# Music for the end of the world



## grignon (Sep 12, 2006)

Whether it came with a bang or a whimper, whether it came because of or in spite of human effort, what would you choose for the final moments?

I'd play Bach's Pasacaglia & Fugue in c. It evokes a gamut of emotions in me but in the end, my feeling is a satisfaction that at least, a man was capable of THIS!


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

I don't know why but I once saw lyrical second theme from first movement of Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony as a warm consolation in face of the end.


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## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

I'll state the obvious choral finales from Beethoven's 9th and Mahler's 2nd.


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## Falstaft (Mar 27, 2010)

There can be only this!






"Garm howls dangerously at Gnupa's cave. Shattering the chains, the wolf frees himself. Coiling serpent wants to swallow the world, it spews forth venom and fire's heat."


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## Romantic Geek (Dec 25, 2009)

Aramis said:


> I don't know why but I once saw lyrical second theme from first movement of Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony as a warm consolation in face of the end.


Wow...excellent choice. Would not have come up with that myself.

Passacaglia and Fugue in C would definitely have that impending doom feeling too.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

I'd want to hear something composed BY God, not by humans who _think _they know what music should sound like, and yet distort it with their wrong motives and sin.

Although, it has been recorded that Angels do sing things humans have composed, such as the Hallelujah Chorus in Handel's Messiah.

Yeah, you're gonna think me crazy for saying that.


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## Conor71 (Feb 19, 2009)

The Adagietto from Mahler 5 comes to mind!.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Bruckner's 9th, Adagio.


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## Argus (Oct 16, 2009)

4'33'', obviously.

Or if we get to hear the whole piece _before_ the world ends, then it's got to be Organ2/ASLSP (As SLow aS Possible).

If there's a time limit, then someone near me would sing and hold a tone between about 100 and 400 Hz, then I would reply and hold in unison until the end comes. I ain't going out in falsetto, mind.

Alternatively, listening to some happy hardcore would make the abyss seem like a nice release.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

I think this forum is like music in form of variations. So far users have written like 846599326236 variations on theme "what would you listen to if you would know that you will die in five minutes" one of which is this thread. I remember another one variation in a minor key: "on your deathbed, what would you listen to?". 

Many themes have so many variations that you could put them in one huge symphony. What a epic work could be made of all those variations on theme "most dark and depressing music to kill yourself to".


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## Guest (Sep 25, 2010)

Last movement of Brahms 4, or RVW 4 and 6.


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## djmomo17 (Aug 12, 2010)

Agree with Ravellian about Beethoven 9th Choral Finale. After that piece is over I need silence for a half hour at least.

If it's like, a "bad" ending then Penderecki's "Threnody" would be appropriate I guess.....


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## Boccherini (Mar 29, 2010)

*This fine glossary cannot be easily played with*

I'm curious to know how people assess their interesting speculations.


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## PicklePepperPiper (Aug 3, 2010)

Argus said:


> Or if we get to hear the whole piece _before_ the world ends, then it's got to be Organ2/ASLSP (As SLow aS Possible).


I think you have come up with an idea that may single-handedly save the planet.
-PPP


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

If inly Scriabin had finished that particular project....


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## Fsharpmajor (Dec 14, 2008)

I think it's got to be Messiaen's _Quartet for the End of Time_.

*



*
(also known by its French name, _Quatuor pour la fin du temps_)


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## Rasa (Apr 23, 2009)

Vier Letzte Lieder, Strauss.

or:


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## Glaliraha (May 2, 2010)

Thomas Tallis - Spem In Alium


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## johnnyx (Jan 3, 2007)

What great selections! This thread makes me want to compile a "soundtrack for the end of the world" playlist on my computer. For me, however, some music mentioned already has an association in time for me, so I don't imagine it in my mind as music for the end of the world. For example, Threnody and QftEoT and even (I'm quite sure some may disagree) Beethoven 9.

One that does come to mind that has not been mentioned is Rutter's Pie Jesu. A simply beautiful tune calling on God for eternal rest. A peaceful, happy end to my ears.

This link to it has been shared on here in another thread:





And another with images of the score:


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## Migdolas (Nov 5, 2010)

Falstaft said:


> There can be only this!


