Looking for some spooky art music (it’s not necessarily from the Classical Period…#ImADork)? Check out the “Classical Creeps” playlist I put together on Spotify!
Enjoy these pieces:
- Renié’s “Ballade Fantastique,” played by Emmanuel Ceysson (have you checked out his Insta? He shares some great lipsyncing from the orchestra pit!). Did you know that this piece is based on Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart?” I feel like anything Poe-related is spooky material!
- Saint-Saëns’ “Danse Macabre,” played by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra. This piece seems like kind of a classic for this time of year.
- Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique,” recorded by Leonard Bernstein & The New York Philharmonic. Do you know the story about this one? Creepy…but interesting!
- Schubert’s Erlkönig, performed by Philippe Sly & John Charles Britton. This is another piece that tells a story. It’s based on a poem by Goethe. You can read more about it here.
- Gounod’s “Marche Funèbre d’une Marionnette” (“Funeral March of A Marionette”), probably more popularly identified as the theme song from Alfred Hitchcock Presents. This recording is by the BBC Philharmonic. It’s interesting to take a look at this score. You can see notes of what’s happening during different parts. Also, did you know that’s apparently not the original story that was supposed to go with the piece? Read more here.
Did I leave any songs out? Let me know in the comments below, or you can also contact me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
Barbara Fischer runs Fischarper, LLC and loves her job as a harpist and private music educator. She enjoys blogging about various aspects of the music field on fischarper.com/blog. For more music resources, check out the Fischarper store. Find out where you can find Barbara on the interwebs here. And you can sign up to receive Fischarper updates by joining the email list.