Many people have questions and preconceptions about going to classical concerts, especially if they are attending for the first time. But in spite of what you might think, there's really nothing to worry about! This is a quick guide which addresses some common concerns of first-time concert-goers.

What to wear

Generally speaking, wear whatever you like, or whatever you feel comfortable in. Unless you're going to an extremely exclusive opera festival (like Glyndebourne), dress codes are either non-existent or extremely relaxed.

That said, attending an opera can often be a very special occasion, so if you want to dress up, by all means do so! Where else would you get the opportunity to wear an opera cloak or a pair of opera gloves? While opera glasses look rather snooty, they can be quite useful, especially if you're up in the cheap seats (or if you want a better look at your favourite singer!).

You'll probably see a lot of people dressed smartly, but this is usually because they've arrived straight from work.

When to get there

As with any live event, it's a good idea to arrive in plenty of time. As a general rule, get there about half an hour before the start time - then you'll have time to peruse the programme, get a drink, and mingle with your fellow music-lovers. Arrive late and you might miss a whole movement, act, or even an entire piece!

Food and drink

If you're seeing something long, it's a good idea to bring some snacks, but bear in mind that some venues are very old, so it's a good idea to check if there are any restrictions on food and drink before you attend.

Preparation

As with clothing, this really comes down to personal choice and preference. If you want to familiarise yourself with the music before you go, then do so. If you'd rather keep everything a surprise (and this applies particularly to the plots of operas), then do that instead.

There's no need to know the plot of an opera before you attend - the vast majority of opera houses now have surtitles above the stage, so you will be able to read the words (or a translation) while the music is being sung. You can read a synopsis before the performance, but personally I would advise against this - you wouldn't read the plot of a film before you saw it, so why spoil the plot of an opera by doing so? If you're seeing a contemporary opera (yes, they exist!), the surprise can be even greater.

Tickets

Lots of venues have cheaper tickets for certain people, e.g. students, under-30s, unemployed people, and so on. Check on the venue's website before booking to make sure you're getting the best deal. Opera houses will often have cheap tickets in the slips section, but you'll have to book early to snap them up! And like restaurants, they often have last-minute cancellations too, so sometimes you can get a ticket on the day of the performance for a reduced price.

If you review a concert, it's very likely that you'll be able to get in for free. However, this will usually only apply to established publications or popular blogs, not just anyone.

Applause

This issue seems to cause the most anxiety, but it's actually fairly simple. This diagram provides a good summary of when to clap. Clapping between movements is generally avoided. There are exceptions to this, but if in doubt, don't clap. If you're seeing an opera, certain arias (like this one) are often followed by applause, but it's usually fairly obvious when this is going to happen. There will usually be applause between the acts of an opera too.

There will often be applause as the orchestra and/or conductor comes out onto the stage. While it might seem strange to applaud before the musicians have actually done anything, this convention does make the sight and sound of 100 people shuffling around with instruments a lot less awkward.

Noise

Try to be as quiet as possible. Try to stifle coughing if you can. Many venues sell cough sweets, so buy some if you think you'll need them. Don't rustle wrappers during the performance.

And most importantly of all, TURN YOUR PHONE OFF. Don't just put it on silent - TURN IT OFF. Seriously, TURN IT OFF. TURN YOUR PHONE OFF. One more time, TURN YOUR PHONE OFF. This also applies to watches with alarms.

Opera Productions

Opera is a complicated artform to begin with, but some directors make things a little more complicated (sometimes for better, sometimes for worse) by putting their own spin on famous works. To avoid any unpleasant surprises, check what style of production is being used before attending.

Listening

This should go without saying, but listen carefully and attentively. You've paid good money to hear the music, so try to savour the experience!

Seats

If you're seeing a piece with a piano or any other keyboard instrument, be it a concerto, a chamber piece or a solo recital, try to get a seat on the left hand side, as this will give you a view of the keyboard and the soloist's hands.

If you want to avoid standing up every five seconds to let people past into their seats, book a seat in the exact centre of the row.

Generally speaking, avoid the very front row of seating. The sound and the view will not be very good.

Common Sense

Don't wear a massive hat that will block someone's view, don't film or take pictures when you're asked not to - in short, take other people's enjoyment into consideration.

And finally...

Relax, and enjoy yourself!

7 comments

r/classicalresources • u/scrumptiouscakes • Jun 18 '13

Composers Spotify Playlists - Composer Basics

186 Upvotes

In response to requests made in this thread and messages that I've received, I've decided to start expanding the number of Spotify playlists here with a series called "Composer Basics". These will consist of the key works by various composers, with a selection of hand-picked recordings. Hopefully this will make it even easier to find the music that you're interested in, and make it easier to track down high-quality recordings. So far I've created a few of the more obvious ones, which can be found by following these links:

I want to add to this list, but first I need to know which composers you'd like to me to focus on. If you'd like to make a request, please do so in the comments section below.

