# Top 10 Most Psychologically Immersive Works of Music?



## AfterHours (Mar 27, 2017)

For you, what are the top 10 most psychologically immersive works of music?

Definitions being applied:
Psychological: "of, affecting, or arising in the mind; related to the mental and emotional state of a person."
Immersive: "To engage wholly or deeply; absorb."

You may choose Classical works, Rock albums and Jazz albums. I'd _prefer_ you selected full works for your lists (entire symphonies, concertos, albums, etc), but feel free to also mention movements or songs -- _preferably_ not as substitutes but in addition to your top 10 full works.


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

I like the concept of "psychological immersion" that you're proposing here. However, when I try to come up with a list, it's basically the same list that I already posted in your thread on the most emotionally moving works. I guess I'm not quite clear on the difference between "psychologically immersive" and "emotionally moving." Could you please clarify? Otherwise, I'm afraid that I'll basically end up re-posting my old list!! :lol:


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## AfterHours (Mar 27, 2017)

1. Symphony No. 9 in D Major - Gustav Mahler (1909)
2. Tristan und Isolde - Richard Wagner (1859)
3. Trout Mask Replica - Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band (1969) 
4. Rock Bottom - Robert Wyatt (1974) 
5. Symphony No. 15 in A Major - Dmitri Shostakovich (1971) 
6. String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor - Ludwig van Beethoven (1825) 
7. String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp Minor - Ludwig van Beethoven (1826) 
8. The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground (1967) 
9. Astral Weeks - Van Morrison (1968) 
10. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel (1998)


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## AfterHours (Mar 27, 2017)

Bettina said:


> I like the concept of "psychological immersion" that you're proposing here. However, when I try to come up with a list, it's basically the same list that I already posted in your thread on the most emotionally moving works. I guess I'm not quite clear on the difference between "psychologically immersive" and "emotionally moving." Could you please clarify? Otherwise, I'm afraid that I'll basically end up re-posting my old list!! :lol:


As with all the most essential factors that I'm promoting there is likely to be some overlap, particularly among the greatest works of music, each of which could rank highly in some or even several of these. The main difference is simply that it doesn't have to be the most "moving" or even "moving" at all -- could just simply be very compelling or harrowing or very evocative and elaborate, etc. For instance Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique is quite psychologically immersive but not necessarily among the most moving works (in my opinion).


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

OK, thanks for clarifying! Here's my list:

1. Beethoven: Symphony No. 5
2. Chopin: Piano Sonata No. 2 (especially the funeral march)
3. Schubert: Winterreise
4. Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande
5. Beethoven: Symphony No. 9
6. Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14
7. Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin
8. Wagner: Tristan und Isolde
9. Verdi: La Traviata
10. Schumann: Dichterliebe


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

This is much too broad a category. An enormous number of works, including music of no great significance. are thoroughly and powerfully "immersive," and I don't think "immersiveness" can serve as a very useful basis of comparison among the many possible nominees. So I'll take as key the choice of the term "psychological" as opposed to "emotional," and assume that a certain psychological depth and complexity is implied, such that, even beyond the irresistible engagement of the emotions, the mind intuits a profound and important, yet elusive, meaning. These are works that seem to probe my psyche and/or engage my faculties on a level more fundamental than that of "emotion."

Beethoven: String quartet, Op. 131
Beethoven: String quartet, Op. 132
Beethoven: Piano sonata #32, Op. 111
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde
Wagner: Parsifal
Bruckner: Symphony #8
Bruckner: Symphony #9
Sibelius: Symphony #4
Sibelius: Symphony #7
Bartok: Bluebeard's Castle


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## AfterHours (Mar 27, 2017)

Woodduck said:


> This is much too broad a category. An enormous number of works, including music of no great significance. are thoroughly and powerfully "immersive," and I don't think "immersiveness" can serve as a very useful basis of comparison among the many possible nominees. So I'll take as key the choice of the term "psychological" as opposed to "emotional," and assume that a certain psychological depth and complexity is implied, such that, even beyond the irresistible engagement of the emotions, the mind intuits a profound and important, yet elusive, meaning. These are works that seem to probe my psyche and/or engage my faculties on a level more fundamental than that of "emotion."
> 
> Beethoven: String quartet, Op. 131
> Beethoven: String quartet, Op. 132
> ...


Great list, thank you. I predicted a similar problem and was very specific with the usage of "immersive" that I chose, as defined in the OP, which stresses how wholly or deeply absorbing and engaging you find the psychological states/world being expressed. So yes, the degree or depth of absorption would be key, as you have correctly assumed.


