5

One image that has long stuck with me is Captain Nemo (from 20,000 Leagues under the Sea), up late, in his submarine, playing melancholy music on his undersea organ. I think the power of an organ pairs nicely with the power of a mad submarine captain…

And the only part of Phantom of the Opera I really enjoy is the Phantom’s organ theme.

It’s not enough! Sometimes I’m in the mood for haunting organ music, but I don’t know any.

Recommendations will be much appreciated!

Alan H.
  • 167
  • 4
  • 1
    If you're a bit into metal, I'd recommend you Powerwolf! A German power metal band that has a pretty orchestral style and often uses a church organ in their songs. If not, then maybe someone else will like them... ;) – Byte Commander Jul 23 '15 at 17:54

3 Answers3

7

You could start out by listening to recordings of pipe organ music by the great composers for the organ. The grandfather of all haunting and dark pipe organ music would be J. S. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (BWV 565), which was probably written around the year 1740.

Wikipedia has an article on Organ Repertoire. Be forewarned that this is a vast subject:

Because it is one of the oldest musical instruments in existence, written organ repertoire spans a time period almost as long as that of written music itself. The organ's solo repertoire is among the largest for any musical instrument. Because the organ was found almost exclusively in the Western churches from the Middle Ages until the emergence in the Romantic era of large concert hall instruments, a significant portion of organ repertoire is sacred in nature... the organ has one of the most varied repertoires of any instrument.

J. Doe
  • 125
  • 8
0

One of my favorite pieces is Arnold Schoenberg's VARIATIONS ON A RECITATIVE:
Marilyn Mason

Malcolm Kogut
  • 131
  • 1
0

This may be too contemporary for your taste, but I particularly like some of the score from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (and At World's End), such as Davy Jones' Suite.

Darth Locke
  • 424
  • 3
  • 12