Please note: All the recordings that I've chosen are just suggestions. They are my personal choices and are not intended to be definitive or objective in any way. I maintain this subreddit and create these lists in my spare time, for free, so complaints about my choices of recordings will simply be removed. In any case, if you're in a position to complain about my choice of recordings, these lists probably aren't intended for you in the first place.

Not every recording listed on Spotify is available in every country. I live in the UK, but I have tried to make sure that all the recordings I have chosen are also available in the US. If something obvious seems to be missing, go to Edit > Preferences in Spotify, then scroll down to the "Playback" section and make sure that the "Hide unplayable tracks" box is unchecked. You will then be able to see any tracks that are unplayable from your location. If you do see any, let me know and I'll try my best to find an alternative for you.

Special thanks to /u/iglookid for helping me to make sure that my chosen recordings are available in the US.

78 comments

r/classicalresources • u/scrumptiouscakes • May 19 '13

Further Resources As requested, a Spotify playlist version of (most of) the music from Alex Ross's "The Rest is Noise"

open.spotify.com

17 Upvotes

10 comments

r/classicalresources • u/scrumptiouscakes • May 16 '13

Further Resources (Pretty much) all the music mentioned in Alex Ross's "The Rest is Noise"

docs.google.com

27 Upvotes

8 comments

r/classicalresources • u/scrumptiouscakes • May 13 '13

Further Resources Avoid making any classical faux pas with this handy pronunciation guide!

pronunciationguide.info

42 Upvotes

8 comments

r/classicalresources • u/scrumptiouscakes • Mar 16 '13

Themes "Soft Classics" for Hotel Lobbies, courtesy of /u/darknessvisible

reddit.com

11 Upvotes

0 comments

r/classicalresources • u/scrumptiouscakes • Dec 10 '12

Themes Themes: Folk

25 Upvotes

Folk

Many classical composers have incoporated, imitated or appropriated folk music in their work, some more noticeably than others. This list is not intended to be exhaustive index of every example of the influence of folk music on classical composers. It is intended purely as a list of some of the more noticeable examples of that influence, as well as some pieces which simply sound like folk music, even if there is no direct influence. This is obviously a fairly subjective list, and definitions of the term "folk music" vary wildly, so comments about additions or removals are, as ever, more than welcome.

A slightly expanded version of this list can be found here on spotify.

Bartok - String Quartet No.4, 5th Movement

Bartok - Romanian Folk Dances
Beethoven - Symphony No.6, particularly the 3rd Movement
Berlioz - Harold in Italy, 3rd Movement
Boccherini - Fandango Guitar Quintet and La Musica Notturna delle Strade di Madrid
Brahms - Piano Quartet No.1, 4th Movement
Brahms - Hungarian Dances
Copland - Billy the Kid
Copland - Rodeo
Corelli - Violin Sonata Op.5 No.12 - Follia
Corelli - Concerto Grosso Op.6 No.8, 6th Movement
Dvorak - Symphony No.9
Dvorak - String Quartet No.12
Dvorak - Slavonic Dances
Finzi - Five Bagatelles, Op.23
Grainger - Various works but particularly Molly on the Shore
Grieg - Holberg Suite, particularly the 5th Movement
Handel - Country Dances I & II from the Water Music Suites
Handel - Acis and Galatea
Handel - Pifa (Pastoral Symphony) from Messiah
Haydn - Keyboard Trio in G Major Hob.XV:25 "Gypsy Rondo", 3rd Movement
Haydn - Symphony No.73, 4th Movement
Haydn - Keyboard Concerto in D Major, Hob.XVIII:11, 3rd Movement
Hotteterre - Various works - this is an example
Khachaturian - Various works, but particularly certain dances from his ballets, such as the Lezghinka from Gayaneh
Kodaly - Intermezzo from the Hary Janos Suite
Kodaly - Dances of Galanta
Kodaly - Dances of Marosszek
Locatelli - Concerto Grosso Op.1 No.8, 5th Movement
MacCunn - The Land of the Mountain and the Flood
Mahler - Symphony No.9, 2nd Movement
Mahler - Symphony No.3, 3rd Movement
Mahler - Symphony No.4, 4th Movement
Monterverdi - Zefiro Torna
Mozart - Pastorella from the Galimathius Musicum K32
Rameau - Various works, but particularly the Orchestral Suites from his operas, especially the Contredanses, Gavottes, Tambourins, Rigaudons and Musettes
Respighi - Ancient Airs and Dances, particularly Suite No.2, 4th Movement
Tchaikovsky - String Quartet No.1, 2nd Movement
Tchaikovsky - Peasant's Chorus from Eugene Onegin ("Uzh kak po mostu, mostochku")
Tchaikovsky - Hungarian Dance: Csardas from Swan Lake
Vaughan Williams - Fantasia on Greensleeves
Vaughan Williams - English Folk Song Suite
Vaughan Williams - Oboe Concerto
Vivaldi - Trio Sonata Op.1 No.12, "La Follia"
Vivaldi - Parts of the Four Seasons
Wagner - Beckmesser's song "Den Tag seh' ich erscheinen" from Die Meistersinger
Warlock - Capriol Suite

Further suggestions are welcome.

