Im looking for good classical music thats dark and depressing. Im sure that sounds cliché, but thats what I would like to find. The happier stuff is okay to an extent, but it just doesnt do it for me all the time. Also, I would like to say that I mean dark and depressing in a beautiful way, not just ugly and cacophonous. Ive always been into classical music and I never really searched for it and I would like to now. If anyone has any suggestions, that would be great.
Dark, Depressing Classical
- Thread starter Furious B
- Start date
dimensionidol
free thinker
ouagadougou
average stalker
i find Sibelius quite dark and depressing.. he's my fav composer, and if you don't know him, you should check him out.. Finlandia is a masterpiece, download it if you find it.. Valse Triste is very beautiful too..
Barber-Adagio for Strings one of the saddest, most depressing pieces of music i`ve ever heard
Beethoven-Moonlight Sonata, Pathetique Sonata (very emotoinal)
I find stuff by Rachmaninoff to be melancholic in a way
Beethoven-Moonlight Sonata, Pathetique Sonata (very emotoinal)
I find stuff by Rachmaninoff to be melancholic in a way
Bryant
Mr. Sleepy
Well this isn't exactly "classical" but it's orchestral...
Give the soundtrack to "The Black Hole" a try. I don't know if it's still in print or not, but it's interesting and very "dark."
Bryant
Give the soundtrack to "The Black Hole" a try. I don't know if it's still in print or not, but it's interesting and very "dark."
Bryant
Another good depressing Beethoven piece is 7th Symphony 2nd Movement. It's what was played at his funeral.
Luis
Mortal With Immortal Mind
Furious B said:
Ok.Im a classical music fan since i was 8 now im 18, so i have been listening to classical for ten years, and i think i can give you good "dark-depressing" pieces. I need to say i only like Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Shubert, Chopin, Mendelssohn and Liszt. Forget about 20th century composers, they arent good for me.
Antonio Vivaldi (Italian) 1678-1741
The Four Feasons: "Winter"
Concerto for Flute: "La Tempesta di Mare"
JS Bach (German) 1685- 1750
Toccata and Fugue in D minor
Flute Sonata in B minor
Flute Sonata in G minor
Concerto for Violin in A minor
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Austrian) 1756-1791
Concerto for Piano num 20 in D minor K 466
Concerto for Piano num 24 in C minor
Fantasie for Piano in C minor K 396
Symphony num 25 in G minor K183
Symphony num 40 in G minor K 550
Masonic Funeral Music K 447
Overture from "Don Giovanni" K 527
Requiem in D minor K 626
Ludwig van Beethoven (German) 1770-1827
Sonata for Piano in C minor Op 13 "Patetique"
Sonata for Piano in C sharp minor 0p 27-2 "Moonlight"
Sonata for Piano in F minor Op 57 "Apassionata"
Sonata for Piano in C minor Op 111
Symphony num 5 in C minor Op 67
Corolian Overture Op 62
Piano Trio Op 70
Franz Schubert (Austrian) 1797-1828
Impromptu for Piano in C minor D 899
String Quartet in D minor "Death and the Maiden" D 810
Frederic Chopin (Polish) 1810-1849
Preludes for Piano Op 28 nums 4,6,8,15,18,20,22,24.
Etudes for Piano Op 12 nums 3,6,9,12.
Etudes for Piano Op 25 nums 2,7,10,11,12.
Nocturne in C minor Op 48-1
Nocturne in C sharp minor Op posthumo.
Nocturne in E minor Op posthumo.
Ballade in G minor Op 23.
Felix Mendelssohn (German) 1809-1847
Violin Concerto in E minor Op 64
Piano Trio in D minor Op 49
Hebrides Op 26
Fantasie for Piano in F sharp minor Op 28
Varations Seriuses OP 54
Franz Liszt (Hungarian) 1810-1886
Sonata in B minor
Funerallies
Concert Etude num 3 "Suspiro"
Mephisto Waltzes
Consolations
Hope this help 
Cool topic! I love classical music as much as heavy metal. I tend to listen to the pieces that are darker, doomier and more evil than the rest, pieces that I consider somewhat heavy as well. And I love studying music.
Here's a few more suggestions:
Beethoven - Symphony no. 3, mvt 2. (another funeral march like his 7th symphony 2nd mvt)
- Even the first movement from his third symphony, I think that when it gets to the development section it turns sadder; overall just a bunch of emotions from this first movement.
- "Moonlight" and "Pathetique" sonatas are a good choice as well.
Schubert - Gretchen am Spinnrade (a song for voice and piano, if you can find a good singer, this would be good choice)
Liszt - Totentanz
- Faust Symphony (the Faust mvt. in particular)
- Hamlet (a symphonic poem that is pretty cool)
- Nuages Gris (Grey Clouds) - this is a very doomy piece for the piano.
