. In one scene of the ballet, as Stasov writes, “performers dressed as canaries ran around the stage,” and among them, “some were depicted in armor-like costumes as if they were still inside their eggs.” Hartmann produced 17 sketches for the ballet, four of which survive today.
This comical, cheerful, and somewhat chaotic dance has three sections. The first features cheerful, erratic leaps, while the second is more regular and orderly. After a strengthened climax, we return once more to the opening section.
The juxtaposition of playfulness and rigidity is what makes the comedic character of this piece stand out.
No. 6: Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle
Hartmann is believed to have given Mussorgsky two pictures he had produced in Poland in 1868 as a gift.
According to Stasov, Mussorgsky highly praised these works, and they form the basis of this piece.
Mussorgsky combined the two sketches into one, revealing the personalities of the two figures within them through music.
The piece portrays one character, calm and self-assured, with a dignified melody; the other, pitiful and pleading, with high notes.
“Goldenburg” is a strong-sounding Germanic name that conjures images of a “mountain of gold,” while “Schmuyle,” in contrast, is foreign-sounding. The first version of this piece was titled “Two Polish Jews, Rich and Poor.”
Promenade V
This Promenade reproduces the form of the first one almost entirely, but the overlapping sounds have gained even greater depth, giving a sense of ever-expanding space.
No. 7: Limoges: The Market Place
At the beginning of the manuscript for this piece, Mussorgsky wrote several humorous notes in French about gossip overheard at the marketplace, which he later deleted.
“The great news: Monsieur Pimpant de Panta Pantaleon has just recovered his cow, the Fugitive.”
“Yes, Maam, that was yesterday.” “No, Maam, it was day before yesterday.”
“Oh, well, Maam, the beast roamed all over the neighborhood.” “Oh, no, Maam, the beast never got loose at all.”
“The great news: Monsieur de Puissangeout has just recovered his cow, The Fugitive. But the good gossips of Limoges are not in complete accord on this subject because Mme. de Remboursac has just acquired a fine new set of false teeth while Monsieur de Panta Pantaleon’s nose, which is in his way, remains the color of a peony.”
The existence of Hartmann’s painting is unknown, and it is not listed in the exhibition’s catalog.
No. 8: Catacombs – With the Dead in a Dead Language
In Hartmann’s painting, he depicts himself alongside the architect Vassili Alexandrovitch Kenel (1834-1893), exploring the Paris catacombs by the light of a lantern. On the left, skulls can be seen illuminated by a dim light.
At times strong and at others gentle, the Promenade melody emerges like a shadow from the past, echoing through the dark catacombs.
Stasov writes the following to Rimsky-Korsakov:
“These appear in the music for Hartman’s painting ‘The Catacombs of Paris,’ which consist of nothing but skulls. At first Musoryanin has a depiction of a gloomy cavern . . . Then, above a tremolo in minor, comes the first promenade theme; this is the glimmering of little lights in the skulls; here, suddenly, Hartman’s enchanting, poetic appeal to Musorgsky rings out.”
The dialogue begins in a sorrowful minor key, gradually shifting to a major key, releasing the listener from a sense of confinement and suggesting reconciliation with the land of the dead. The work closes as if it is sending Hartmann home.
No. 9: The Hut on Fowl’s Legs (Baba Yaga)
This piece is based on a sketch found in Hartmann’s home depicting a bronze clock with a chicken leg motif.
With this sketch as the basis, Mussorgsky’s imagination conjured up something completely different: Baba Yaga, a powerful witch filled with evil energy.
The piece opens with urgent, repeated chords. Baba Yaga’s confusion and malice are represented by eerie sounds, while irregular accents imitate her hobbling walk on wooden legs. In the background, a joyful melody emerges as if to sweep everything away. After a sequence of gentle yet unstable harmonies, the opening theme suddenly returns with an upward surge representing flight, before plunging into the exultant chords of the final movement.
No. 10: The Great Gate of Kiev
In 1866, after surviving an assassination attempt in Kiev, Tsar Alexander II announced a competition to design a monumental city gate. Hartmann made a bid to enter, but ultimately the competition was never held. His design adopted an old style, incorporating a tower with a domed belfry.
