Customer Reviews

Classics from the Crypt

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

This has been a favorite of mine for years - in fact I've worn out my old cassette copy! Every Halloween this gets me in the mood. Contains the best rendition of Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D I've heard. Love it!

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.

I love Classical music, it is one of my favorite styles of music and I also like Halloween and scary movies, etc, I bought this CD because I heard, In The Hall of the Mountain King, Night on Bald Mountain, Dance Macabre and Funeral March of a Marionette and I liked them. Dance Macabre was used in a season 4 episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer called Hush. Also Funeral March of a Marionette was used as the theme for Alfred Hitchock Presents. All of these pieces are great and I also liked Tocata & Fuge in D minor. This CD with it's spooky sounding classical music is great for playing on Halloween but can really be listened to anytime and not just on Halloween and I highly recommend it!

I'm just starting to amass a classical music cd collection and this is definitely one of my most enjoyable cd's. Every piece is very moving and well done.

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.

This is a great CD of classical music with a spooky flavor. It is of course perfect for the Halloween season but can be used to good effect any time of the year. Many of the pieces will be very familiar as they are commonly used in movie and television scores to create creepy atmospheres. The exciting, well produced music on the CD can be enjoyed by everyone but these arrangements are an especially good way to introduce kids to some fine instrumental music.

An excellent compilation of the darker side of classical music, although I would have preferred a different rendition of Toccata and Fugue in D (New York Philharmonic perhaps), it's still quite good.

But how could the series producer leave off Ravel's Pavane For a Dead Princess? It's preferable to Symphonie Fantastique - March to The Scaffold, plus Berlioz already makes an appearance with Dream of a Witches' Sabbath. If there was room, Verdi's Requiem would have been a nice addition too.

So I have to go with 4 stars only.

One of the best in the Classical Music for... series, probably equal to CM for Home Improvements. The music is right on with good orchestration, and nice selection of works but the flow seems a bit off on the last half of the CD. Another peice or two and rearranging the play list would improve it.

this is a stupendous halloween album, it is loud and fast moving music with just an edge of creepiness to it. my dad borrowed it and put it into his computer and now he plays it all the time, especially the Bach toccata & fugue, i really like the Mephisto Waltz by Liszt and the Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique (dream of a witches' sabbath). the cd plays for over an hour at 72 minutes and you can just relax to it or get up and dance to it as it plays.