I would have to agree - I first heard during my second semester of college (there was no Youtube linking, mind you), and I thought it was out of this world.

Somehow I do imagine the end of the world coming to be more peaceful than one may imagine - would anyone consider this as a possible selection?






M.

------------------------------------------------------
"As I bring jovial greetings cards will do the rest."


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## demiangel (Sep 15, 2010)

Huilunsoittaja said:


> I'd want to hear something composed BY God, not by humans who _think _they know what music should sound like, and yet distort it with their wrong motives and sin.
> 
> Although, it has been recorded that Angels do sing things humans have composed, such as the Hallelujah Chorus in Handel's Messiah.
> 
> Yeah, you're gonna think me crazy for saying that.


Handel is heavenly; if listen to his Cello concertos, and if I close my eyes, it's as if I'm floating up toward heaven with a pair of wings. The works of Handel is certainly something God uses, and evil flees whenever its played. Indeed, all these artistic pieces have uses beyond what humans intend, when someone creates something, it can be used by the powers that be for whatever purpose they want. Usually it's a song with lyrics or something that just appears at the right moment in someone's life to bring them closer to God, but it could just be a wordless composition that inspires awe of God.

If you want to hear something composed by God, listen to the rustle of leaves in the breeze, the pitter-patter of rain on the ground, the sound of birds and the swaying of trees.


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## Falstaft (Mar 27, 2010)

Migdolas said:


> I would have to agree - I first heard during my second semester of college (there was no Youtube linking, mind you), and I thought it was out of this world.
> 
> Somehow I do imagine the end of the world coming to be more peaceful than one may imagine - would anyone consider this as a possible selection?


Welcome to the board Migdolas! I'm not sure I'd want Debussy's Clair de Lune playing at the end of the world -- personal connotations for me too strongly with piano lessons as a kid (and, while tough, practicing piano wasn't quite the apocalypse).


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## fresk (Nov 15, 2010)

Falstaft said:


> There can be only this!
> 
> "Garm howls dangerously at Gnupa's cave. Shattering the chains, the wolf frees himself. Coiling serpent wants to swallow the world, it spews forth venom and fire's heat."


hey thanks for sharing the link for the end of the world.


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## Webernite (Sep 4, 2010)

Either the Passacaglia and Fugue, as suggested, or perhaps something even more ominous?

_Out of the depths I cry to Thee_


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## Migdolas (Nov 5, 2010)

Falstaft said:


> personal connotations for me too strongly with piano lessons as a kid (and, while tough, practicing piano wasn't quite the apocalypse).


Hi there - thank you, I am glad to be here. As for personal connotations - well, they say that your entire life flashes before your eyes...so you might visit while listening to something you recall as a part of your childhood ...


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## Glaliraha (May 2, 2010)

Philip Glass's arrangement of the Greek song *Tzivaeri*, sung by Eleftheria Arvanitaki.


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## NightHawk (Nov 3, 2011)

_*Das Lied von der Erde*_, with Vickers/Norman/Colin Davis.


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## NightHawk (Nov 3, 2011)

TO: Rasa

Stockhausen! Observed the man and his _gruppe_ in rehearsals for a week. He really thought he was God. lol. Good choice


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## HexameronVI (May 9, 2011)

Bach. Contrapunctus 14 from the Art of Fugue.


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

Brahms op. 119 has something conclusive about it.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Glancing through here I would agree with the Bach suggestions as well as Mahler's Song of the Earth, and would add Bach's Chaconne in D minor.


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## Jeremy Marchant (Mar 11, 2010)

NightHawk said:


> Stockhausen! Observed the man and his _gruppe_ in rehearsals for a week. He really thought he was God. lol. Good choice


Well, the opening of the windows at the end of the fourth region is, surely, a depiction of the world consumed by fire.


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## Webernite (Sep 4, 2010)

Webernite said:


> Either the Passacaglia and Fugue, as suggested, or perhaps something even more ominous?
> 
> _Out of the depths I cry to Thee_


This is meant to say: "Out of deep despair I cry to Thee."


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## An Die Freude (Apr 23, 2011)

Mahler's Ninth, last movemnt.


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## mleghorn (May 18, 2011)

grignon said:


> I'd play Bach's Pasacaglia & Fugue in c.


