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any suggestions for gloomy, "dark" sounding (classical) music?

I need some background music for a project and the theme is mystery and horror.

I usually find a lot of Russian music kind of dark, you just have to find the right one. Sometimes they come across as being more "powerful" rather than dark.

Agreed, a lot of "dark" music really bounces between "dark" and "intense" or "powerful."

I'll fire a few off the top of my head...

Sergei Rachmaninoff - Symphonic Dances
Sergei Rachmaninoff - Isle of the Dead
Sergei Rachmaninoff - The Bells, Mvt. II
Sergei Rachmaninoff - Symphony No. 3, Mvts. I & III
Bela Bartok - The Miraculous Mandarin
Aaron Copland - Symphony for Organ and Orchestra
Ottorino Respighi - Dance of the Gnomes
Samuel Barber - Medea's Dance of Vengeance
Samuel Barber - Piano Concerto No. 1 (esp. finale)
Samuel Barber - Prayers of Kierkegaard, Mvts. I & III
Gustav Holst - The Planets, "Saturn"
Guiseppe Verdi - Overture to "La Forza del Destino"
Camille Saint-Saens - Danse Macabre
Arthur Wills - The Vikings
Alfred Reed - Symphony for Brass and Percussion, Mvts. II & III
Philip Glass - Heroes Symphony (most movements)
Erik Satie - Gnossiennes
Wolfgang Mozart - Requiem (esp. "Lacrimosa")
Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 4, Mvt. III
Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 5, Mvts. I & III
Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 11, Mvts. II & IV
Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 13, Mvts. I & V
Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 14, Mvts. I, IV & X
Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 15, Mvts. II & IV

I'm sure I can come up with more, but I'd need access to my CD archives at home. You probably won't go wrong with Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, and Barber.

Flying bird wrote:any suggestions for gloomy, "dark" sounding (classical) music?

I need some background music for a project and the theme is mystery and horror.

First thing that comes to mind is the Theme from "Requiem for a Dream" by Clint Mansell.

You can listen to it hear as peformed by the Kronos Quartet, if you would like the song PM me and I can send it to you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2Ma4BvMUwU

Or if you are going for the more gloomy angle I would check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UODCxAtyDo

I got the soundtrack for Bleach, some of the songs are really creepy/dark sounding

You want dark...creepy...terrifying...

Listen to the original soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith of the movie "Poltergeist". I DARE you to listen to it late at night with the lights off.

I double dog dare you.

Ryan H. Turner wrote:You want dark...creepy...terrifying...

Listen to the original soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith of the movie "Poltergeist". I DARE you to listen to it late at night with the lights off.

I double dog dare you.

Jerry Goldsmith was possibly the most under-rated film composers of all time. To only win one Oscar from his huge litany of fantastic film scores is a travesty.

Speaking of film scores, if you're looking for dark: Bernard. Herrman.

the Fantomas album "delirium cordia" is basically an hour long track that is meant to act as the soundtrack to a horror film. it's not classical by any means (well, some classical elements) but the implied textures and atmospheres would make it fit any "dark" setting easily. i dare you to listen to THIS late at night with the lights off....it's easily the scariest and darkest track i've ever heard.

That's a very... interesting album. It's one forty-minute track that is (supposedly) a musical interpretation of being conscious during surgery but under anesthetic (ie, unable to do anything about it). I prefer Fantomas' "Suspended Animation" and "Director's Cut" better, but leave it to Mike Patton to stretch musical boundaries.

I'm sure there's some pretty good organ concertos out there.

I agree, though, the Russian composers have some pretty dark stuff.

OH.. Serenada Schizophrena by Danny Elfman is pretty gloomy. More demented than dark, though. Good stuff.

Ryan H. Turner wrote:You want dark...creepy...terrifying...

Listen to the original soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith of the movie "Poltergeist". I DARE you to listen to it late at night with the lights off.

I double dog dare you.

See, Ryan, out here in the big city we have street lights and cars driving by to remind you that you aren't really alone, takes away a lot of the creepy. However, I can see how living out in the middle of nowhere off of Carbon Canyon Road with only the sounds of a pack of wild dogs howling in the distance could make this situation a bit more disturbing, haha!!

These are all great! Thanks

Flying bird wrote:These are all great! Thanks

Fixed my first link in my other post, didn't see that I accidentally posted the wrong link.

um... did everyone forget???

Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor