Currently my entire music collection is entirely metal (Except for the Inception soundtrack, lolz), and while I would classify it as 'The Shit' I occasionally want to listen to something that didn't require electric guitars and double bass pedals to play.
However, any purposeful venture I make into trying to find any classical music I like kind of fails, as I don't really know what/who to look for. I am not really looking for specific eras or genres, EG I don't care if its chamber music made in 2010 or a full orchestral symphony from the 1700s, as long as I like it.
Things I am looking for is anything 'epic', 'dark', 'heavy' or just with the tonality of a minor key. Not that I have anything against major keys,
Things I don't like would include things with a lot of dips in the decibel range (EG most of the song is really quiet, then has short loud spikes, think of The Four Seasons.), as I don't usually have my volume that high so I can't hear anything lol. Also a lot of classical music simply doesn't have the 'mood' I am looking for (EG they are too happy, joyful, and light, not epic. Fur Elise or Eine Klein Natschmusik (Mispelled probably) are some examples of classical pieces I don't really like)
Some examples of pretty sick songs that I like (Most of it isn't orchestral at all, but everything includes a lot of elements I like to :
^Both this and the song below I like everything about. Just the mood, pace, feel etc.
I am a fan of Yngwie Malmsteen in general, the music you hear on his albums is in the exact style I am partial to most.
^Manowar's album Gods of War is one of my favs, lol
^I like the orchestral parts of Dimmu Borgir more than their actual songs, lol. Feels a little 'hollow', but that is because the audio is just the mic cam, and it was only meant to be part of the song.
And of course:
lololool
So, to rehash the thread's title, I am looking for suggestions for some orchestral or classically based music. Any artists/composers/symphonies/albums that have an overall style close to what I have specified would be awesome. If it's just 1 song that a guy wrote that is really good it won't be as useful for me because I organize my 170+ gig music collection by artist --> album, and never use shuffle/playlists (old school, baby).
Listen to some Pärt and wear a monocle while doing it. You'll instantly be recognised as the most cultured person in a 5 mile radius.
EDIT: Cradle of Filth has awesome orchestral pieces, even better than Dimmu Borgirs, in my own, humble opinion. Worthy example, with SPL reference:
On August 19 2011 22:11 mustaju wrote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDWLlS5WVDQ
"And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the Dragon, and the Dragon fought, and his angels, and prevailed not. Neither was their place found anymore in Heaven. And the Great Dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil and Satan which deceiveth the whole world, he was cast out into the Earth and his angels were cast out with him!"
Wow so far everything you guys have offered up has been pretty amazing, I definitely going to check it all out. Keep if up!
That Sergie Prokofiev piece was a bit odd though, very dissonant, yet enchanting.
About Cradle of Filth: from what I've listened to I haven't been the biggest fan, though I've only listened to like 2 of their songs once, so I can't say I have given them a full listen, I'll definitely give it another go.
I checked out some youtubes of Mother Falcon. They're pretty unique sounding in a good way. Not exactly what I was looking for but I still really like it
I don't know if you'd like the whole sonata, but this movement is pretty f'ing metal: :p
On September 08 2011 07:48 Geovu wrote: Things I don't like would include things with a lot of dips in the decibel range (EG most of the song is really quiet, then has short loud spikes, think of The Four Seasons.), as I don't usually have my volume that high so I can't hear anything lol.
This is almost omnipresent in non-solo stuff. It's less of an issue with headphones though.
Oh man, I'm in my element. I LOOOOOVE classical music, especially big orchestral pieces. Hopefully, my knowledge will help. However, I'm not too sure if all of my suggestions can fit the criteria of having a consistent volume, as many great pieces will try to utilize huge ranges of dynamics for dramatic effect.
Anyways, Shostakovich writes some pretty dark and intense stuff. Not surprising, considering that he lived under the pressure of Soviet Russia throughout the first half of the 20th century.
His 10th Symphony is extremely dark throughout, and the 2nd movement is said to be a portrait of Stalin himself. + Show Spoiler +
The 2nd movement of his String Quartet No. 8 is also pretty intense. + Show Spoiler +
The 4th movement of his 5th Symphony is tumultuous and ends deceptively triumphantly. The symphony was written shortly after Stalin gave a scathing review of a controversial opera written by Shostakovich, and he was under the pressure of arrest throughout the period of writing. Consequently, the 5th Symphony's triumph and joy sounds rather forced and almost unnatural as Shostakovich attempted to conceal his fear and anger under a rather standard-sounding symphony that followed Soviet conventions. + Show Spoiler +
There is also a rather fascinating documentary that analyzes the entire symphony and tries to relate it to Shostakovich's trials.