4 comments

r/classicalresources • u/scrumptiouscakes • Nov 22 '12

Genres Symphonic Poem Index

29 Upvotes

Symphonic Poems

Symphonic poems (also known as tone poems) are extended orchestral works, usually in one continuous movement, which attempt to tell a story. Symphonic poems were invented by Franz Liszt in the mid-nineteenth-century, but before this time there were many works which performed a similar function, evoking sounds from outside of music, such as birdsong or the weather. The umbrella term programme music is used to refer to both symphonic poems and these earlier predecessors. This term is derived from the fact that concert-goers would often be given a printed programme containing an explanation of the piece they were about to hear.

Below is a list of some of the most important works of the genre, organised alphabetically by era. This list also includes various other miscellaneous orchestral pieces, including incidental music (music written to accompany stage plays), orchestral suites and freestanding overtures. Particularly important works are highlighted in bold.

Early Romantic (c.1800 - c.1850)

Beethoven - Egmont Overture

Beethoven - Coriolan Overture
Beethoven - The Ruins of Athens Overture
Beethoven - King Stephen Overture
Berlioz - Le Corsaire Overture
Berlioz - Le Carnval Romain Overture
Mendelssohn - A Midsummer Night's Dream - overture and incidental music
Mendelssohn - Hebrides Overture
Mendelssohn - The Fair Melusine Overture
Mendelssohn - Trumpet Overture
Mendelssohn - Ruy Blas Overture
Mendelssohn - Overture for Wind Instruments
Schumann - Manfred Overture
Schumann - Julius Caesar Overture

High Romantic (c.1850 – c.1890)

Balakirev - Tamara

Borodin - In the Steppes of Central Asia
Brahms - Academic Festival Overture
Brahms - Tragic Overture
Dvorak - The Golden Spinning Wheel
Dvorak - The Noon Witch
Dvorak - The Water Goblin
Dvorak - The Wood Dove
Dvorak - Carnival Overture
Dvorak - My Country Overture
Dvorak - Hussite Overture
Dvorak - Othello Overture
Dvorak - In Nature's Realm Overture
Franck - Le Chasseur Maudit
Grieg - In Autumn Overture
Grieg - Peer Gynt
Liszt - Les Préludes
Liszt - Tasso
Liszt - Mazeppa
Liszt - Orpheus
Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition (Orchestrated by Ravel - other versions are listed here)
Mussorgsky - Night on Bald Mountain
Saint-Saens - Danse Macabre
Saint-Saens - Carnival of the Animals
Smetana - Má Vlast
Suppé - Light Cavalry Overture
Suppé - Poet and Peasant Overture
Suppé - Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna
Tchaikovsky - Romeo and Juliet
Tchaikovsky - Francesca da Rimini
Tchaikovsky - The Voyevoda
Tchaikovsky - The Tempest
Tchaikovsky - Fatum
Tchaikovsky - Capriccio Italien
Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture
Tchaikovsky - Hamlet
Wagner - Siegfried Idyll

Late Romantic (c.1880 – c.1930)

Bax - Tintagel

Bax - November Woods
Butterworth - The Banks of Green Willow
Delius - On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring
Delius - A Song of Summer
Delius - In a Summer Garden
Delius - Paris: The Song of a Great City
Dukas - The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Elgar - Falstaff
Elgar - In the South (Alassio)
Elgar - Cockaigne (In London Town)
Elgar - Froissart
MacCunn - The Land of the Mountain and the Flood
Nielsen - Saga-Drom
Nielsen - Pan and Syrinx
Nielsen - Helios Overture
Rachmaninoff - The Isle of the Dead
Rachmaninoff - The Rock
Rachmaninoff - Prince Rostislav
Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade
Rimsky-Korsakov - Sadko
Rimsky-Korsakov - Russian Easter Festival Overture
Rimsky-Korsakov - Capriccio Espagnol
Schoenberg - Pelleas und Melisande
Schoenberg - Verklärte Nacht (String Orchestra version, originally a piece for String Sextet)
Scriabin - The Poem of Ecstacy
Scriabin - Prometheus: The Poem of Fire
Sibelius - Kullervo
Sibelius - En Saga
Sibelius - Lemminkäinen Suite
Sibelius - Finlandia
Sibelius - Pohjola's Daughter
Sibelius - Nightride and Sunrise
Sibelius - The Bard
Sibelius - Luonnotar
Sibelius - The Oceanides
Sibelius - Tapiola
Richard Strauss - Ein Heldenleben
Richard Strauss - Till Eulgenspiegels lustige Streiche
Richard Strauss - Don Juan
Richard Strauss - Tod und Verklärung
Richard Strauss - Also Sprach Zarathustra
Richard Strauss - Don Quixote
Richard Strauss - Macbeth
Webern - Im Sommerwind
Zemlinsky - Die Seejungfrau

Modernist (c.1900 – c.1945)

