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The 11 Darkest Classical Music Works
Classical Echoes – 30 October 2024
The Spookiest and Most Terrifying Pieces: Introducing 10 of the Darkest Classical Music Works.
One of the purposes of music is to create the right experience and atmosphere. Classical music, on the other hand, is an abstract expression of the composer’s emotions and inner world. Such as the melancholy in Chopin’s nocturnes or the passion in Liszt’s transcendental etudes. In light of the upcoming Halloween, I will share my subjective list of the 10 darkest classical music pieces!
13. Bagatelle in B minor, op. 126 – L. van Beethoven
At the end of his life, Beethoven, completely deaf and sick, wrote a set of six short piano pieces called Bagatelles. It wasn’t a new genre for him, as he had written similar pieces throughout his life, like the famous Für Elise in A minor. However, he considered these last Bagatelles to be his very best. These simple 3-5 minute piano pieces usually consist of two or three sections and have a light, pleasant nature.
Beethoven – Bagatelle in B minor, S. Richter (yt: Liszt111)
12. Toccata and Fugue in D minor – J. S. Bach
You expected this piece, right? The iconic theme of many horror films and Halloween vibes, known for its powerful opening in toccata and the main subject of the fugue.
In my previous blog post about Bach’s music, I already mentioned how extraordinary and important this work is. Its astonishing sound on a grand Lutheran pipe organ is terrifying and wonderful at the same time.
Its powerful D minor chords in the Toccata sound like the roaring of a beast and give a sense of tragedy and sorrow. The climax of this intense sound comes at the end of the first section, where a series of broken chords and wild progressions grabs all your attention. Then, after a moment of silence, a fantastical fugue begins.
The fugue starts with a pleasurable melody, bringing a piece of light to the work. After multiple sequences and progressions, it culminates in, perhaps, the most intense and powerful ending in all of music history. After listening to it for the first time, it almost feels like you’ve been transported to another dimension and then brought back to Earth.
Bach – Toccata and Fugue in D minor (yt: Point Classics)
11. Danse macabre – C. Saint-Saëns
Another well-known Halloween classic, a short orchestral piece written by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns in 1875. He initially intended to write a song for piano accompaniment but later expanded it to full orchestra to evoke the haunting atmosphere of a tale without words.
According to legend, each Halloween, Death appears and summons the dead to dance while it plays its fiddle, represented here by a solo violin. As a Romantic, Saint-Saëns aimed to depict the actual scene of the dance, using various musical techniques and elements.
Probably inspired by Verdi’s Dies Irae from Requiem and A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Mendelssohn, Danse Macabre did not initially receive much attention, so it took time for the public to fully appreciate the piece.
Starting with eerie, diabolical tritone chords, it then flows into an energetic melody. The key of G minor plays an essential role, as with Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Today, the piece is considered one of the greatest musical achievements of late 19th-century style.
Danse Macabre (yt: DrGrDo)
10. D. Shostakovich – String quartet no. 8 in C minor
One of the greatest chamber works of the 20th century. Soviet composer Shostakovich’s String Quartet in C minor conveys the dark reality he faced under totalitarianism, oppression, that led him to feel suicidal. Although the brutal Stalinist era had ended by this time, and Shostakovich was no longer under the persecution, he composed this dark masterpiece in just three days in 1960.
The quartet is especially famous for its second movement, known for its intensity, darkness, and suspense. It includes multiple voices played by different violins creating a sense of dissonance. The composer screams through instruments and expresses a desperation in his life.
Its dark and intense nature evokes feelings of fear and anxiety, emotions Shostakovich also masterfully explored in his Leningrad Symphony and other works.
String quartet no. 8 (II) (yt: Won Shim)
9. F. Liszt - Totentanz
Liszt, probably the most passionate of all composers, was obsessed with folk motifs in his music. His use of lively gypsy melodies in Rhapsodies and Hungarian musical heritage earned him a reputation not only as an absolute piano virtuoso but also as someone who wrote music for all segments of society.
