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As the nights grow longer and Edinburgh is shrouded in haar, it's time to embrace the spooky season.
We've curated a playlist for you featuring appropriately eerie classical pieces. Get to know five stories which inspired the composers to write such music. We've also pulled out some musical motifs to help you to dive deeper into the supernatural experience.
Listen for church bells chiming, bones rattling, and an out-of-tune violin. Doesn't the mere thought of it send shivers down your spine?
When the bells chime midnight: Danse macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns
Saint-Saëns's Danse macabre is based on the French legend that at midnight on Halloween, Death emerges to play the fiddle. As the tale goes, his haunting melodies draw skeletons from their graves for their annual graveyard dance party.
At the start of the piece, you can hear the bells chime midnight. Then Death begins to play at 0:25, represented by the discordant solo violin. The very atmosphere of the story is conveyed through Saint-Saëns's clever composition, including a tuning of the violin’s E string down a semitone.
As the violin passes the tune to the marimba at 1:55, you can hear the clanging of bones as the skeletons dance. Then, at 3:20, the orchestration conjures a pensive image as the violin (or Death) sings to a moonlit sky.
Frankenstein: Toccata and Fugue in D minor by Johann Sebastian Bach
What would Halloween be without a dramatic organ piece?
If you’re an Edinburgh local, or have visited Edinburgh before, you may have stopped by Frankenstein's bar on George IV Bridge. Every night the monster comes alive to the sound of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue. The eerie atmosphere is a fitting nod to the gothic novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
This iconic piece is one of the most recognisable organ compositions and has appeared in countless films, including The Aviator, Fantasia, and Sunset Boulevard.
The piece consists of two sections. The Toccata, meaning "to touch," is played in free time, allowing the soloist dramatic interpretation. Listen to the Toccata:
The second part, the Fugue, is characterised by a main theme (0:00), which develops into overlapping repetitions (0:07) and counter-melodies (0:30). Listen to the Fugue:
Dancing Skeletons: Fossils from The Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns
Fossils is a movement from the comedic suite The Carnival of the Animals. In this movement Saint-Saëns references his own work Danse macabre, conjuring images of playful skeletons dancing together.
Written in 1886, The Carnival of the Animals humorously portrays 14 portraits of animals using various instruments. In Fossils you can hear the xylophone (0.00), two pianos (0.25), a clarinet (0.50), and string instruments. As in Danse macabre, the percussion mimics the sound of a jolly skeleton dance (e.g. 0.00, 0.09, 0.33).
Excerpts from Carnival of the Animals were performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra at our Family Concert this August. Luckily no skeletons were spotted then!
Watch this live performance of Fossils with solos from world-famous pianist Lang Lang.
Operatic drama: Dies Irae from Verdi’s Requiem
A Requiem is a musical service that honours the dead, while Dies Irae translates to Day of Wrath. It's no surprise, then, that this excerpt from Giuseppe Verdi’s powerful Requiem has been widely used in film to evoke drama and fear.
Verdi’s Requiem was performed at our 2024 International Festival to a sold-out Usher Hall. Dies Irae was also featured in our Opening Event: Where to begin, as the soundtrack to ignite the Festival spirit.
Opening Event: Where to Begin
© 2024 Jess ShurteMonstrous Trolls: Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt by Edvard Grieg
Peer Gynt tells the story of a young Norwegian man who embarks on a series of adventures. Hall of the Mountain King musically depicts Peer Gynt being chased by trolls during his hair-raising escape from the Mountain King's lair.
Composed in 1875, this piece is part of the incidental music for Henrik Ibsen's 1867 play Peer Gynt. The music begins quietly, with the bassoons (0:17) and cellos (0:25) alternating an ominous melody. The dynamics and tempo gradually build, creating tension until a crashing finish.
Happy Listening this Spooktober
Dive into the Spooky Playlist featuring the pieces above and some additional macabre tunes to get you in the mood for Halloween or Samhain.
Do you know of any other spooky stories which inspired classical music? Let us know @edintfest or by email at [email protected]