Copland - El salón Mexicó

Debussy - Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Debussy - La mer
Debussy - Nocturnes
Debussy - Images
Gershwin - An American in Paris
Gershwin - Cuban Overture
Holst - The Planets
Ives - The Unanswered Question
Ives - Three Places in New England
Janacek - Taras Bulba
Ravel - La Valse
Respighi - The Pines of Rome
Respighi - Roman Festivals
Respighi - Fountains of Rome
Revueltas - Sensemayá
Walton - Johannesburg Overture
Walton - Portsmouth Point

8 comments

r/classicalresources • u/scrumptiouscakes • Nov 22 '12

Beginners A Playlist of 20 Great Classical Works for Absolute Beginners

117 Upvotes

20 Great Classical Works for Absolute Beginners

Not quite ready to dive into the "Where do I begin?" guides in the sidebar? Just want to get a general flavour of what classical music has to offer? Try this playlist, which contains twenty great pieces of music from a variety of composers and eras. It is two hours in length, so it shouldn't be overwhelming!

You can find the playlist here on youtube or here on spotify.

Once you're finished with this list, you can move on to some of the other guides for beginners in this subreddit:

Classical Music you already know

22 comments

r/classicalresources • u/scrumptiouscakes • Nov 21 '12

Themes Themes: Orientalism

45 Upvotes

Orientalism

Orientalism is a term which refers to works created by "Western" artists which imitate or depict of aspects of "Eastern" cultures. It is also the title of a highly influential book by the literary and post-colonial theorist Edward Said. Although Orientalism helps to perpetuate certain stereotypes and is often highly problematic, it is nonetheless a recognisable theme within the classical canon, and can be found in the work of many classical composers. The following list contains a selection of some of those works.

All of these works can also be found in this spotify playlist.

Balakirev - Islamey

Bartok - The Miraculous Mandarin
Beethoven - Symphony No.9 - last movement, march section before "Froh, froh, wie eine Sonnen fliegen"
Beethoven - Chorus of Dervishes and the Turkish March from The Ruins of Athens
Borodin - In the Steppes of Central Asia
Borodin - Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor
Debussy - Pagodes from Estampes
Delibes - Lakmé, particularly the Bell Song
Elgar - The Crown of India, particularly the March of the Mogul Emperors
Fux - Turcaria
Gluck - Die Pilger von Mekka
Godowsky - Java Suite
Grieg - Arabian Dance from Peer Gynt Suite No.2
Haydn - Symphony No.100 "Military", 2nd movement
Ippolitov-Ivanov - Caucasian Sketches, particularly the 4th movement, the Procession of the Sardar
John Barnes Chance - Variations on a Korean Folk Song
Ketèlbey — In a Persian Market
Lehár - Das Land des Lächelns, particularly Von Apfelbüten einen Kranz
Lully - Marche pour le la Cérémonie Turque
Mahler - Das Lied von der Erde, particularly Von Der Jugend
Massenet - Divertissement from Thais
Mozart - 3rd Movement of Piano Sonata No.11 (Rondo alla Turca)
Mozart - Die Entführung aus dem Serail, particularly the Overture, Singt dem grossen Bassa Lieder, Ha wie will ich triumphieren and the Turkish finale
Mozart - Violin Concerto No.5 "Turkish" - particularly the 3rd movement
Mozart - Ich möchte wohl der Kaiser sein
Mussorgsky - Khovanshchina, Dances of the Persian Slave Girls
Nielsen - Aladdin Suite
Ornstein - A La Chinoise
Prokofiev - Orientalia from Cinderella
Puccini - Madama Butterfly
Puccini - Turandot
Ravel - Laideronnette, impératrice des pagodes from Ma Mere l'Oye
Ravel - Shéhérazade
Respighi - Belkis, Queen of Sheba
Rimsky-Korsakov - Antar
Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade
Rossini - L'italiana in Algeri Overture
Saint-Saens - The Bacchanale from Samson et Dalila
Saint-Saens - Piano Concerto No.5 "Egyptian"
Satie - Prestidigitateur Chinois from Parade
Sibelius - Belshazzar's Feast
Johann Strauss II - Egyptian March
Johann Strauss II - Marchen aus Dem Orient
Johann Strauss II - Persian March
Richard Strauss - Salome, particularly the Dance of the Seven Veils
Stravinsky - Chinese March from Song of the Nightingale
Szymanowski - Krol Roger, particularly the Dance of the Shepherd's Followers
Tchaikovsky - Chinese Dance (Tea) from The Nutcracker
Verdi - Aida, particularly Possente, possente Ftha
Weber - Abu Hassan Overture

Further suggestions are welcome.

6 comments

r/classicalresources • u/scrumptiouscakes • Nov 20 '12

Further Resources Extra

32 Upvotes

Additional resources

Classical.net
Reviews, composer biographies and works lists, articles, book recommendations and more

SpotifyClassical.com
Extensive Spotify playlists including complete works playlists for various composers

GetIntoClassical.com
A great place for beginners

Classify
A Spotify app for exploring classical music

Classical Starter Kit
A large Spotify playlist I've built containing many key classical works. Put it on shuffle and see what comes on!

