Dissertation On Mussorgsky's Vocal Suite, The Nursery

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (1839-1881), one of the Russian composers known as The Mighty Handful, the most outstanding and distinctive composer in Russia during the 19th century, has gone down in history as the greatest supreme master of realism. His music, which is creative while still enjoying the characteristic features of Russian national music, uncovers the sufferings and darkness of the that time. No matter whether it be, tragedy or comedy, his musical language is loyal to colloquial language and dramatic movements, picturing the vivid and dramatic lives of Russian people.During the pericd of 20 years during which necomposces, Mussorgsky camposed finished 10 operas,8 orchestral pieces,10 chorus pieces, more than 20 piano pieces,3 vocal suites, and over 50 songs and arrangements (some of them are unfinished). The Nursery, a vocal suite and composed from 1868 to 1872, remains a uniguey creative and novelcomposition even compared with other contemporary musicians. Unprecedented in the history of vocal composition, all songs in the suite successfully portray a new world,one for children.The thesis, from the writer's point of view, attempts to make a statement on the basis of the composer's psychology and background, proclaim his creativity in this suite, and give a thorough analysis of Mussorgsky's composition style and features by exploring the inner emotion and characteristics of several representative songs of this suite.