Recommendations sought for "spooky" classical music

[FromBelgiumWithLove]

/http://youtu.be/8noeFpdfWcQ

Never mind about the spookiness, just play it. The world can never hear enough Schubert!

One thing I forgot to mention about that bravura performance is how good Jessye Norman's pronunciation of German is. When native speakers of English try to sing classical music with German lyrics, they often have such a heavy accent, and entirely unable to pronounce certain phonemes correctly, that that alone makes it impossible for me to listen to them. (The same thing happens in reverse sometimes, when non-native speakers of English try to sing in English. I am told Italians often have the same problem with foreigners singing in Italian, since so much opera is in Italian.) She pulls it off. For an American, this is remarkably original-sounding German (and German has many accents anyway - somebody from Austria or Switzerland singing the same song wouldn't necessarily sound the same as somebody from the far north of Germany either).

 

[jenspen]

When native speakers of English try to sing classical music with German lyrics, they often have such a heavy accent, and entirely unable to pronounce certain phonemes correctly, that that alone makes it impossible for me to listen to them. (The same thing happens in reverse sometimes, when non-native speakers of English try to sing in English. I am told Italians often have the same problem with foreigners singing in Italian, since so much opera is in Italian.)

You have touched on a hobby horse of mine. I love words and the sort of vocal music I mostly listen to began with the words. So my remarks don't apply to "prima la musica" Italian opera for instance or heavily orchestrated Mahler or Strauss.

I have a listening knowledge of three other living languages besides English (you miss out on so much if you don't make the effort to learn a bit of German at least) anyway, enough to almost always prefer to listen to a native speaker of German (unless they're called Elly Ameling) in Lieder and the Bach Passions and to feel cheated if I have to listen to a non-Francophone singing anything, popular music included, in French.

English language singers of classical music, as well as English language listeners, are at a disadvantage but it is in our smaller repertoire that I especially prefer to hear vocally less talented Anglophones than even my very favourite singers. This is not only because of the latters' "inability to pronounce certain phonemes" it's also because, to enhance the meaning and the mood, a native speaker with a good feeling for their language will naturally use tiny hesitations, sing some consonants with an extra relish, expand some diphthongs, understand the underlying rhythm of the words in the rhythm of the music .... and they will be able to time the jokes.

 

[hgc]

... it's also because, to enhance the meaning and the mood, a native speaker with a good feeling for their language will naturally use tiny hesitations, sing some consonants with an extra relish, expand some diphthongs, understand the underlying rhythm of the words in the rhythm of the music .... and they will be able to time the jokes.

In a word: Sinatra

 

[Belz...]

The first four tracks of the CD feature Night on Bald Mountain, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, Danse Macabre, and In the Hall of the Mountain King.

If you're going to use the Toccata BWV 565, I would also suggest the Fantasia BWV 542. Depending on the version it can start pretty creepily. I'd also suggest the Passacaglia BWV 582, but I don't know if you could call it creepy.

 

[JohnG]

In a word: Sinatra

Pfft. Not a bit spooky.

Though his duet with his daughter on "Something Stupid" could be labeled as "creepy".

 

[hgc]

Pfft. Not a bit spooky.

Though his duet with his daughter on "Something Stupid" could be labeled as "creepy".

I didn't intend to suggest Sinatra as spooky, but rather was following the digression about native speakers of a language being able to make meaningful inflections in their lyrical delivery. Sinatra is a famous example for this skill.

 

[JohnG]

I didn't intend to suggest Sinatra as spooky, but rather was following the digression about native speakers of a language being able to make meaningful inflections in their lyrical delivery. Sinatra is a famous example for this skill.

When people don't get my jokes somewhere a kitten dies.

 

[Meadmaker]

Definitely recognizable, but maybe not as familiar to kids - Funeral March for a Marionette (The Hitchcock theme). Even the title is creepy.

Oooh.. good one.

(Actually, there are lots of good ones that have been posted, but I have been away from the forum lately. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.)

