{"id":49055,"date":"2024-10-26T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-26T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/21b50e2a-3881-43ab-b244-e1f5f3cd861b"},"modified":"2024-10-26T12:07:15","modified_gmt":"2024-10-26T10:07:15","slug":"best-music-for-halloween-7-spooky-pieces-to-send-shivers-up-your-spine","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/best-music-for-halloween-7-spooky-pieces-to-send-shivers-up-your-spine\/","title":{"rendered":"Best music for Halloween: 7 spooky pieces to send shivers up your spine"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By <\/p>

Published: Saturday, 26 October 2024 at 09:00 AM<\/p>

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Here are the best choices of music for Halloween… or any spooky night you’re planning!<\/p>

Best classical music for Halloween<\/h2>

Berlioz: \u2018Sabbath Night\u2019s Dream\u2019 from Symphonie fantastique<\/em><\/h3>
In Berlioz<\/a><\/strong>‘s Symphonie fantastique<\/strong><\/a><\/em> a young artist has fallen under the spell of a woman of near ideal beauty. Alas, it doesn\u2019t end well. In this opium-fuelled dream we encounter spirits, sorcerers and monsters which are assembled for his funeral – listen out for the spooky woodwind glissandos.<\/p>
The \u2018id\u00e9e fixe\u2019 (his beloved\u2019s musical theme) has now become a trivial and grotesque dance in 6\/8 and is then combined with the tolling bells of the Dies Irae<\/strong><\/a>. This is one of the most visionary pieces of music ever written and Berlioz\u2019s sense of drama and his use of the orchestra<\/a><\/strong> are incredible.<\/p>
<\/div><\/figure><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/six-best-horror-film-scores\/\">The 13 most terrifying horror film scores of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mozart: Commendatore scene from <em>Don Giovanni <\/em>(Act Two finale)<\/h3><p>The statue of the Commendatore (who was killed by the Don at the start of the opera) comes to life and exacts his revenge. The Commendatore insists that the Don repent for his sins, but the Don is steadfast in his refusal. Soon after, an underground chorus of demons sings and the Don is pulled into the abyss.<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/10-mozart-myths\">10 Mozart myths debunked: from being buried in a pauper’s grave to a penchant for brightly coloured wigs<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/mozart\">Mozart<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s imagination really ran riot with his libretto for <em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/mozarts-don-giovanni-best-recordings\">Don Giovanni<\/a><\/strong><\/em>. After the Don has gone, there is a plagal cadence and a <em>tierce de picardie<\/em> in the blazing orchestra, both of which have overtones of solemn church music.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Don Giovanni Act II Finale\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RABF0XDNnjw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tchaikovsky: <em>The Queen of Spades<\/em> – Act Three, Scene One<\/h3><p>This is the scene in <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/tchaikovsky\">Tchaikovsky<\/a><\/strong>‘s opera <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/tchaikovsky-queen-of-spades-pique-dame\"><em>The Queen of Spades<\/em><\/a><\/strong><em> <\/em>during which the ghost of the Countess visits Herman and reveals the secret of the cards. Tchaikovsky employs a harmonious seven-part chorus instructed to \u2018sing loudly from a distance\u2019 which invokes the Countess\u2019s \u2018panikhida\u2019, or burial service. Herman wonders if it is the wind.<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/the-scariest-operas-how-the-supernatural-world-has-inspired-opera-composers\/\">The scariest operas: how the supernatural world has inspired opera composers<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>There is both <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-a-chromatic-scale\">chromatic<\/a><\/strong>ism and whole-tone <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-harmony-in-music\">harmony<\/a><\/strong>, which complement Herman\u2019s deranged state of mind. Ethereal, fast, contrary-motion <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-a-scale-in-music\">scale<\/a><\/strong>s and the composer\u2019s characteristic method of building intensity through rising harmonic sequence all add to the very eerie atmosphere. His superb orchestral touch is also evident here, through wonderful use of the bass <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/history-of-the-clarinet-its-invention-evolution-and-famous-clarinet-makers\">clarinet<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Tchaikovsky: "Pique Dame" Act 3: Prelude and Scene 1 - Placido Domingo, Elisabeth S\u00f6derstr\u00f6m\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/86w922pjLCU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/classical-night-music\">Classical music inspired by night: from peaceful moonlit evenings to witching hour nightmares<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Shostakovich: <em>Allegro molto<\/em> from String Quartet No. 8<\/h3><p>There are no imaginary demons here. The second movement seems to be an expression of fear – a very real terror, which gets my pulse racing when I listen to it. There is something unbearable about four <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/string-instruments\">string instruments<\/a><\/strong> screaming, being forced to the limits of their expression, especially when the Hebrew melody bursts in.<\/p><p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/dmitri-shostakovich\/\">Shostakovich<\/a><\/strong> dedicated the whole quartet to the victims of fascism, but the meaning of this music has provoked debate. With the cryptogram DSCH (his musical signature) running all the way through it (as in the First Cello Concerto and the Tenth Symphony), there is something personal here that is hard to ignore.