Feature Fridays: 40 Most Scary Halloween Classics
Welcome to Feature Fridays!听Each听week, 麻豆原创 Music Library staff highlight an item from our collection. While the music library is closed, we will feature items that are available for streaming. This week Music Library Coordinator Amanda Steadman reviews听, available from Naxos Music Library with your 麻豆原创 credentials.听
In this spooky season, I wanted to highlight something Halloween-related. Naxos conveniently suggested this collection of classical pieces.听Not all of them sound exactly spooky to me鈥攑articularly items like Debussy鈥檚听听(鈥渕oonlight鈥)听and听听(鈥渢he sunken cathedral鈥), which are more 鈥渟pooky in name only鈥 to my ears, although both beautiful pieces. But there鈥檚 plenty to听explore听in this collection, which features performances from various top name orchestras and solo performers.听
Haunted听highlights you may have heard before include Mussorgsky鈥檚听, which if you鈥檝e ever seen Disney鈥檚听Fantasia,听is the one with the devil on the mountaintop.听Bach鈥檚听, BWV 565 is also in听Fantasia, but has been used for numerous appearances of organ playing vampires.听Anyone with an ear for Broadway will recognize the music from Andrew Lloyd Webber鈥檚听.听
My favorite spooky secret is the听Dies Irae,听a melody听that听originates in听plainchant听of the Requiem mass (mass for the dead); the听original setting鈥檚 date听is听unclear, but听is generally thought to be听sometime in the 13th听century.听You can hear the plainchant setting听in听on听听from the album. The beginning eight-note melody has been used as musical shorthand听for death and other scary things听by composers over the past eight centuries听(especially the first four notes.)听It听appears in other pieces on this album, most notably in Berlioz鈥檚听Symphonie Fantastique听(which itself has a fascinating story that I don鈥檛 have space to cover here!), in听the final movement, 鈥.鈥 You can hear it in this version around听3:06听and听again at听7:40.听Another instance can be found in Franz Liszt鈥檚听听(鈥渄eath dance鈥)听throughout the piece.听For another famous quotation of this melody, I recommend听an听听on 鈥淢aking Christmas鈥 from Danny Elfman鈥檚 score for听The Nightmare Before Christmas. This melody shows up several times in听Elfman鈥檚 score听and hearing the host talk through听Elfman鈥檚 use of the melody听may help you to recognize it in other films.听I will note quickly that the听Dies Irae听text is also used separately from this melody in settings of the听Requiem听mass.听听is also included in this collection.听
Overall, this collection features听an听alarming听atmosphere for spooky studying. I recommend听it for your Halloween listening pleasure.听
40 Most Scary Halloween Classics听and many other albums of classical music are available for streaming from with your 麻豆原创 credentials.听