A Night on the Bald Mountain usually refers to one of two compositions --- either an early "musical picture" by Modest Mussorgsky, St. John's Night on the Bare Mountain, or a later and very popular "fantasy for orchestra" by Rimsky-Korsakov, A Night on the Bare Mountain (Noch' na lïsoy gore), based on Mussorgsky's themes. Inspired by Russian legend, Mussorgsky made a witches' sabbath the theme of the original tone poem, never performed in any form during his lifetime but arranged after his death by his friend Rimsky-Korsakov. Walt Disney's 1940 film Fantasia contains a specially produced version depicting Walpurgis Night ("Walpurgistnacht"), a traditional religious holiday (celebrated by Pagans, Roman Catholics, and Satanics alike) celebrated on April 30 or May 1 in large parts of Europe. "Lïsaya" literally means "bald", but is used in this case figuratively for a mountain barren of trees. Many title the piece A Night on the Bare Mountain, even if they commonly refer to it as Night on Bald Mountain.
