# Classical music for Halloween??



## ericdxx (Jul 7, 2013)

Anything that gets you in the right mood?


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

I'm Norwegian and don't care so much for Halloween, but this must be something  (I'm going to turn off the lights...)


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Another obvious choice.

Less obvious:


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## Mal (Jan 1, 2016)

I'm dressing up as Dudamel on the night...


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## Klassic (Dec 19, 2015)

It is a fact, if you blast the music of Varèse adults and children will run away, they will be so scared of the sounds that they won't even approach your house for trickertreating (no matter how awesome your pile of candy might be). This is also generally true of the music of Lutoslawski.


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## isorhythm (Jan 2, 2015)

Ligeti's Requiem.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

ericdxx said:


> Anything that gets you in the right mood?


With your avatar - The Sorcerer's Apprentice


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

*Alexander Glazunov's* "The Forest", op. 19.
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*Sir Arnold Bax's* "November Woods."
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*Oskar Fredrik Lindberg's *"Från de stora skogarna" (From the Vast Forests).
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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Bartok Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

Messiaen's organ music.

Also, this CD:



It has
Night on Bald Mountain
Danse macabre, Op. 40
In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt Suite No. 1
Funeral March of a Marionette
Sorcerer's Apprentice
Toccata from Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565
Witch's Ride from Hansel & Gretel
March To The Scaffold from Symphonie Fantastique
Mars, The Bringer of War from The Planets, Op. 32
Ride of the Valkyries (From "Die Walkure")
Halloween
Mephisto Waltz

Halloween quiz: Can you name all 12 composers?


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## Kivimees (Feb 16, 2013)

I guess it depends on the Halloween tradition. In this part of the world, "Halloween" is called Hingedepäev and is celebrated on Nov. 2nd. Rather than centering around ghosts and goblins and parties, on this day we place candles on the window sills of our homes to help the spirits of our departed loved ones find their way home. For too many families those spirits have to travel home from the foreign soil where they met their end.






(Sorry for being a spoilsport!)


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## Richard8655 (Feb 19, 2016)

Per above post, Halloween in Eastern Europe is a pretty serious observance. Mostly visiting the graves of your relatives and ancestors, and lighting candles in silent respect. None of the fun, costumes, trick or treating as a happy event in the US/Canada. 

But spiritual/mysterious music is good for both. I'd probably vote for the Bach Toccata and Fugue in d minor to match the European serious version of All Saints Day.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Mennin Symphony No. 7 and Franck Symphony in D minor.

Both can be a bit scary!

Keep the lights on!


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

William Bolcom--Three Ghost Rags


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

After considering it, I decided not to put up a direct link to this bit because it is decidedly NSFW and not for sensitive viewers. But can easily be found on YouTube by searching for "Calixto Bieito | Lulu Finale (Viewer Discretion)" 

It makes all other Halloweenish stuff seem pretty tame by comparison...


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Liszt: Mephisto Waltz


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## Avey (Mar 5, 2013)

*CHARLES IVES OBVIOUSLY*


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## Varick (Apr 30, 2014)

Klassic said:


> It is a fact, if you blast the music of Varèse adults and children will run away, they will be so scared of the sounds that they won't even approach your house for trickertreating (no matter how awesome your pile of candy might be). This is also generally true of the music of Lutoslawski.


Funny you say that. I always blast a bunch of Bach's Organ (with many repeats of the Passacaglia & Fuge)music from my stereo with my windows open so everyone can hear it from the street. I can see the hesitation of kids coming up to my door. It's hysterical!

V


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Years ago I used to scare the **** out of my nieces and nephews by playing Tomita's version of Night on Bald Mountain. That might still work.


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## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

Is Halloween an important cherished feast with a long folk tradition in America? Or is it merely some commercialized yearly event? What I notice of it in The Netherlands seems quite silly and it has no roots in tradition over here as far as I know.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Years ago, in my misspent youth, on Halowe’en, we’d go around to all the houses and knock on doors and collect totally unhealthy amounts of candy. We’d stick together because the big kids might try to steal our bulging sacks of sweets. The idea (even then fading) was that if you weren’t given anything, you’d commit mayhem – tipping over outhouses, soaping windows, draping the trees with toilet paper, and so forth.

Today in our paranoid age, it’s mainly very small children, accompanied by parents for safety, timidly ringing the doorbell. A much different time.