Gustav Mahler also wrote some dark stuff. The 1st movement of his 5th Symphony is a dark funeral march, with the motif of a trumpet's call echoing throughout the piece. + Show Spoiler +
Mahler's 2nd Symphony (aka "Ressurection") is also pretty awesome. The entire symphony clocks in at around 90 minutes, with the monumental 1st movement and 5th movement being around 20 and 30 minutes respectively. The 1st movement is quite dark throughout, and is one of my favorite songs of all time. + Show Spoiler +
The end of the final movement is also pretty epic. + Show Spoiler +
Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony was his last piece that he ever wrote, shortly before he fell ill and died, allegedly a suicide since he purposely drank tainted water. The 1st movement is a struggle against depression and fate, and unlike his other 5 symphonies, the final movement of the symphony is a slow, depressing piece that is said to musically represent Tchaikovsky's death. + Show Spoiler +
Verdi's Requiem Mass is pretty balling. Tons of epic brass and choral stuff. + Show Spoiler +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDFFHaz9GsY
I also find the 1st movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto no 20 to be one of his darker pieces, besides his famous Requiem Mass of course. + Show Spoiler +
Happy listening!
edit: The 3rd movement of Shostakovich's 8th Symphony is also pretty good. + Show Spoiler +
eviltomahawk you made me spend an hour doing nothing but listening to music lol. Definitely got a lot of stuff to go through, thanks a lot man.
Really like the Shostakovich's stuff, it's pretty cool especially the 5th, and Tchaikovsky's 6th.
And deathly rat, I personally have never been able to whistle so I guess it's all good :o
I've always liked that Adagio for Strings, now I know who it is by. What is some other of Samuel Barber's stuff like?
And about the dynamic range thing: It's not that I don't necessarily like quiet parts, it's just that I am mostly used to listening to stuff where the waveform looks like this:
So when I listen to classical music, I sometimes find it slightly strange for the volume to go from whisper quiet to THX sound test levels in seconds, and then back again. Most orchestral music was meant to be listened to in a concert hall, so when you are listening to it at a quarter of the original volume the quiet parts can get completely lost, unless you want to have a heart attack when it gets louder again. Ofc it might just be youtube that is the problem because volumes between videos aren't standardized at all, I don't know.
It's also just a preference thing, I am a fan of consistency.
Edit: Thanks for reminding me about classical guitar music, itsjustatank, I definitely don't mind some of that. Not the biggest fan of the first song though, just doesn't interest me. The Bach piece is something I can get into tho.
A classical guitar song I remembered that I really like is this:
On September 08 2011 12:50 CosmicAC wrote: Someone should start at classical music thread in general. Seems like fun, with all the listeners around here.
I personally don't find most of the 'herp derp post 1000 youtube links to your favorite songs' threads too interesting, still it's classical music so it might work better than the others, if it's focused more on discussion than spamming links.
On September 08 2011 12:45 Geovu wrote: eviltomahawk you made me spend an hour doing nothing but listening to music lol. Definitely got a lot of stuff to go through, thanks a lot man.
Really like the Shostakovich's stuff, it's pretty cool especially the 5th, and Tchaikovsky's 6th.
And deathly rat, I personally have never been able to whistle so I guess it's all good :o
I've always liked that Adagio for Strings, now I know who it is by. What is some other of Samuel Barber's stuff like?
And about the dynamic range thing: It's not that I don't necessarily like quiet parts, it's just that I am mostly used to listening to stuff where the waveform looks like this:
So when I listen to classical music, I sometimes find it slightly strange for the volume to go from whisper quiet to THX sound test levels in seconds, and then back again. Most orchestral music was meant to be listened to in a concert hall, so when you are listening to it at a quarter of the original volume the quiet parts can get completely lost, unless you want to have a heart attack when it gets louder again. Ofc it might just be youtube that is the problem because volumes between videos aren't standardized at all, I don't know.
It's also just a preference thing, I am a fan of consistency.
Edit: Thanks for reminding me about classical guitar music, itsjustatank, I definitely don't mind some of that. Not the biggest fan of the first song though, just doesn't interest me. The Bach piece is something I can get into tho.
On September 08 2011 12:50 CosmicAC wrote: Someone should start at classical music thread in general. Seems like fun, with all the listeners around here.