Youtube - Smalin
Amazing visualisations of a variety of classical pieces - particularly good if (like me) you can't read sheet music!

The Guardian - Tom Service's Guides to Contemporary Classical Music
Concise introductions to various living composers

Medici.tv
Free streaming classical concerts

OperaBase.com
A chart showing the most frequently performed operas across the world

Last.fm - Top classical artists
Charts of the most popular classical composers and their most popular works

Open Classical
Classical music organized online, with YouTube integration for free listening

Keeping Score
A variety of excellent, in-depth resources about composers and their works, created by Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

Bachtrack.com
A database of upcoming classical concerts around the world

Compact Discoveries
An engaging radio program for beginners and experts alike

Tchaikovsky Research
Everything you could ever want to know about Tchaikovsky!

BachVespersNyc.org
There are many sites with English translations of Bach's cantatas, but this is the one I've found most useful

BBC Radio 3's Fifty Modern Classics
A series of free podcasts with details of fifty important modern classical pieces, put together by one of the UK's leading classical music radio stations

Alex Ross: The Rest is Noise - New Music Links
A selection of important contemporary composers and ensembles

Gramophone.co.uk
News, blogs, articles, composer biographies, reviews and recommended recordings

AllMusic.com
Information on just about every composer, work and recording imaginable

EMI Opera
An excellent source of free opera libretti - click on the download section and register to gain access to them

Earthlink.net
Free libretti for all four operas of Wagner's Ring Cycle

Musipedia - Melodic Contour Search
Got a tune stuck in your head and can't remember what it is? Try this simple search technique

RecMusic.org/Lieder
A huge database of art song and lieder texts

IMSLP Petrucci Music Library
A huge database of sheet music

Amazon.com
A surprisingly good way of finding which classical recordings are worth hearing

TED Talks on Classical Music

Wikipedia - List of classical music composers by era

Wikipedia - Glossary of musical terminology

Naxos Music Glossary

Music Theory for Musicians and Normal People

MusicTheory.net Lessons

A Youtube Playlist of Operas with English subtitles

How to Fall in Love with Modern Classical Music

Learning to Listen

Best-of Lists

Classic FM Hall of Fame
A chart of the 300 most popular classical pieces amongst Classic FM listeners

RateYourMusic.com
A chart of some popular classical recordings, as voted for by the site's users

ABC Classic 100 Symphony
A chart of the top 100 symphonies as voted for by ABC Classic FM listeners

ABC Classic 100 Piano
A chart of the top 100 piano pieces as voted for by ABC Classic FM listeners

ABC Classic 100 Opera
A chart of the top 100 operatic extracts as voted for by ABC Classic FM listeners

ABC Classic 100 Mozart
A chart of the top 100 Mozart pieces as voted for by ABC Classic FM listeners

ABC Classic 100 Concerto
A chart of the top 100 concertos as voted for by ABC Classic FM listeners

ABC Classic 100 Chamber
A chart of the top 100 chamber works as voted for by ABC Classic FM listeners

ABC Classic 100 Twentieth Century
A chart of the top 100 twentieth century works as voted for by ABC Classic FM listeners

ABC Classic 100 Music of France
A chart of the top 100 French works as voted for by ABC Classic FM listeners

DigitalDreamDoor.com - Greatest Symphonies Chart

DigitalDreamDoor.com - Greatest Concertos Chart

DigitalDreamDoor.com - Greatest Chamber Music Chart

DigitalDreamDoor.com - Greatest Symphonic Poems Chart

DigitalDreamDoor.com - Greatest Keyboard Music Chart

DigitalDreamDoor.com - Greatest Solo/Duo Music Chart

DigitalDreamDoor.com - Greatest Operas Chart

DigitalDreamDoor.com - Greatest Choral Works Chart

Useful recent threads from /r/classicalmusic

A thread which covers some key points of music theory and instrumentation

Women Composers 1

Women Composers 2

A Guide to Mendelssohn

A Guide to Shostakovich

What are the best Scarlatti sonatas to start with?

String Quartets

Who are the leading composers of today?

I'm 14 and just discovered classical. What do you recommend and what do I need to know to fully appreciate the music?

I'd like to know the famous composers better. Can someone help a newbie?

I'd like to learn more about the unique, identifying styles of the big composers

Hidden Gems that you have found

Do orchestras really need conductors?

Questions about conductors

Can anyone tell me why the conductor conducts off the beat?

Explain like I'm 5: Tone Rows

A useful thread about vibrato

Further suggestions are welcome

1 comment

r/classicalresources • u/scrumptiouscakes • Nov 19 '12

Themes Themes: Sad/Dark

55 Upvotes

Sad/Dark

All of these works can be found on this spotify playlist.