And have you ever noticed that it's very similar to the "Leave it to Beaver" theme?


I might include "Saber Dance". It isn't truly scary, but it has a nice edge to it. (No pun intended.)

 

[deadrose]

As to The Planets, Saturn also has a nice mournful quality.

 

[bruto]

Trying to think of a couple of other things out of the box, try Shostakovich's second piano trio. It's a fantastic piece anyway. Check out the fourth movement (about 15 minutes mark on the embedded video):



Messaien's "Quartet for the end of time" might be worth a try too. Not so creepy, but certainly strange. Written while Messaien was a prisoner of war, for the instruments available.

If your taste is more traditional, one might dabble in Biber (check out the violin solos in the Rosary sonatas), or Tartini's "Devil's Trill."

 

[CriticalThanking]

The soundtrack to _The Omen_.

 

[FromBelgiumWithLove]

Messaien's "Quartet for the end of time" might be worth a try too. Not so creepy, but certainly strange. Written while Messaien was a prisoner of war, for the instruments available.

Now that you mention that, another piece that comes to mind that especially people not too familiar with classical music might consider "spooky", is Alban Berg's violin concerto, which he gave the dedicatory title Dem Andenken eines Engels, usually translated as "To the memory of an angel".

Generally, all atonal and twelve-tone music sounds at the very least unusual to people not used to it (IOW, the overwhelming majority of people). A lot of Stockhausen's stuff is another thing that comes to mind as something that might well sound "spooky" to some people. Personally, I've never been able listen to more than a few minutes of Stockhausen without either switching off the radio or changing the channel. Does that count as "spooky"?

 

[skullerello]

I'm sorry if this is redundant, however no post I've read has pointed out anything by Midnight Syndicate. They record very visceral, fun orchestrations
and sound-effect-laden tracts which can turn even the most PC All-Hallows-Eve celebration into a ripe, deeply-troubling-scare fest.

 

[Meadmaker]

I got a CD (downloaded actually...who uses real materials anymore?) of "100 greatest horror music" or some similar forgettable title.

Forgettable or not, it had some good stuff. I think "Mars" will definitely be in the mix, and I think "Sheherazade" will make it, too. I decided against "Sabre Dance", but I think I will include "Ride of the Valkyries". "Valkyries" isn't all that spooky, but it's intense, somewhat dark, and recognizable.

I haven't had a chance to listen to all the recommendations made in the thread, but I will listen to most of them (probably the week before Halloween. Never put off to tomorrow something you can put off to the day after.)

 

[calebprime]

Now that you mention that, another piece that comes to mind that especially people not too familiar with classical music might consider "spooky", is Alban Berg's violin concerto, which he gave the dedicatory title Dem Andenken eines Engels, usually translated as "To the memory of an angel".

Generally, all atonal and twelve-tone music sounds at the very least unusual to people not used to it (IOW, the overwhelming majority of people). A lot of Stockhausen's stuff is another thing that comes to mind as something that might well sound "spooky" to some people. Personally, I've never been able listen to more than a few minutes of Stockhausen without either switching off the radio or changing the channel. Does that count as "spooky"?

Well-said, sir.

Oh, with the addition that some Stockhausen is worth hearing.

 

[Tiktaalik]

How about 'Tubular Bells' by Mike Oldfield? (Might have been mentioned already). Parts of it get very weird.

 

[JeanFromBNA]

The soundtrack from Bram Stoker's Dracula:

http://www.amazon.com/Bram-Stokers-...&qid=1411838039&sr=8-4&keywords=Dracula+score

 

[Denver]

This may go outside your interests, but the music to Berlioz' La Damnation De Faust does it for me. Particularly the end, which to me is some of the most infernal/scariest music I've ever heard (though admittedly because of the story points).

ETA: And off-OP, I was at a Halloween store today, and they were playing a LONG version of the theme from the Munsters I had never heard. Fantastic!