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1
24 Caprices for Violin, Op.1: No. 13 in B flat
Niccolò Paganini, Julia Fischer
02:27
2
Danse macabre, Op.40
Camille Saint-Saëns, Philharmonia Orchestra, Charles Dutoit
06:55
3
A Dante Symphony, S.109: 1. Inferno
Franz Liszt, Staatskapelle Dresden, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Women's Chorus of the Dresden State Opera Chorus, Matthias Brauer
21:28
4
Deuxième livre. Étude 13, L’escalier du diable
György Ligeti, Thomas Hell
05:08
5
Histoire du soldat - Concert suite / Part 2: The Devil's Dance
Igor Stravinsky, William Preucil, Members Of The Cleveland Orchestra, Pierre Boulez
01:23
6
Liszt: Mephisto Polka, S. 217
Franz Liszt, Cyprien Katsaris
04:25
7
La Sonata del Diavolo in G Minor: III. Andante - Allegro - Adagio
Giuseppe Tartini, Andrew Manze
06:24
8
Gounod: Faust, CG 4, Act 2 Scene 3: No. 7, Ronde du veau d'or, "Le veau d'or est toujours debout" (Méphistophélès, Choeur)
Charles Gounod, Michel Plasson, Orchestre National Du Capitole De Toulouse
02:12
9
Berlioz: La Damnation de Faust, Op. 24, H. 111, Pt. 3: "Devant la maison" (Méphistophélès, Chorus)
Hector Berlioz, Kent Nagano, José van Dam, Orchestre de l'Opéra de Lyon
02:21
10
Robert le diable / Act 2: "Nonnes qui reposez"
Giacomo Meyerbeer, Cesare Siepi, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Alberto Erede
03:10
11
Sonate No. 9 "Messe noire" (Poème satanique), Op. 68
Alexander Scriabin, Alexander Melnikov
09:10
12
The Rake's Progress: I was never saner.
Igor Stravinsky, Samuel Ramey, Munich Radio Orchestra, Julius Rudel
04:19
13
Mefistofele (1995 - Remaster), Act 1, Scene 2: Son lo Spirito che nega (Mefistofele)
Arrigo Boito, Boris Christoff, Nicolai Malko, Philharmonia Orchestra
03:52
14
Offenbach: Les contes d'Hoffmann, Act 4 Scene 5: No. 18b, Chanson, "Scintille, diamant !" (Dapertutto)
Jacques Offenbach, José van Dam, Orchestre Symphonique de l'Opéra National, Bruxelles, Sylvain Cambreling, Orchestra of the Théâtre Royal de La Monnaie, Brussels
03:11
15
A Night On The Bare Mountain
Modest Mussorgsky, Concertgebouworkest, Sir Colin Davis
11:32
16
Rondo on Go to the Devil, H. 3
John Field, Miceal O'Rourke
04:30
17
Giovanna d'Arco, Prologue: Tu sei bella (Coro)
Giuseppe Verdi, John McCarthy, London Symphony Orchestra, James Levine, Ambrosian Opera Chorus
02:58
18
La Resurrezione (1708), HWV 47 - Original Version / Parte Prima: Aria: "Caddi, è ver, ma nel cadere" (Lucifero)
George Frideric Handel, Laurent Naouri, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Marc Minkowski
03:27
19
Cain overo Il primo omicidio, IAS 40, Parte Seconda: Aria "Nel poter il Nume imita" (Voce di Lucifero)
Alessandro Scarlatti, Antonio Abete, René Jacobs, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
02:20
20
Der Teufel als Hydraulicus, D. 4: Overture
Franz Schubert, Haydn Sinfonietta Wien, Manfred Huss
03:34

Classical Hell

20 pieces of classical music inspired by the Devil.

Classical music, in general so soothing and so enriching, can also be scary and terrifying. What nightmares came to you, child, after attending a show with men and women disguised as skeletons, dancing to the music of Danse macabre? This fascinating work, written in 1874 by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, is probably one of the most terrifying in the classical repertoire.

But it is far from being alone! From the Baroque period, composers included the character of Lucifer, the fallen angel, in certain oratorios: this is the case for Handel in La Resurrezione. To evoke horror, the composer employs the lowest possible bass notes.

However, it is in the nineteenth century that the evocation of the devil would become a regular feature, and more and more agonizing at that. The example of the character of Mephistopheles in Faust (whether in the works of Gounod or Berlioz) is the most emblematic example. In the French grand opéra, evocations are also frequent: Robert the Devil by Meyerbeer would become – in the 1830s – one of the greatest lyric successes of all time in France.

The satanic dimension is also present in instrumental works, the evocation of the devil then referring to an almost unreal virtuosity, especially on the violin (Tartini, Paganini).

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