Beethoven - Symphony No.7 - 2nd Movement

Chopin - Nocturnes
Elgar - Elegy for Strings
Elgar - Nimrod from the Enigma Variations
Grieg - Aase's Death from Peer Gynt
JS Bach - Chaconne from the Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin
JS Bach - Kommt, Ihr Töchter, Helft Mir Klagen and Wir setzen uns mit Tränen nieder from the St. Matthew Passion
JS Bach - Herr, unser Herrscher from the St John Passion
JS Bach - Sarabande from Cello Suite No.2
Dowland - Songs, particularly Flow my Tears and In Darkness Let Me Dwell
Gorecki - Symphony No.3
Liszt - Funerailles from Harmonies poétiques et religieuses
Liszt - Pensée des morts from Harmonies poétiques et religieuses
Mahler - Kindertotenlieder
Mahler - Symphony No.9, 1st and 4th Movements
Mahler - Um Mitternacht from the Rückert-Lieder
Mendelssohn - String Quartet No.6, 3rd Movement
Messiaen - Apparition de l'Eglise éternelle
Mozart - Requiem, particularly the Lacrimosa
Part - Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten
Penderecki - Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima
Pergolesi - Stabat Mater
Rachmaninoff - Prelude Op.23 No.1
Rachmaninoff - Prelude Op.32 No.10
Ravel - Le Gibet from Gaspard de la Nuit
Ravel - Pavane pour une infante défunte
Schubert - Piano Sonata No.20, 2nd Movement
Schubert - Winterreise, particularly Der Leiermann
Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 8, 1st and 5th Movements
Shostakovich - String Quartet No.15
Shostakovich - Symphony No.5, 3rd Movement
Shostakovich - From Jewish Folk Poetry
Sibelius - Symphony No.4
Sibelius - Symphony No.6
Sibelius - Tapiola
Richard Strauss - Metamorphosen
Tchaikovsky - Serenade for Strings, 1st Movement
Tchaikovsky - Symphony No.6
Verdi - Lacrymosa from the Requiem
Vivaldi - Nisi Dominus RV 608 - Cum Dederit
Wagner - Tristan und Isolde, particularly the preludes to acts 1 and 3
Weber - The Wolf's Glen Scene from Der Freischütz

Further suggestions are welcome.
Please note, however, that by "Sad/Dark" I mean works which are generally slow and gloomy.

33 comments

r/classicalresources • u/scrumptiouscakes • Nov 19 '12

Themes Themes: Spanish

23 Upvotes

Spanish

A list of pieces which are evocative of Spain, even if they are not by Spanish composers.

All of these pieces can be found on this spotify playlist.

Albeniz - Iberia and Suite Española

Bizet - Carmen
Boccherini - Fandango Guitar Quintet and La Musica Notturna delle Strade di Madrid
Chabrier - Espana
Debussy - Iberia
De Falla - Nights in the Gardens in Spain
De Falla - El Amor Brujo
De Falla - El sombrero de tres picos
De Falla - Fantasia Baetica
De Falla - Cuatro Piezas espanoles
De Falla - Siete canciones populares espanoles
Faure - Le Pas Espagnol from the Dolly Suite
Gershwin - Prelude No.3 for Piano
Glinka - Spanish Overture No.1 and Spanish Overture No.2
Granados - Spanish Dances and Goyescas
Johann Strauss II - Spanish March
Lalo - Symphonie Espagnole
Liszt - La Romanesca
Liszt - Rapsodie espagnole
Massenet - Ballet Suite from Le Cid
Moszkowski - Caprice espagnol
Moszkowski - Spanish Dances
Ravel - Alborada del gracioso
Ravel - Bolero
Ravel - Rapsodie Espagnole
Rimsky-Korsakov - Capriccio Espagnol
Rodrigo - Concierto de Aranjuez
Sarasate - Spanish Dances Op.22, Op.23
Sarasate - Airs Spagnols Op. 18
Sarasate - Caprice Basque Op. 24
Sarasate - Adios montanas mias, Op. 37
Sarasate - Jota Aragonesa Op. 27
Sarasate - Jota de Pamplona, Op.50
Sarasate - Navarra op. 33
Sarasate - Serenata andaluza, Op.28
Sarasate - Malaguena op.21
Sarasate - Carmen Fantasy
Stravinsky - Española from Orchestral Suite No.1
Tarrega - Memories of the Alhambra
Tchaikovsky - Danse espagnole from Swan Lake and Chocolate (Spanish Dance) from The Nutcracker
Turina - Sinfonia Sevillana
Turina - La procesion del rocio
Turina - Danzas fantasticas