Wagner - the Prelude to "Tristan Und Isolde" is really slow and you might like it.
- Prelude to "Siegfried"
- Prelude to "Die Walkure"
Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring (has some darker sections but it is quite a long piece - approx 30 min.)
Bartok - Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta. (the third movement is probably the eeriest from this piece and you might recognize it from the movie The Shinning)
Schoenberg - Verklarte Nacht
- string quartet no. 3 and no. 4 (these all twelve-tone pieces and may be pretty hard to listen to but definitely produce a disturbing feeling)
I think that's enough suggestions to get started, I'd be suprised if you could work your way through all the pieces listed as some are quite lengthy.
Here's a few more suggestions:
Beethoven - Symphony no. 3, mvt 2. (another funeral march like his 7th symphony 2nd mvt)
- Even the first movement from his third symphony, I think that when it gets to the development section it turns sadder; overall just a bunch of emotions from this first movement.
- "Moonlight" and "Pathetique" sonatas are a good choice as well.
Schubert - Gretchen am Spinnrade (a song for voice and piano, if you can find a good singer, this would be good choice)
Liszt - Totentanz
- Faust Symphony (the Faust mvt. in particular)
- Hamlet (a symphonic poem that is pretty cool)
- Nuages Gris (Grey Clouds) - this is a very doomy piece for the piano.
Wagner - the Prelude to "Tristan Und Isolde" is really slow and you might like it.
- Prelude to "Siegfried"
- Prelude to "Die Walkure"
Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring (has some darker sections but it is quite a long piece - approx 30 min.)
Bartok - Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta. (the third movement is probably the eeriest from this piece and you might recognize it from the movie The Shinning)
Schoenberg - Verklarte Nacht
- string quartet no. 3 and no. 4 (these all twelve-tone pieces and may be pretty hard to listen to but definitely produce a disturbing feeling)
I think that's enough suggestions to get started, I'd be suprised if you could work your way through all the pieces listed as some are quite lengthy.
Board
A role model to mankind:
My personal favorite is Mozart's "Requiem". The title track (the first one on the album) is superb!! May be the only classical record I have where I can/will listen to the entire record without getting bored/want to change the record.
I think Ravel's "Pavane for a dead princess" is pretty cool as well, although I haven't listened much to it.
"The black hole" is by John Barry, one of my biggest idols!! I've only heard the soundtrack once, as I listen to records, then write down what's good on it and transfer it to tape to listen to it on the bus each day, but when I heard this it didn't strike me as being particularly dark, but maybe it will after a while.
Some of John Barry's works that I find more dark is the soundtracks for:
"The lion in winter" - His best in my opinion! From 1968, but the movie takes place in 1183, so it's very medieval and has lots of choirs and stuff! Evil shit!
"The last valley" - One of his better. Sounds pretty similar to "The lion in winter". Also pretty evil at times.
"King kong" - The one from '76, not the one from '33. One of his better as well and has some spooky shit like "Arthusa", and especially "Full moon domain - beauty is a beast" is very spooky in my opinion!!! "Sacrifice - Hail to the king" is also really, really exciting (listen to it if you don't know what I mean)! "Pawnee attack" from his soundtrack to "Dances with wolves" is also evil! Evil is the only word I feel really describes that particular song!
I also like Beethoven's 2nd movement of his 7th symphony, Samuel Barber's "Adagio for strings" and Sibelius' "Finlandi"as someone else recommended.
There was a similar topic a while back and I copied all the recommendations, so here's the list (they might have been mentioned already, as I don't think I've looked much at it since it was written and this is not my recommendations, but someone elses):
Giuseppe Tartini - "Violin Sonata in G Minor: 3rd Movement (the Devil's Trill)"
Mussorgsky - "A Night on Bald Mountain"
Dukas - "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"
Saint Saens - "Danse Macabre"
Liszt - "Mephisto Waltz"
Gounod - "Funeral March of a Marionette"
Elgars' 'The Dream of Gerontius'
Bach - Tocotta and Fugue in D Minor
Sibelius finlandia
Rachmaninoff's Isle of the Dead - a 15- 20 min symphonic composition.
Liszst's Totentanz (dance of death) - a 15-20 piano concerto
Liszt's piano composition Piano Sonetto 47 del Petrarca has a sad feeling about it.
Beethoven's "Apassionata" piano sonata (no 23 in F minor) - the first movement has a surreal, gothic, metaphysical feel to it.
The second movement of Beethoven's 7th Symphony. Not "evil" but it's full of pathos (sadness) - and sounds evil insofar as one imagines a league of undead marching (for some reason I do this, hehe).