The final movement of Pictures at an Exhibition vividly depicts this splendor, and overflows with a grandiose, resplendent energy. One melody evokes the expansive landscapes of Russia, while another is reminiscent of church hymns. The pealing of bells overlaps with a retrograde form of the Promenade theme, and all of the prior foreshadowing is resolved as we reach the grand finale.
Vol. 5 Nostalgia of the Future – Harmonia II
Reich is a pioneering figure in 20th-century minimal music.
Six Pianos is a work that deeply reflects Reich’s Jewish philosophy, ideology, and aesthetics, and can be thought of as a representation of the Star of David, the symbol of Judaism. In two dimensions, the six-pointed star takes a hexagonal shape, but in three dimensions, it takes the form of two overlapping regular tetrahedra.
This figure is said to symbolize the unification, or harmony, of opposing elements. It evokes images of polar worlds—active and passive; heaven and earth—not opposing one another but existing in harmony, suggesting that harmony can be achieved through different cultures and worlds resonating with one another, revealing a single, unified world.
Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise evokes earthly imagery of the vast earth, of majestic nature, and of human activity. On the other hand, Mozart’s Ave verum corpus is a supreme sublimation of the composer’s faith, embodying the heavenly realm and evoking purity, sincerity, and profound spirituality.
Steve Reich
Six Pianos
Steve Reich was born to Jewish parents and was deeply influenced by Jewish philosophy and theology. His works often feature symbols related to mysticism.
The six pianos represent the hexagram, also known as the Star of David, the symbol of the Jewish people. In Japan, this figure is known as kagome-mon and is used as a symbol of protection against evil. In two dimensions, the six-pointed star takes a hexagonal shape, but in three dimensions, it takes the form of two overlapping regular tetrahedra.
The overlapping of the upward-pointing equilateral triangle (representing the active principle) and the downward-pointing equilateral triangle (representing the passive principle) also creates the shape of two interlocking pyramids. In ancient Egypt, the central point of this structure symbolized the resurrection and divinity of the pharaoh.。
This figure is also said to signify the unification, or harmony, of opposing elements. It evokes images of polar worlds—active and passive; heaven and earth—not opposing one another but existing in harmony, suggesting that harmony can be achieved through different cultures and worlds resonating with one another, revealing a single, unified world.
For this recording, six pianos were arranged in the shape of a hexagram, with a microphone positioned in the center. When heard in 3D audio, one is stunned by the sensation of sound rotating around a central axis. The rotating sound, the self-dissolution through immersion, and the cosmic expansion resulting from a sense of floating all seem to embody what Reich intended with this work.
Through modern, cutting-edge technology, a single performer’s multi-track recording in 3D audio has produced a one-of-a-kind groove.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Vocalise (Arr. Yoshiyasu Hisamatsu)
Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise, originally a vocal piece sung without lyrics and using only vowels, has been arranged for various instruments.
It is a masterpiece overflowing with deep melancholy and a lyricism that reveres life, evoking vast landscapes and the majesty of nature.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Ave verum corpus
(Arr. Franz Liszt)
Mozart’s Ave verum corpus was composed just six months before his death in 1791.
Originally written as a choral work, it is a hymn glorifying the holy body of Jesus Christ, later arranged for solo piano by Franz Liszt.
While simple in form, it is one of Mozart’s greatest masterpieces, and the supreme sublimation of Mozart’s faith.
It is the essence of spiritual purity and faith, overflowing with heavenly sounds that evoke the sublime integrity of the soul and a profound spirituality.
Ave verum corpus natum de Maria virgine,
Vere passum immolatum in cruce pro homine.
Cujus latus perforatum un da fluxit et sanguine,
Esto nobis praegustatum in mortis examine.
Hail, true body, born of the Virgin Mary,
who truly suffered and was sacrificed on the cross for mankind;
whose pierced side flowed with water and blood.
Be for us a foretaste in the trial of death.
