Pictures at an Exhibition (complete)
By Modest Mussorgsky
Arranged for Harp Duet

Instrumentation: Pedal Harp Duet
Difficulty: Advanced
Publisher: Lyon & Healy
Format: Harp 1 and Harp 2
Performance Duration: 33 minutes
Movements:
Promenade 1
Gnomus
Promenade 2
Il vecchio castello
Promenade 3
Tuileries
Bydlo
Promenade 4
Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks
Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuÿle
Promenade 5
Limoges
Catacombae
Con mortuis in lingua mortua
The Hut on Fowl's Legs
The Great Gate of Kiev
Pictures At an Exhibition, arranged for harp duet by Dr. Erin Freund. Available as a set of parts; there is no separate score Pictures translates well from the piano to the harp. Both instruments have a similar range of pitches, can display a range of dark and bright musical colors, and can play both chordal and polyphonic textures. This arrangement of Pictures is scored for two harps for several reasons. Some are purely practical. For example, passages that would be impossible for one harpist with large jumps between registers and wide intervals have been split between the two harp parts to lie more comfortably. Likewise, passages that would be impossible for one harpist with intense chromaticism have been divided to lighten each performer's pedaling. Additionally, scoring for two harps allows musical lines to be brought out in the same way that an orchestrator might assign lines to different instruments, and allows for contrasting articulations to layer in the same passage. Alternating and trading motives between the two parts adds an element of musical conversation that would not exist in a solo arrangement. The two harp parts are equally challenging and demanding, with neither part taking a back seat to the other. Both parts are musically interesting, use a variety of registers, and frequently switch between melody and accompaniment roles for musical interest. Pictures At An Exhibition can be heard on Erin Freund's album, Orchestral Transcriptions.