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

I can not come up with just ten.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Froberger Partita FbWV 630
Tobias Hume The Spirit of Gambo 
Francesco Da Milano Fantasia 33
Xenakis Paille in the wind
Nono Hay que caminar sonando
Schoenberg Op 45 Trio
Feldman For Samuel Beckett
Ferneyhough Transit
Peter Philips Pavana / Galliarda Dolorosa
Boulez Repons 
Sweelinck ricercar A major 
Holliger Romancendres


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

Woodduck's argument is well made. The category is too broad and quite open-ended. As for what works should be deemed most psychologically immersive works of music, again, with all things subjective, I'll go with:

Bruckner: Symphony no. VIII
Bruckner: Symphony no. IX
Mahler: Symphony no. IX
Schmidt: Symphony no. IV
Suk: Asrael Symphony
Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. VI
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde
Enescu: Oedipe
Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov
Rachmaninov: Vespers (and Vocalise)
Schreker: The Stigmatized


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## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

Too many to mention, but here's a ten sample...

Brahms: Piano Quartet No.2 opus 26
Brahms: String Quintet No.1 opus 88
Brahms: Clarinet Quintet opus 115
Brahms: Symphony No.3
Debussy: String Quartet
Debussy: Images For Orchestra
Mahler: Symphony No.9
Ravel: String Quartet
Sibelius: Symphony No.4
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No.3 ("Pastoral")


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

If you don't mind I think I'll also add some recordings to mine, because in some cases the performers can also add a whole new level of depth to a work.

*1. Verdi: La Traviata*
*Conductor:* Rescigno
*Main Cast:* Callas, Valletti, Zanasi
*Orchestra & Chorus:* The Covent Garden Orchestra & Chorus
(1958)










*2. Mahler: Symphony No. 9*
*Conductor:* Klemperer
*Orchestra:* New Philharmonia Orchestra
(1967)










*3. Wagner: Tristan und Isolde*
*Conductor:* Böhm 
*Main Cast:* Nilsson, Windgassen, Ludwig, Talvela, Waechter, Schreier
*Orchestra & Chorus:* Bayreuth Festival Orchestra & Chorus 
(1966)










*4. Strauss, R.: Vier letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs)*
*Conductor:* Szell
*Soloist:* Schwarzkopf 
*Orchestra:* Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra
(1965)










*5. Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, op. 74 "Pathétique"*
*Conductor:* Mravinsky 
*Orchestra:* Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra	
(1960)


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

*6. Wagner: Parsifal*
*Conductor:* Knappertsbusch 
*Main Cast:* London, Talvela, Hotter, Thomas, Neidlinger, Dalis
*Orchestra & Chrous:* Bayreuth Festival Orchestra & Chorus	
(1962)










*7. Verdi: Rigoletto *
*Conductor:* Serafin
*Main Cast:* Gobbi, Callas, Di Stefano
*Orchestra & Chorus:* Orchestra & Chorus of Teatro alla Scala
(1955)










*8. Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, op. 110*
*Quartet:* Borodin Quartet
(1967)










*9. Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth)*
*Conductor:* Walter 
*Soloists:* Ferrier, Patzak
*Orchestra:* Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra	
(1952)










*10. Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 "Choral"*
*Conductor:* Karajan
*Soloists:* Berry, Janowitz, Kmentt, Rossl-Majdan 
*Orchestra:* Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra 
*Chrous:* Vienna Singverein	
(1962)


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## Selby (Nov 17, 2012)

Top 10 _Psychologically Immersive _works of music:

chronologically:

Beethoven - String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 131 (1826)
Mahler - Symphony No. 2 (1888-94)
Ives - Piano Sonata No. 2, Concord, Mass., 1840-60 (1915)
Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 15 in E-flat minor, Op. 144 (1974)
Nørgård: Symphony No. 3 (1972-75)
Xenakis - Jonchaies (1977)
Xenakis - La Legende D'Eer (1978)
Stockhausen - Luzifer's Abschied (1982)
Feldman - String Quartet No. 2 (1983)
Grisey - Les espaces acoustiques (1974-85)


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## AfterHours (Mar 27, 2017)

Burroughs said:


> If you don't mind I think I'll also add some recordings to mine


Thank you! Don't mind at all. Anyone is free to include recordings, analyses, comments, etc, along with their selections


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## Tallisman (May 7, 2017)

Difficult criteria to fill up, so I'll go with a pathetic top 2:
Sibelius' 4th symphony
Beethoven's late quartets


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Top of my list would be Morton Feldman's Piano and String Quartet, which (as I've mentioned in other threads) helps me reach a state of mindfulness unlike any other work I know.

Sibelius's 4th is a good one
Brahms's 4th 
Mahler's 2nd
Winterreise
Bach's works for solo violin (especially the Chaconne)
and the Mass in B Minor
Verdi's Otello
Late Beethoven Quartets
In a Silent Way (which may be replaced by my recently purchased Tribute to Jack Johnson)

There are a number of Renaissance works to which I need to devote more concentrated listening.