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## ST4 (Oct 27, 2016)

Casebearer said:


> Is Halloween an important cherished feast with a long folk tradition in America? Or is it merely some commercialized yearly event? What I notice of it in The Netherlands seems quite silly and it has no roots in tradition over here as far as I know.


Yes, Halloween as we know it is a very Americanized thing.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

"Dentists issue 'Halloween horror' warning"

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-37773668


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## ST4 (Oct 27, 2016)




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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

The opening of Poulenc's 'Concerto for Organ, Strings & Timpani'. Or anything by Scelsi (shudder!)


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## Alfacharger (Dec 6, 2013)

Avey said:


> *CHARLES IVES OBVIOUSLY*


and George Crumb..


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## JamieHoldham (May 13, 2016)

"Bach's" Toccata and Fuga in D Minor is probally the most overused and cliche halloween music there is, since Hollywood destroyed the true meaning of this piece of music.


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

Dukas: Sorcerer's Apprentice
Grieg: Hall of the Mountain King
Orff: "Carmina Burana": O Fortuna


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## bioluminescentsquid (Jul 22, 2016)

JamieHoldham said:


> "Bach's" Toccata and Fuga in D Minor is probally the most overused and cliche halloween music there is, since Hollywood destroyed the true meaning of this piece of music.


Well, you're true. I've never seen the piece as scary - to me, it's quite a magnificent and unique piece that shows the author's (Bach, or whoever else we suspect it to be) simultaneously reverent and rebellious take on the Northern German style.
And Ton Koopman sure plays it well!


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## Richard8655 (Feb 19, 2016)

JamieHoldham said:


> "Bach's" Toccata and Fuga in D Minor is probally the most overused and cliche halloween music there is, since Hollywood destroyed the true meaning of this piece of music.


I don't care who or what thinks if it's overused or not. The point is to enjoy music on your own terms, not someone else's.


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## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

KenOC said:


> Years ago, in my misspent youth, on Halowe'en, we'd go around to all the houses and knock on doors and collect totally unhealthy amounts of candy. We'd stick together because the big kids might try to steal our bulging sacks of sweets. The idea (even then fading) was that if you weren't given anything, you'd commit mayhem - tipping over outhouses, soaping windows, draping the trees with toilet paper, and so forth.
> 
> Today in our paranoid age, it's mainly very small children, accompanied by parents for safety, timidly ringing the doorbell. A much different time.


That sounds a bit like the Saint-Maarten feast over here that is popular in some regions (not mine). But I miss the horror element in your story and Saint-Maarten, where does that come from?


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## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

KenOC said:


> Years ago, in my misspent youth, on Halowe'en, we'd go around to all the houses and knock on doors and collect totally unhealthy amounts of candy. We'd stick together because the big kids might try to steal our bulging sacks of sweets. The idea (even then fading) was that if you weren't given anything, you'd commit mayhem - tipping over outhouses, soaping windows, draping the trees with toilet paper, and so forth.
> 
> Today in our paranoid age, it's mainly very small children, accompanied by parents for safety, timidly ringing the doorbell. A much different time.


That sounds a lot like the Saint-Maarten feast over here that is popular in some regions (not mine). But I miss the horror element in your story and in the Saint-Maarten feast, where does that come from?


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

KenOC said:


> Years ago, in my misspent youth, on Halowe'en, we'd go around to all the houses and knock on doors and collect totally unhealthy amounts of candy. We'd stick together because the big kids might try to steal our bulging sacks of sweets. The idea (even then fading) was that if you weren't given anything, you'd commit mayhem - tipping over outhouses, soaping windows, draping the trees with toilet paper, and so forth.
> 
> Today in our paranoid age, it's mainly very small children, accompanied by parents for safety, timidly ringing the doorbell. A much different time.


Around here in South Africa we have never had a Halloween tradition. Lots of very puritanical protestants here, who don't like "satanic stuff." But I have noticed that in recent years the tradition has to some extent taken hold here, no doubt because TV and other media spread around cultures.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Casebearer said:


> That sounds a lot like the Saint-Maarten feast over here that is popular in some regions (not mine). But I miss the horror element in your story and in the Saint-Maarten feast, where does that come from?


Speaking of feasts, I notice you are from the Netherlands. I'd be curious to know whether you have now finally dispensed with Zwarte Piet. I lived there from 2000 to 2002, and I seem to remember that shortly after that time, Zwarte Piet became a politically correct (or rather, incorrect!) issue...


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