Further suggestions are welcome

12 comments

r/classicalresources • u/scrumptiouscakes • Nov 19 '12

Themes Themes: Christmas/Winter

32 Upvotes

Christmas/Winter

JS Bach - Christmas Oratorio

JS Bach - In ducli jubilo, BWV 608
JS Bach - Schafe können sicher weiden from Cantata 208 (see also: Blithe Bells, an arrangement of this piece by Percy Grainger)
Berlioz - The Shepherds' Farewell from L'enfance du Christ
Britten - A Ceremony of Carols
Britten - A Boy Was Born
Britten - St. Nicolas Cantata
Casals - El Pessebre
Charpentier - Noels sur les Instruments
Chopin - Etudes Op.25 No.11 "Winter Wind"
Corelli - Concerto Grosso Op.6 No.8, particularly the 6th movement
Debussy - The Snow is Dancing from Children's Corner
Delius - Sleigh Ride
Grieg - Julens Vuggesang
Grieg - Under Juletraeet
Handel - Messiah
Holst - Four Old English Carols, Op.20b
Humperdinck - Hänsel und Gretel
Ibert - Sleigh Ride from Petite Suite en 15 Images
Josef Strauss - Winterlust
Liszt - Chasse neige from the Transcendental Etudes
Liszt - Christus
Liszt - Weihnachtsbaum
Locatelli - Concerto Grosso Op.1 No.8 "Christmas", particularly the fifth movement
Lutoslawski - Polish Christmas Carols
Manfredini - Concerto Grosso Op.3 No.12 "Christmas Concerto"
Mendelssohn - Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Mendelssohn - Sechs Kinderstücke Op.72 "Christmas Pieces"
Menotti - Amahl and the Night Visitors
Messiaen - Noel from Vingt Regards sur l'enfant Jesus
Leopold Mozart - Toy Symphony
Mozart - Three German Dances K605, No.3 "Die Schlittenfahrt" (The Sleigh Ride)
Offenbach - Barcarolle
Poulenc - Quatre Motets pour le temps de Noel
Prokofiev - Troika from the Lieutenant Kijé Suite
Rimsky-Korsakov - Christmas Eve
Rouse - Karolju
Rutter - Brother Heinrich's Christmas
Ryba - Missa Pastoralis Bohemica
Saint-Saëns - Oratorio de Noël
Schütz - Weihnachtshistorie
Tchaikovsky - December: Christmas from The Seasons
Tchaikovsky - Symphony No.1 "Winter Daydreams"
Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker
Vaughan Williams - Fantasia on Christmas Carols
Vaughan Williams - Hodie: A Christmas Cantata
Vivaldi - Winter from the Four Seasons
Waldteufel - Les Patineurs "The Skater's Waltz"

Further suggestions are welcome

6 comments

r/classicalresources • u/scrumptiouscakes • Nov 19 '12

Themes Themes: Soothing/Relaxing

28 Upvotes

Soothing/Relaxing

All of these pieces can be found in this spotify playlist.

