The weather has turned cooler, the leaves have begun to change, and pumpkins and ghoulish creatures are decorating department store shelves. Fall is in the air, and with it comes the anticipation of one of America’s favorite holidays—Halloween. The 31st of October may be known mostly for its sights, smells, and tastes (hello candy!), but Halloween can also be a treat for your ears as you listen to these 5 festive favorites.
1. Toccata and Fugue in D minor by J. S. Bach
No Halloween playlist would be complete without including this haunting organ piece. From the striking of its famous opening figure, the piece gives listeners an eerie sense of the otherworldly with its broad scale, minor key, and dissonant chords. In the U.S., it became a popular favorite during the silent film era as the go-to “spooky” musical cue, a role cemented by its inclusion in the horror film Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1931, in Disney’s Fantasia in 1940, and in The Phantom of the Opera in 1962. Since then, the piece has become a staple of spooky musical literature that is certain to get you into the Halloween spirit.
Listen to Toccata and Fugue in D minor here!
2. Danse Macabre by Camille Saint Saëns
This enchanting orchestral piece written by the French composer Camille Saint Saëns musically depicts the legend of death fiddling on Halloween night as skeletons dance on their graves. A solo violin leads the orchestra in this “dance of death” with a beguiling melody that features the dissonant tritone, an interval infamously named the “Devil’s interval.” This dissonant chord is used so frequently that the solo violinist is instructed to alter the tuning of the highest string so that when played openly with the string below it, the infamous tritone rings out. To increase the thematic nature of the piece, Saint Saëns also uses the unique timbre of the xylophone to create the effect of rattling bones. This delightfully fun and spooky piece would make an excellent addition to any Halloween playlist.
Listen to Danse Macabre here!
3. “In the Hall of the Mountain King” by Edvard Grieg
This is a piece that you are certainly familiar with, though you may not know it by name. Originally written to accompany the play Peer Gynt, “In the Hall of the Mountain King” scores the scene of the title character creeping around a cavern as he flees from the mountain trolls trying to capture him and take him to their king. The melody begins as a light, slowly repeated figure that depicts Peer Gynt’s cautious tiptoeing through the cavern, but as the danger grows nearer, the tempo, dynamics, and instrumentation of the piece grow until it swells into a feverish flight. The piece does an excellent job of creating a mounting sense of dread that makes it perfect for the spirit of Halloween.
Listen to “In the Hall of the Mountain King” here!
4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Suite for Orchestra by John Williams
No Halloween season would be complete without a reference to our favorite boy wizard, Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling’s spellbinding series continues to delight audiences’ imaginations, and with the addition of John Williams’ fantastic film score, it delights our ears as well. With four movements that equal parts mysterious, beguiling, ominous, and triumphant, this suite for orchestra paints an enchanting picture of young Harry’s magical world that is sure to get you in the mood for Halloween (and maybe a butterbeer too.)
Listen to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Suite for Orchestra here!
5. “The Phantom of the Opera” by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Based on the novel by Gaston Leroux, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera is a musical adaptation of the story of the mysterious masked man who haunts a Parisian opera house, seeking the love of the beautiful soprano, Christine. After witnessing the mysterious workings of the Phantom earlier in the musical, we are finally introduced to him in this thrilling duet. The piece is filled to the brim with the ominous sounds of the organ and a chromatic trepidatious melody as Christine finally meets the mysterious Phantom and descends into his underground lair. Both ominous and thrilling, this piece is an excellent addition to any spooktacular playlist.
Listen to “The Phantom of the Opera” here!
While you are stocking up on candy or carving jack-o-lanterns this year, take the time to listen to these 5 pieces to set the mood for your spooktacular Halloween.
- Jordan Koehlinger, Music Instructor at Vibe Music Academy.