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Shostakovich String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor (II)\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PjvTTfbpWjY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Schubert: <em>Der Erlk\u00f6nig<\/em><\/h2><p>Apart from being a nightmare for the pianist – the repeated right-hand triplet quavers are a real test of stamina – this short ballad tells the chilling story of a night-time horse-ride. In the hands of an imaginative singer we can hear all four characters coming through (father, son, Erlking and narrator).<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/20-greatest-pianists-all-time\">The 20 greatest pianists of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/franz-schubert\/\">Schubert<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s flair for story-telling through music is at the fore – a three-minute miniature that has you in its thrall from beginning to end.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Franz Schubert: Erlk\u00f6nig\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JS91p-vmSf0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/article\/six-best-schubert-songs\"><strong>Six of the best Schubert songs<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">John Williams – <em>Jaws<\/em><\/h2><p>An example of how a stunningly simple idea, brilliantly orchestrated, can create an emotive response in the viewer. The two-note bass ostinato, which gradually gathers momentum mirrors the panic we experience on screen. But this score holds much more interest than those two notes.<\/p><p>Does the tuba theme perhaps suggest a lone shark on the hunt? <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/williams-john\/\">John Williams<\/a><\/strong> seems to conjure the expanse of the ocean with a broad, rolling theme in the strings. There are unpredictable off-beat brass accents, which add to the suspense.<\/p><p>The Pier Incident sends shivers down the spine – even though nothing particularly bad happens, the music signifies that something might. Spielberg said that half of the success of <em>Jaws<\/em> was due to its music – it is easy to see why.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Main Title\/John Williams\/Jaws (From The "Jaws" Soundtrack)\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BePfzCOMRZQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-group highlight-box is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-groupinner-container\"><ul><li><strong><a class=\"standard-card-newarticle-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/five-lesser-known-film-scores-by-john-williams\/\">Five lesser-known film scores by John Williams<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a class=\"standard-card-newarticle-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/four-best-john-williams-recordings\/\">Four of the best John Williams recordings<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mussorgsky – <em>Night on Bald Mountain<\/em><\/h2><p>To a certain generation, brought up on Disney’s <em>Fantasia<\/em>, it’s difficult to think of Halloween without this dark tone poem, depicting a gathering of witches, ghosts and demons. Of course, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/modest-musorgsky\">Mussorgsky<\/a><\/strong>‘s inspiration was the midsummer pagan festivities of the summer solstice, with their fire, water and fertility rituals, as well as the congregation of witches\u00a0and spirits. But the piece works equally well for an October Halloween soiree. <\/p><p>Completed in June 1867, the work was never performed during Mussorgsky’s lifetime. Instead, Rimsky-Korsakov\u00a0took up\u00a0<em>Night on Bald Mountain<\/em> after his colleague’s death. He rearranged it to tone down the demonic elements, while retaining Mussorgsky\u2019s fierce energy. And he replaced the original savage ending with dawn and church bells to frighten away the demonic hoard. <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Night On Bald Mountain - Fantasia (1941) (Theatrical Cut)\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SLCuL-K39eQ?start=56&feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/tv-and-film-music\/disneys-fantasia-all-the-pieces-of-classical-music-featured-in-the-animated-film\">Disney’s <em>Fantasia<\/em>: all the pieces of classical music featured in the animated film<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p><em>Words by James Southall, a conductor with the Welsh National Opera. <\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Published: Saturday, 26 October 2024 at 09:00 AM Here are the best choices of music for Halloween… or any spooky night you’re planning! Best classical music for Halloween Berlioz: \u2018Sabbath Night\u2019s Dream\u2019 from Symphonie fantastique In Berlioz‘s Symphonie fantastique a young artist has fallen under the spell of a woman of near ideal beauty. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":49056,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"5"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/10\/best-music-for-halloween-7-spooky-pieces-to-send-shivers-up-your-spine.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/10\/best-music-for-halloween-7-spooky-pieces-to-send-shivers-up-your-spine-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/10\/best-music-for-halloween-7-spooky-pieces-to-send-shivers-up-your-spine-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/10\/best-music-for-halloween-7-spooky-pieces-to-send-shivers-up-your-spine-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/10\/best-music-for-halloween-7-spooky-pieces-to-send-shivers-up-your-spine-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/10\/best-music-for-halloween-7-spooky-pieces-to-send-shivers-up-your-spine.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/10\/best-music-for-halloween-7-spooky-pieces-to-send-shivers-up-your-spine.jpg",1200,800,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Published: Saturday, 26 October 2024 at 09:00 AM Here are the best choices of music for Halloween… or any spooky night you’re planning! Best classical music for Halloween Berlioz: \u2018Sabbath Night\u2019s Dream\u2019 from Symphonie fantastique In Berlioz‘s Symphonie fantastique a young artist has fallen under the spell of a woman of near ideal beauty.…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/49055"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}