Night on Bald Mountain is a piece for orchestra by the Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky. It paints a wild night on a bare mountaintop, where witches and spirits gather to dance. At dawn, a church bell rings in the valley, and they scatter. The piece lasts about eleven minutes. Many adults know it from the 1940 film Fantasia.
It is loud and stormy, and it ends in calm. It suits children of about six and up who like spooky music.
Quick facts
- Composer: Modest Mussorgsky, from Russia
- Written: 1867
- Version played today: arranged by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1886
- Length: about eleven minutes
- Listen for: the bell near the end
Two composers, one piece
Mussorgsky wrote the piece in 1867, in less than two weeks. It was never played while he lived. His teacher did not like it.
After Mussorgsky died, his friend Rimsky-Korsakov went through his papers. He reworked the piece, smoothed it out, and added the quiet ending. That is the version orchestras play most. Mussorgsky’s own rougher version is played now and then, and it ends with no dawn at all.
The story in the music
In Russian folk tales, witches meet on a bare mountain on the shortest night of the year, at midsummer.
The gathering. The violins swirl in fast, buzzing circles. Low brass stamp out a heavy tune underneath. Voices seem to rise from under the ground.
The dark spirit arrives. The trombones and tuba blast a slow, grim call.
The dance. A quick, stamping dance starts in the woodwinds and spreads. It gets louder and wilder. The swirling and the stamping come back again and again.
The bell. At the peak of the noise, the music breaks off. A bell rings, far away. It is a church bell in the village below.
Dawn. The spirits fade. A clarinet plays a soft, slow tune alone. Then a flute takes it up. The strings hold long, quiet chords, and the harp rises as the sun comes up.
What to listen for
Swirling strings. The fast notes at the start sound like wind, or like a swarm.
Heavy brass. The trombones and the tuba are the weight of the piece.
The sudden stop. The bell arrives without warning. Ask your child to freeze when they hear it.
Two solos. After all that noise, one clarinet and then one flute have the stage to themselves.
Things to do together
Storm and calm. Dance with big, wild moves for the witches. Freeze on the bell. Then lie on the floor and stretch like someone waking up.
Count the bell. Count the strokes of the bell out loud.
Two colors. Give your child a dark crayon and a light one. Use the dark one while the storm plays and the light one after the bell.
Before and after. Play the first minute and the last minute back to back. Ask how the same piece can sound so different.
Find the instruments. The clarinet and the flute are in woodwind instruments for kids. The trombones and the tuba are in brass instruments for kids.
Is it too scary?
The piece is loud, and the story has witches. Most children enjoy it as a thrill, the way they enjoy a spooky story with a safe ending. Tell your child at the start that the bell rings and the sun comes up. For a gentler start, play the last three minutes first.
A Halloween playlist
Pair it with Danse macabre, “In the Hall of the Mountain King” from the Peer Gynt Suite, and “The Hut on Hen’s Legs” from Pictures at an Exhibition, which is also by Mussorgsky.
Print and play
Draw the mountain at night and at dawn on a listening journal page. For more music that tells a tale, see classical music that tells a story.
More guides are listed in classical music listening guides for kids.
More from this guide
This article is part of Classical music listening guides for kids: famous pieces, one at a time.
1812 Overture for kids: what to listen for
A parent's listening guide to Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture: the story of the battle, the two tunes that fight, the cannons and bells, and games to play.
Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 for kids: a listening guide
A parent's listening guide to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony: the famous four notes, what happens in each of the four movements, and games to play with kids.
Carnival of the Animals for kids: a movement-by-movement listening guide
A listening guide to Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns. Which instruments play the lion, the elephant, the swan, and more, with tips for listening with kids.
Danse macabre by Saint-Saëns: a listening guide for kids
A parent's listening guide to Danse macabre by Saint-Saëns: the midnight story, the mistuned violin, the xylophone bones, and Halloween games to play.
Eine kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart: a listening guide for kids
A parent's listening guide to Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik: what the name means, what happens in each of the four movements, and games to play with kids.
Flight of the Bumblebee for kids: what to listen for
A parent's guide to Flight of the Bumblebee by Rimsky-Korsakov: the fairy tale behind it, why it sounds like a bee, and games to play in ninety seconds.
Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.