I personally don't find most of the 'herp derp post 1000 youtube links to your favorite songs' threads too interesting, still it's classical music so it might work better than the others, if it's focused more on discussion than spamming links.
im not a big fan of 20th century and contemporary avant garde (or what was avant garde at the time) past the 2nd viennese school and a few works of xenakis and stockhausen but there's plenty of "noisy" music in classical that people normally dont think about, especially the electronic stuff.
and yes sometimes it does take a bit of adjustment if you've been listening to music that doesnt have a lot of extremely quiet parts
oh and im actually a devout romantic listener. im just trying to help balance the tilted suggestions here.
edit:
On September 08 2011 12:50 CosmicAC wrote: Someone should start at classical music thread in general. Seems like fun, with all the listeners around here.
it devolves into a "post a barrage of youtube videos" which nobody ends up watching anyway.
On September 08 2011 12:50 CosmicAC wrote: Someone should start at classical music thread in general. Seems like fun, with all the listeners around here.
it devolves into a "post a barrage of youtube videos" which nobody ends up watching anyway.
As for OP, I recommend starting with Beethoven's nine symphonies, see if you like them, and go from there.
Start with the fifth, the third, and the seventh. Also give Schubert's unfinished and Brahms' fourth a try.
Vocal works I'd recommend based on what you said would be Mozart's Requiem, try the Dies Irae, Lacrimosa, and Confutatis movements, and Orff's Carmina Burana, particularly the O Fortuna. You've probably heard of all of these before honestly, they're pretty ubiquitous.
A dark and stormy, but non orchestral work I'd recommend is Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, movement 3.
Most good classical pieces have a wide range in volume. This makes them almost all unsuitable for listening on the train.
I would recommend Liszt's and Rachmaninoff's piano concerti. But actually I think you may be better off with shorter pieces.
Liszt and Chopin etudes are relatively short.
The orchestral piece I recommend most would be Ravel's Daphnis and Clou but that's very lighthearted and bright. I have a few doubts I would call the same thing 'dark and gloomy' as you would, but one thing that pops in my mind right now is Penderecki's Symphony No. 7. Also, maybe Gorecki's third symphony is something to try out. It's quite a famous piece. But again, very bad for listening on public transport or something.
Darker piano pieces, late Scriabin sonata's. They aren't all dark. But they are all interesting in the same way.
But since you like Yngwie, I think you should also try out Bach's das wohltemperierte klavier. I love many of the fugues and they are shorter pieces. They are much more similar to Yngwie harmonic wise. I also recommend many of his organ pieces. One of them is really famous and you probably know which one I am talking about without me mentioning a probably useless BWV number, but some of the others are just as good.
Also, music technically minor being sad or dark or gloomy and major being bright and uplifting doesn't hold up at all.
About Barber' some of his other stuff is near atonal. I love his piano sonata. It's not at all atonal like Xenakis or something.
I'd recommend listening to a lot of "themed" music - listening to "generic symphony #x" or "another sonata #y" is not exactly the entry path I'd guide my non-classical friends through. Let me just think of a couple off the top of my head that I find easily engaging:
Schubert - Erlkonig ("The Erlking")
I know this isn't orchestral, but I had to start with this one - it's one of my favourites. This video isn't exactly top-notch in sound quality or animation quality, but the animation really captures the essense of the story. Also, this video is transposed up a key (original is F-, I believe, and this one is in G-).
Mendelssohn - A Midsummer Night's Dream Overture
Lots of colourful contrasting sections. Again, it may add to your enjoyment if you take a quick look at the story / themes in this overture (wiki it!).
Smetana - Ma Vlast Moldau ("The Moldau" from My Country)
Tour down the Moldau River with Smetana's picturesque orchestral piece. This is one of those orchestral pieces that truly take you on a mind's journey.
Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture
War is upon us!
Yes, I am pretty biased towards the Romantic era orchestral music, especially when it comes to casual listening. So colourful, so dramatic! Let me know how you felt about these =)
I would recommend church music piece Stabat Mater by Pergolesi, but im not sure if the falls under the categories or not. It's an hymn to the Virgin Mary, and it has this melancholic vibe to it and personally i consider it both epic and dark. If you like Mozart's Requiem you'll love this too. Pergolesi reworked an older version at the tender age of 24. I'll leave you a sample, but i strongly suggest you get your hands on the version sung by Mirella Freni and Teresa Berganza. It's quite simply the most beautiful music piece ever written, even better than M's Requiem imo. The first time i heard it, i actually cried a bit.
EPT
lololool
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