Chopin's 'Revolutionary' etude in C minor
Shuberts "Symphony in B Minor", or "The Unfinished Symphony"(same thing).
Prokofiev - Montagues and Capulets (from Romeo and Juliet)
second movement of Bethoven's 9th
Mars Bringer of War from Holst's
the planets
Battle on the Ice from Prokofiev's
soundtrak to Ivan Nevsky
The enemy god dances with the
black spirits from Prokofiev's
Scythian Suite
Ride of the Valkyries from
Die Walkure by Wagner
Nobuo Uemetsu Liberi Fatali from Final Fantasy 8.... or was it 7... or 9...?
Iannis Xenakis - "Jonchaies".
Gyorgy Ligeti - "Requiem for Two Mixed Choirs and Orchestra".
Giacinto Scelsi - "Quattro Pezzi per Orchestra".
Dmitry Shostakovich - Symphonies No. 8 and No. 4.
I think Ravel's "Pavane for a dead princess" is pretty cool as well, although I haven't listened much to it.
"The black hole" is by John Barry, one of my biggest idols!! I've only heard the soundtrack once, as I listen to records, then write down what's good on it and transfer it to tape to listen to it on the bus each day, but when I heard this it didn't strike me as being particularly dark, but maybe it will after a while.
Some of John Barry's works that I find more dark is the soundtracks for:
"The lion in winter" - His best in my opinion! From 1968, but the movie takes place in 1183, so it's very medieval and has lots of choirs and stuff! Evil shit!
"The last valley" - One of his better. Sounds pretty similar to "The lion in winter". Also pretty evil at times.
"King kong" - The one from '76, not the one from '33. One of his better as well and has some spooky shit like "Arthusa", and especially "Full moon domain - beauty is a beast" is very spooky in my opinion!!! "Sacrifice - Hail to the king" is also really, really exciting (listen to it if you don't know what I mean)! "Pawnee attack" from his soundtrack to "Dances with wolves" is also evil! Evil is the only word I feel really describes that particular song!
I also like Beethoven's 2nd movement of his 7th symphony, Samuel Barber's "Adagio for strings" and Sibelius' "Finlandi"as someone else recommended.
There was a similar topic a while back and I copied all the recommendations, so here's the list (they might have been mentioned already, as I don't think I've looked much at it since it was written and this is not my recommendations, but someone elses):
Giuseppe Tartini - "Violin Sonata in G Minor: 3rd Movement (the Devil's Trill)"
Mussorgsky - "A Night on Bald Mountain"
Dukas - "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"
Saint Saens - "Danse Macabre"
Liszt - "Mephisto Waltz"
Gounod - "Funeral March of a Marionette"
Elgars' 'The Dream of Gerontius'
Bach - Tocotta and Fugue in D Minor
Sibelius finlandia
Rachmaninoff's Isle of the Dead - a 15- 20 min symphonic composition.
Liszst's Totentanz (dance of death) - a 15-20 piano concerto
Liszt's piano composition Piano Sonetto 47 del Petrarca has a sad feeling about it.
Beethoven's "Apassionata" piano sonata (no 23 in F minor) - the first movement has a surreal, gothic, metaphysical feel to it.
The second movement of Beethoven's 7th Symphony. Not "evil" but it's full of pathos (sadness) - and sounds evil insofar as one imagines a league of undead marching (for some reason I do this, hehe).
Chopin's 'Revolutionary' etude in C minor
Shuberts "Symphony in B Minor", or "The Unfinished Symphony"(same thing).
Prokofiev - Montagues and Capulets (from Romeo and Juliet)
second movement of Bethoven's 9th
Mars Bringer of War from Holst's
the planets
Battle on the Ice from Prokofiev's
soundtrak to Ivan Nevsky
The enemy god dances with the
black spirits from Prokofiev's
Scythian Suite
Ride of the Valkyries from
Die Walkure by Wagner
Nobuo Uemetsu Liberi Fatali from Final Fantasy 8.... or was it 7... or 9...?
Iannis Xenakis - "Jonchaies".
Gyorgy Ligeti - "Requiem for Two Mixed Choirs and Orchestra".
Giacinto Scelsi - "Quattro Pezzi per Orchestra".
Dmitry Shostakovich - Symphonies No. 8 and No. 4.
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Wraith
This kicks ass..... I've always wanted to get into classical..... I'll use your recommendations as a starting point!
Dead Winter
STAHP
Board
A role model to mankind:
Oh yeah, I have some more "dark" soundtrack music to recommed:
"The ninth gate" score by Wojciech Kilar is evil shit! I remember when I saw the film and the song "Opening titles" came on (and the titles came on the screen) I thought to myself "Goddamn, evil shit! I gotta get that soundtrack!" and now I have. The rest of the soundtrack is also pretty evil, spooky and medieval sounding and also has some harpsichords here and there! Also check out the song "Bernie is dead". I can't recall the scene in the film, but it can be nothing but exciting!