Totentanz (Dance of Death) is a composition for piano and orchestra, featuring variations on some famous ancient musical themes, like the Dies Irae theme in the opening. Dies Irae is an old Gregorian chant about the upcoming day of wrath and the resurrection of Christ. A sequence of descending notes in a minor key and mournful lyrics has a deep effect on listeners and has appeared throughout history in various musical works. It became especially well-known through Mozart’s and Verdi’s Requiems, Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, and was often used to depict the evil. In Totentanz, Liszt combines super-virtuosic techniques with respect for old musical styles and traditions, making this piece an anthem to all things frightening.V. Lisitsa performs Liszt’s Totentanz (yt: Minanto91)
8. W. A. Mozart – Don Giovanni
Mozart wrote the opera Don Giovanni shortly after the death of his father, Leopold. As a result, it became one of his darkest and most haunting works, besides, maybe, the Requiem. First performed in 1787, it quickly became a hit.
The opera, which consists of two acts, is based on the legends of Don Juan, written by the Spanish author Tirso de Molina. It combines moments of comedy with sinister and dark drama, including supernatural elements uncommon in Mozart’s work. In the finale, Don Giovanni is dragged to hell by the statue of a man he murdered. In addition to the chilling scenes and visuals, the musical score enhances the opera’s darkness. The powerful D minor chords and stormy scales add intense, dramatic elements to the performanceDon Giovanni – Commendatore scene (yt. MasterplanHD)
7. Gaspard de la nuit - M. Ravel
Ravel hits differently. His music breaks the boundaries and rules set by Haydn and Bach. It’s a breath of fresh air in the world of music and in how we appreciate it. Most of his works have a dreamy and uplifting feeling, like Piano Concerto in G or Le Tombeau de Couperin.
His most well-known piano piece, Gaspard de la Nuit, captures all of Ravel’s best qualities. Consisting of three movements, this piano suite is based on poems by Aloysius Bertrand. The first two movements, Ondine (Water Nymph) and Gibet, can be interpreted as the calm, peaceful early hours of the night when everything goes to sleep.
While Ondine and Gibet are light, with a delicate sound, Scarbo, the third movement, evokes uncanny feelings as you listen. Ravel intended it to be the most technically demanding piano piece, adding many seemingly impossible and awkward details that create a particular sound effect.
Scarbo is a small goblin who appears under the bed in one of the poems and terrifies the main character. In contrast to the previous two movements, Scarbo is much more intense, grotesque, and horrifying.
Ravel is truly a wizard at create unique atmosphere and capturing the feelings of the night in this piece.
Scarbo from Gaspard de la nuit – M. Argerich (yt. Max Lima)
6. Der Doppelgänger – F. Schubert
F. Schubert is probably the first truly Romantic composer. During his short life, overshadowed by the greater Beethoven, he became famous as a songwriter. In around 20 years of his active career as a musician, he wrote over 600 Lieder. Schwanengesang is his late collection of 14 songs and is considered one of his greatest works. Some are based on short poems and include a voice part accompanied by piano.
Der Doppelgänger is definitely the darkest of them all. It is based on a short poem by Heine, describing a desperate man walking on the street at night where his beloved used to live long ago. Then, the moon reveals his own face—his doppelgänger (double)—and makes him remember his lost love.
The poem made a significant impression on Schubert, who never managed to find true love in his life. During his illness and with the understanding that the end was near, he realized he probably will die alone. Therefore, this piece feels particularly difficult and absolutely dark, with the feeling of no escape.
Written in B minor, it doesn’t contain much melody and instead focuses on progressive bass chords, becoming more and more intense by the piece’s culmination. Here, Schubert focuses primarily on the sound effect, which is uncommon for his typically melodic and catchy Lieders.
Der Doppelgänger is truly one of the darkest classical works, expressing absolute sadness and sorrow through music.
Der Doppelganger (yt: newFFL8bis)
5. Sonata no. 32, op. 111 – L. van Beethoven
Beethoven’s last piano sonata is perhaps the darkest and most mysterious of all. After his glorious Hammerklavier and the great sonatas from Pathétique to Appassionata, he sought something new. In his later years, struggling with profound deafness and depression, he wrote an astonishing piano work in the cold, dark key of C minor.