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## lextune (Nov 25, 2016)

Late Beethoven Sonatas & Quartets
Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, La mer
Scriabin: Poem of Ecstasy, Poem of Fire, Sonatas 5-10, many of the poemes for solo piano.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

As for non-classical music: Michael Stearns - Planetary Unfolding 





Space music made almost exclusively with one big modular synthesizer, called the Mighty Serge. http://www.serge.synth.net/gallery/kf/pic/the_mighty_serge_l.jpg

I strongly recommend to listen a few times, in bed, with headphones, eyes closed. 
And let me save some of you the trouble: "blablabla new age crap", "there's no dissonance", "just some basic synthesizer chords" etc. etc. There, now we have that out of the way as well.


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## Clairvoyance Enough (Jul 25, 2014)

DeepR said:


> As for non-classical music: Michael Stearns - Planetary Unfolding
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow, I _really_ love this for the simple way it's different from most trancey/space stuff I've heard. It does one thing for a minute, and then, in the next minute, it does a somewhat different thing, rather than boring you with the same initial thing for five agonizing minutes before finally changing. It's miraculous!


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

That's alright you can express your frustrations. I know most people lack the capability and patience to enjoy this.


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## Clairvoyance Enough (Jul 25, 2014)

DeepR said:


> That's alright you can express your frustrations. I know most people lack the capability and patience to enjoy this.


I wasn't being sarcastic, actually. Usually pieces like that bore me because they're too invariant, but that piece always seemed to sprinkle in a mood shift or neat new sound right before I started to lose interest. The difference between that and the space music I've heard and disliked before is so small that I was genuinely surprised I liked it so much.

My bad.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Haha I'm really sorry. I thought it was sarcasm indeed. Guess I'm a bit too defensive for this music. Glad you liked it!


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## David OByrne (Dec 1, 2016)

Stravinsky - The Firebird
Edgard Varese - Ameriques
Steve Reich - Music for 18 musicians


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## Clairvoyance Enough (Jul 25, 2014)

Electronic music fascinates me in that particular way I think. I feel neither emotionally fulfilled nor emotionally drained after listening to it, or even while listening to it. It's more like the sensation of curiosity I guess, something more detached but equally engaging. 

Stockhausen 
- Kontakte. His most accessible electronic work, I think. Relatively short, something of a fast-slow-fast structure.

Bernard Parmegiani
- Metamorphose du vide 
- Kaleidoscopes 1 and 2
- Exercismes

Francois Bayle (chosen mostly because I've actually had time to absorb them)
- Mimameta
- Reverie de la resonance
- Le Sommeil d'Euclide
- Lumiere ralentie
- Grandeur Nature 
- Voyage au centre de la tete


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## helenora (Sep 13, 2015)

I will narrow it even more just to one composer and I don't think I will be wrong for he is the composer who wrote lots of psychological compositions so to say 

Schubert Fantasie in f minor D940
Schubert Sonata D960 complete or first and second movements
Schubert Musical moment no.3 f minor D958
Schubert Auf dem Wasser zu singen
Schubert Symphony 8 first movement
Schubert Symphony 9 second movement
Schubert Messe in Es-Dur D950 complete or Kyrie
Schubert 3 Klavierstucke D 946 ( all three or second one)
Schubert Seligkeit "Bliss"
Schubert Arpeggione


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

helenora said:


> I will narrow it even more just to one composer and I don't think I will be wrong for he is the composer who wrote lots of psychological compositions so to say
> 
> Schubert Fantasie in f monir D940
> Schubert Sonata D960 complete or first and second movements
> ...


You include Arpeggione but not Winterreise?


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## helenora (Sep 13, 2015)

Tchaikov6 said:


> You include Arpeggione but not Winterreise?


no, unfortunately it's not my taste. But I do admit its importance for music history.


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## helenora (Sep 13, 2015)

and now enlarged list, not just one composer:

Schumann Kreisleriana op.16 ( currently listening to it and wonder why on this thread there is no Schumann , his works are very psychological and no wonder why)
Schumann Symphony no. 3 movement 4
Strauss 4 letzte Lieder and/or final trio from Der Rosenkavalier
Poulenc Stabat mater
Verdi Requiem ( especially libera me)
Schubert musical moment no.3 in f minor ( chosen from previous post, just one work of Schubert)
Franck Prelude, choral and fugue
Franck Panis angelicus
Bach Matthaus Passions or Messa in b minor
Bruckner Symphonies ( it's difficult for me to choose one ), or just codas

not included in top ten, but should be 
Porpora "Alto giove"
Vivaldi Magnificats and some arias
Faure requiem
Offenbach Barcarola from Tales of Hoffmann
Handel Lascia ch'io pianga from Rinaldo and other arias
Lully Suit no.7


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## Vox Gabrieli (Jan 9, 2017)

Absolute #1: Maurice Ravel - Daphnis et Chloé

The rest are too close to tell.


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