A selection of Halloween-themed pieces specially arranged for Bassoon with piano accompaniment. Easy to Advanced Level
1.
Grieg - In the Hall of the Mountain King
The popular theme was made famous by Disney's Fantasia. Grieg intended it to depict a creepy underground world full of trolls and goblins - the perfect soundtrack for trick or treating!
The Sorcerer's Apprentice (L'apprenti sorcier) is a symphonic poem inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's 1797 poem of the same name. Used in the Walt Disney 1940 animated film Fantasia has led to the piece becoming widely known among children.
3.
Gounod - Funeral March of a Marionette (Theme from Alfred Hitchc...
The Funeral March of a Marionette (Marche funebre d'une marionnette) is a short piece by Charles Gounod. It was written in 1872 for solo piano and orchestrated in 1879. It is perhaps best known as the theme music for the television program Alfred Hitchcock Presents, which originally aired from 1955 to 1965.
If you're looking for a spook-tacular dance that seems to depict a whole host of creatures of the night, this piece is it. Engelmann himself is not so well known today, but he was a hugely prolific composer of educational music. Let's hope his lessons weren't as scary as this!
With more than a touch of graveyard lugubriousness, this piece is probably the most famous of all funeral marches. It has been used at the funerals of politicians such as John F Kennedy and Winston Churchill as well as appearing many times in popular culture.
Mussorgsky's "Night on the Bare Mountain" is a dramatic and exciting depiction of a witches' sabbath. One of the most famous works in the classical repertoire it was also used to great effect in Walt Disney's Fantasia.
7.
Kullak - Grandmother Tells a Ghost-Story (Grossmutter erzahlt ei...
If you've ever been told a ghost story by someone close to you, you'll recognise the creeping feeling of fascination and dread as you listen. This piece captures that atmosphere really well. The composer Theodor Kullak was also known as a great teacher.
If you're looking for dark and dramatic, look no further than this, probably Bach's most famous piece. Originally written for organ, it was composed during his time at Weimar, where he was organist, violinist and composer to the Duke of Weimar. In the twentieth century it was used in a film adaptation of "The Phantom of the Opera" and in Walt Disney's "Fantasia."
"The Ride of the Valkyries" is a depiction of the transportation of fallen heroes to Valhalla at the opening of the third act of Wagner's opera "Die Walküre" (premiered 1870). After the "Bridal Chorus" from "Lohengrin" it is probably the most famous music the composer wrote. It has been used a number of times in popular culture, most famously in the 1979 film "Apocalypse Now," where the 1/9 Air Cavalry squadron plays it on helicopter-mounted loudspeakers during their assault on a Viet Cong-controlled village as psychological warfare and to motivate their own troops.