Maybe not spooky, but a bit dark and mysterious is the soundtrack to "A beautiful mind" by James Horner. One of the main themes of the film is repeated quite a number of times, but I think where it works best is in "Nash descends into Parcher's world". If you haven't seen the movie, I can recommend that too and you might wanna check it out before you hear the soundtrack, as I think a movie can get a bit ruined if you know the music when you see it.
I've also just gotten my hands on "The specialist" soundtrack by the mighty John Barry and I must say that "Main title" is some evil shit! I knew it from his "Moviola II" (a cd where he conducts an orchestra live), but it's much more agressive here.
"The ninth gate" score by Wojciech Kilar is evil shit! I remember when I saw the film and the song "Opening titles" came on (and the titles came on the screen) I thought to myself "Goddamn, evil shit! I gotta get that soundtrack!" and now I have. The rest of the soundtrack is also pretty evil, spooky and medieval sounding and also has some harpsichords here and there! Also check out the song "Bernie is dead". I can't recall the scene in the film, but it can be nothing but exciting!
Maybe not spooky, but a bit dark and mysterious is the soundtrack to "A beautiful mind" by James Horner. One of the main themes of the film is repeated quite a number of times, but I think where it works best is in "Nash descends into Parcher's world". If you haven't seen the movie, I can recommend that too and you might wanna check it out before you hear the soundtrack, as I think a movie can get a bit ruined if you know the music when you see it.
I've also just gotten my hands on "The specialist" soundtrack by the mighty John Barry and I must say that "Main title" is some evil shit! I knew it from his "Moviola II" (a cd where he conducts an orchestra live), but it's much more agressive here.
Board
A role model to mankind:
I just realized that "Main title" from John Barry's "The Specialist" goes straight into "Bogota 1984" and it's really that song that is aggressive and stuff!
One of the main themes of the film "Did you call me" is repeated several times throughout the score and I think it's best in "May dances with Tomas - "Did you call me"". The version of "Moviola II" isn't much different and it's a superb song IMO, although not particularly dark and evil.
One of the main themes of the film "Did you call me" is repeated several times throughout the score and I think it's best in "May dances with Tomas - "Did you call me"". The version of "Moviola II" isn't much different and it's a superb song IMO, although not particularly dark and evil.
thisistheendeh
baka na kodomo
danny elfman is always good
i cant think the others off the top of my head....i have a few downloaded....good stuff
there's some rad stuff here http://www.miserymadebeautiful.com/
Furious B, when your avatar loaded, I just laufghed my ass off
WEEEE
i cant think the others off the top of my head....i have a few downloaded....good stuff
there's some rad stuff here http://www.miserymadebeautiful.com/
Furious B, when your avatar loaded, I just laufghed my ass off
WEEEE
I haven't listened to all that much classical. From what I understand, the romantic period which would be including and after Beethoven to the dawn of the 20th century was the emotional age.
I guess Liszt was a mess, though. From what I've read, he never got over some chick and lived half of his life and died a depressed and lonely hermit. I can hear it. This cd I've got, which seems to be a collection, is just full of depression.
Rachmaninoff is my favorite so far, when it isn't Liszt. It's a different sound. It's less introspective and more of a panoramic view of a country being ravaged by war. When I'm wearing the headphones in the dark, I can, vividly, picture the war going on in the distance.
Of course, the problem with all of this old shit is that it has to be in the right hands. A piss poor symphony and/or cunductor can ruin a great piece. Try not to turn against a piece after hearing just one version.
I guess Liszt was a mess, though. From what I've read, he never got over some chick and lived half of his life and died a depressed and lonely hermit. I can hear it. This cd I've got, which seems to be a collection, is just full of depression.
Rachmaninoff is my favorite so far, when it isn't Liszt. It's a different sound. It's less introspective and more of a panoramic view of a country being ravaged by war. When I'm wearing the headphones in the dark, I can, vividly, picture the war going on in the distance.
Of course, the problem with all of this old shit is that it has to be in the right hands. A piss poor symphony and/or cunductor can ruin a great piece. Try not to turn against a piece after hearing just one version.
Board
A role model to mankind:
Most of the Danny Elfmann I've heard was comic book-like silly music and I didn't find that particularly interesting. I've bought the soundtrack to "Sleepy Hollow" through, and, although I've only heard it once, it sounds pretty cool. A bit different than the stuff I've previously heard from him and more in the horror vain!thisistheendeh said:
Also check out John Barry's "Capsule in space" from his soundtrack to the Bond movie "You only live twice".
