Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Camille Saint-Saens, Charles Gounod :: Classics from the Crypt

A rousing classical selection

audrey | white mtns | 03/28/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One might reasonably assume that a CD collection called "Classics from the Crypt" would be dark and moody music, but this is really rather energetic. Well-performed by the Boston Pops and Philadelphia Orchestras, these are some of the best-known and well-loved pieces of Western music, including Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D Minor (think Phantom of the Opera -- the film), Gounod's Funeral March of a Marionette (the Alfred Hitchcock Presents theme), Grieg's Peer Gynt, Dukas's Sorceror's Apprentice and other similarly evocative pieces.As an added bonus, one is also treated to Liszt's Mephisto Waltz in symphonic form (rather than piano alone), which is not easy to find."

Great for deadlines!

aunt-fuzzy | 02/24/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the CD I listen to when I need to get a lot of work done in a short period of time. When I listen to "Night on Bald Mountain," I feel like I can destroy the pile of work. This CD contains many songs that are familiar even if you've never really listened to classical music. If you're ever-so-slightly evil, this CD could become the soundtrack for your life."

The Perfect Halloween-Themed Classical Album

Rudy Avila | Lennox, Ca United States | 10/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What better way to celebrate Halloween than by throwing a party and popping this recording on the stereo. This is classical music with a Halloween theme. Conductors Eugene Ormandy and George Pretre (whom I would have never believed did this kind of stuff) conducts classical music with a dark and Gothic twist. The cover is attrative- a cartoon drawing of the Phantom of the Opera playing on his organ. The first track is Bach's Toccata and Fugue for organ in D minor. It is genuinely considered a Halloween piece, and has been associated with such films as Dracula. The malevolent sound of the Toccata (the opening chords) are especially memorable. Danse Macabre was Saint Saen's ode to Halloween and it is a devilish waltz for violin. Gounod's Funeral March of a Marionette became famous for the theme to Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Night on Bald Mountain by Mussorgsky was used in Disney's Fantasia, in the last segment and is very frightening and brisk. Lisz's Mephisto Waltzes are piano pieces that evoke a wild frenzy but I find nothing dark about it. It is difficult music to play however. The music of Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique utilizes many horror themes. In the Romantic Era, Gothic lore spread and such figures as Mary Shelley and Bram Stroker would write novels of Gothic horror -Frankenstein and Dracula. In the Symphony Fantastique, a young man falls in love with an elusive woman. He imagines she is unfaithful to him and then has a disturbing dream in which she is a witch in a coven. Then he is marched to a scaffold and beheaded. The music is very compelling and dark. All the music here is great to listen to on Halloween and the conductors and orchestra play them well. A must have.









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