While the second movement is a lighter and peaceful C major variations, the first begins with a somber, almost funeral-like introduction, similar to his Pathétique. It includes several fugato sections, adding mystery and paying homage to composers of the past. This sonata was an expression of Beethoven’s life, filled with hardship, drama, and sorrow. Isolated and mentally strained, he created one of the darkest and most frightening piano works of all time.Kissin performs Beethoven’s op. 111 (yt. Klassische Musik)
4. S. Rachmaninoff – Etudes-tableaux
Similar to Mussorgsky or Debussy, Rachmaninoff was deeply inspired by the visual works of great 19th-century artists. Hence, he was interested in transcribing visuals into his music. He wrote a set of 9 études, each inspired by a painting he saw at an exhibition.
He didn’t disclose the names of the pictures that inspired him, believing that the listener should create their own images. Rachmaninoff himself was a man with a dark and gloomy inner world, which we often hear in his music.
The first étude begins in ominous C minor, with a rapid tempo and an unsettling main theme. It immediately creates an atmosphere of night and a gusty wind and becomes increasingly intense, especially enhancing the low bass notes.
The piece really depicts an actual scene when listening to it—Rachmaninoff certainly knew how to set the right mood for the listener!
Etude 1 in C minor (yt. Piano Soloiszt)
3. G. Tratini – Violin sonata in G minor
The Violin Sonata in G Minor by Italian composer Giuseppe Tartini is widely known as the Devil’s Trill Sonata. If there’s a definition of a devilish piece, this is probably it. He likely composed it in 1713, and it includes many difficult and awkward scales and passages that only the devil could play.
In a conversation with a French astronomer, Tartini claimed that one night the devil appeared before him and demanded he be taught the violin. At the end of the ‘lesson’, the devil took Tartini’s violin and played the tune so virtuously and masterfully that Tartini was inspired to write down his improvisation.
The piece begins gently with a modest melody and a sense of anxiety in the air. It then modulates, introducing Paganini-like passages and creating a deeply spiritual feeling.
Due to the legend behind the piece, as well as its innovative beauty and complexity, it became one of Tartini’s most well-known works.
Tartini’s Devill’s Trill sonata (yt. sebastos100)
2. B. Bartòk - Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
When you hear the repeating note on celesta, you might think, ‘I’ve heard this somewhere.’ Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta was written by Hungarian composer Bela Bartók in 1936 and quickly found its place in pop culture of these days.
With its unique sound and chilling atmosphere, the piece became a favorite theme for many films and TV shows, most famously Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.
The piece opens with a single A note, repeated faster and faster on a small bell piano, until the strings enter and the fugue section begins. From there, the music modulates and escalates, bursting into an intense allegro section.
While Bartók never fully explained the nature of this work, each listener finds his own interpretations of the piece. For many, it evokes a dark and moody aura.
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, III mov. (yt. Theo Chronis (TheoChron))
1. H. Cowell - The Banshee
In the 20th century, art underwent a significant shift, moving from public entertainment to a complete expression of the artist’s feelings. Music was no exception. People began experimenting heavily, incorporating new instruments and, sometimes, quite unusual choices, like four minutes of complete silence, for example.
H. Cowell, an extraordinary American composer, showcased this trend of radical change on the piano in his pieces. The Banshee is written to be performed by moving along the piano strings rather than playing the actual keys, creating what is likely one of the most disturbing sounds in existence. It contains only three descending notes that are played on the keyboard and repeat throughout the piece (similar to the opening of Rachmaninoff’s C# minor prelude).
The banshee, in Celtic folklore, is a creature that appears when a family member is about to die. It’s portrayed as a servant of death, appearing as a skinny old man in a dark cloak.
Here, Cowell didn’t intend to create a scene but to make you actually experience true horror—a glimpse of what hell sounds like.
H. Cowell – The Banshee from Three Irish Legends (yt: Sonya Kumiko Lee)
© Classical Echoes 2024