Btw, here's my crude, crass, sacrilegious rendering of the Passacaglia, which I'm offering up here because I'm a glutton for punishment:

__
https://soundcloud.com/mike-leghorn%2Fpassacaglia


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## Ralfy (Jul 19, 2010)

Beethoven's "Pathetique".


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Ligeti's "Le Grande Macabre"

Brett Dean's "Bliss"

Messiaen's "Quartet for the end of time"


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## maestro267 (Jul 25, 2009)

I think this piece would actually bring about the end of the world.

Jon Leifs - Hekla


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## Scytheparty (Aug 19, 2015)

Might be a bit cliché but Carmina Burana ~ O Fortuna | Carl Orff ~ Andre Rieu.


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## isorhythm (Jan 2, 2015)




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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

grignon said:


> Whether it came with a bang or a whimper, whether it came because of or in spite of human effort, _what would you choose for the final moments?_
> I'd play Bach's Pasacaglia & Fugue in c.


I've had the pleasure of hearing so much music that at least there is nothing I would regret not having heard (except for maybe the Sibelius Eighth Symphony).

For a final moment, I too would turn to J.S. Bach -- to my favorite of the Cantatas, the profoundly beautiful and humbling BWV 82: "Ich habe genug". (For the two of you out there who don't know that German title, in English the phrase is "I have enough" or "I am content". Appropriate, I would suggest, for that final spin.)

No need waiting till the end, though, to enjoy this work. Listen to the great Dietrich Fischer Dieskau perform the opening Aria.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

The end of the world will probably be brought on by ourselves, so...quickly, put on "Mars, the bringer of war" by Holst! Quickly now, the missiles are already in the air!!


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## echmain (Jan 18, 2013)

This was a zombie thread from 2010. Around the time everyone (well, not *everyone*) started talking about all that Mayan calendar end of the world ********.

Doesn't look like the OP has been very active since then. Maybe his world *did* end.


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## EternalStudent (Aug 6, 2015)

pleasure to meet you all.

Many pieces of music would be suited but in the end I doubt anyone would mind if the godfather of music J.S. Bach would be played. The Chaconne in D would the most obvious choice but the Tocatta.. any of the shubler chorales, the organ fugues.. the fantasias.. all would make me very grateful


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Steve Roach - Altus is my standard answer to questions like this. Return to cosmic dust in grand style.


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

Haydn.
Because Haydn makes everything better.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

"It's After The End Of The World"---Sun Ra


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## drpraetorus (Aug 9, 2012)

Siegfrieds Funeral March and Brunhildes Immolation. Since Rheingold starts at the creation of the world it is fitting to end it with Wagners music.


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## Gaspard de la Nuit (Oct 20, 2014)

drpraetorus said:


> Siegfrieds Funeral March and Brunhildes Immolation. Since Rheingold starts at the creation of the world it is fitting to end it with Wagners music.


Yeah, that's the most obvious response in this thread but it's the one that fits the best as well for me. You really have a sense of some ridiculous, sprawling story coming to a finish, all the loose ends being tied together.....But what astonishes me about it is that the world had so much beauty and drama, seemed so compelling and significant, yet it had exhausted itself of any worthy possibilities and imploded upon itself, just as an episode in human existence would.


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## Richannes Wrahms (Jan 6, 2014)

Just to mention another late piece.


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## manyene (Feb 7, 2015)

If it ends with a bang, the 1812 Overture (nature providing the bangs); if with a whimper, the last movement of RVW's 6th Symphony


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## Cosmos (Jun 28, 2013)

Bach's unfinished Contrapunctus XIV has always felt like an ode to the end times to me


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

Penderecki: Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima, conducted by Bruno Madera.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Ruwdnwkjdnwkjxnwlkxjnwxkw


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

End of the world music:


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## paulbest (Apr 18, 2019)

Pettersson
Dark forebodings, music depicting these evil days we inhabit.


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

Makes me _think _of the end of the world:
R. Strauss Metamorphosen

The last thing I'd want to _hear_:
Beethoven's 6th


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

MatthewWeflen said:


> The last thing I'd want to _hear_:
> Beethoven's 6th


Edward G Robinson agrees. See 2:34.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Gustav Mahler - Symphonie Nr. 8_ Part II. Alles Vergängliche


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