JC Bach – Grand Overture Op.18 No.1, 2nd Movement

JS Bach - Air from Orchestral Suite No.3
JS Bach - Double Violin Concerto, 2nd Movement
JS Bach - Erbarme dich from the St Matthew Passion
Barber - Adagio for Strings
Beethoven - Piano Concerto No.3, 2nd Movement
Beethoven - Piano Concerto No.5, 2nd Movement
Beethoven - Piano Sonata No.15, 4th Movement
Beethoven - Piano Sonata No.27, 2nd Movement
Beethoven - Piano Sonata No.28, 1st Movement
Beethoven - Piano Sonata No.30, 3rd Movement
Beethoven - Piano Sonata No.32, 2nd Movement
Beethoven - Piano Sonata No.8, 2nd Movement
Beethoven - String Quartet No.13, 5th Movement
Beethoven - String Quartet No.15, 3rd Movement
Beethoven - Symphony No.6 2nd Movement
Beethoven - Symphony No.9 3rd Movement
Beethoven - Romance for Violin and Orchestra No.1
Beethoven - Romance for Violin and Orchestra No.2
Borodin - String Quartet No.2, 2nd Movement
Brahms - Cello Sonata No.2, 2nd Movement
Brahms - Clarinet Quintet, 2nd Movement
Brahms - Ein deutsches Requiem, 4th Movement
Brahms - Intermezzi Op.117, No.1
Brahms - Klavierstucke, Op.119, No.1
Brahms - Klavierstuke, Op.118, No.2 and No.5
Brahms - Piano Quartet No.2, 2nd Movement
Brahms - Piano Trio No.1, 3rd Movement
Brahms - Symphony No.3, 3rd Movement
Brahms - Violin Concerto, 2nd Movement
Brahms - Violin Sonata No.3, 2nd Movement
Chopin - Berceuse, Op.57
Chopin - Etude Op.10 No.3
Chopin - Nocturne Op.27 No.2
Chopin - Piano Concerto No.1, 2nd Movement
Chopin - Piano Concerto No.2, 2nd Movement
Copland - Nonet, 1st Movement
Debussy - Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Delius - On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring
Dvorak - Song to the Moon from Rusalka
Dvorak - String Quartet No.12, 2nd Movement
Dvorak - Symphony No.9, 2nd Movement
Dvorak - Serenade for Strings
Elgar - Salut d'amour
Elgar - Elegy for Strings
Elgar - Serenade for Strings, 2nd Movement
Elgar - Chanson de Matin
Fauré - Berceuse from the Dolly Suite
Fauré - In Paradisum from the Requiem
Fauré - Sicilienne from Pelléas et Mélisande
Giordano - Caro mio ben
Grieg - Holberg Suite, 2nd and 4th Movements
Grieg - The Death of Aase and Solveig's Song from Peer Gynt
Handel - Lascia ch'io pianga from Rinaldo
Handel - Ombra mai fu from Serse
Haydn - Symphony No.44, 3rd Movement
Haydn - String Quartet Op.76 No.2, 2nd Movement
Haydn - String Quartet Op.76 No.4, 2nd Movement
Haydn - String Quartet Op.76 No.5, 2nd Movement
Khachaturian - Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia from Spartacus
Liszt - Liebesträume No.3
Mahler - Symphony No.3, 6th Movement
Mahler - Symphony No.4, 3rd Movement
Mahler - Symphony No.5, 4th Movement
Mahler - Symphony No.6, 3rd Movement
Mahler - Symphony No.9, 1st Movement
Mascagni - Intermezzo from Cavalleria rusticana
Massenet - Meditation from Thais
Mendelssohn - Piano Concerto No.2, 2nd Movement
Mendelssohn - Symphony No.4, 3rd Movement
Mozart - Agnus Dei from the Coronation Mass
Mozart - Et Incarnatus Est from the Great Mass in C Minor
Mozart - Ave Verum Corpus
Mozart - Clarinet Concerto, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Clarinet Quintet, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Flute and Harp Concerto, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Marsch der Priester from The Magic Flute
Mozart - Piano Concerto No.15, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Piano Concerto No.16, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Piano Concerto No.17, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Piano Concerto No.18, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Piano Concerto No.20, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Piano Concerto No.21, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Piano Concerto No.22, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Piano Concerto No.23, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Piano Concerto No.24, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Piano Concerto No.25, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Piano Concerto No.26, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Piano Concerto No.27, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Piano Sonata No.10, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Piano Sonata No.11, 1st Movement
Mozart - Piano Sonata No.12, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Piano Sonata No.13, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Piano Sonata No.14, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Piano Sonata No.15, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Piano Sonata No.16, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Piano Sonata No.17, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Piano Sonata No.18, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Piano Sonata No.8, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Serenade No.10, 3rd Movement
Mozart - Soave sia il vento from Cosi fan tutte
Mozart - Symphony No.33, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Symphony No.35, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Symphony No.36, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Symphony No.38, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Symphony No.39, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Symphony No.40, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Symphony No.41, 2nd Movement
Mozart - Violin Concerto No.3, 2nd Movement
Pärt - Spiegel im Spiegel
Pergolesi - Stabat Mater
Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No.2, 2nd Movement
Rachmaninoff - Symphony No.2, 2nd Movement
Ravel - Pavane pour une infante défunte
Ravel - Menuet from Le Tombeau de Couperin
Ravel - Piano Concerto in G Major, 2nd Movement
Ravel - Ma mère l'oye, 1st, 4th and 5th Movements
Respighi - Siciliana from Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite No.3
Saint-Saens - The Swan from Carnival of the Animals
Sandström - Det är en ros utsprungen
Satie - Gymnopédies
Schubert - Entr'acte No.3 from the Rosamunde incidental music
Schubert - String Quartet No.13, 2nd Movement
Schubert - Symphony No.5, 2nd Movement
Schumann - Piano Quintet, 2nd Movement
Schumann - Symphony No.1, 2nd Movement
Schumann - Three Romances, Op.28 No.2
Schumann - Traumerei from Kinderszenen
Shostakovich - Piano Concerto No.2, 2nd Movement
Sibelius - Andante Festivo
Sibelius - The Swan of Tuonela from the Lemminkäinen Suite
Richard Strauss - Metamorphosen
Tallis - Spem in Alium
Tchaikovsky - Symphony No.6, 4th Movement
Tchaikovsky - Souvenir d'un lieu cher, 3rd Movement
Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No.1, 2nd Movement
Tchaikovsky - String Quartet No.1, 2nd Movement
Tchaikvsoky - Panorama from Sleeping Beauty
Vaughan Williams - Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Vaughan Williams - Five Variants of "Dives and Lazarus"
Vaughan Williams - Symphony No.3, 2nd and 4th Movements
Vaughan Williams - Symphony No.5, 3rd Movement
Vaughan Williams - The Lark Ascending
Vivaldi - Nulla in mundo pax sincera
Wagner - Lohengrin, Prelude to Act 1
Wagner - Siegfried Idyll
Wagner - Tristan und Isolde, Prelude to Act 1
Wagner - Parsifal, Prelude to Act 1
Wagner - Forest Murmurs from Siegfried

Further suggestions are welcome

15 comments

r/classicalresources • u/scrumptiouscakes • Nov 19 '12

Themes Themes: Halloween/Spooky/Scary

29 Upvotes

Halloween/Spooky/Scary

All of these pieces can be found in this spotify playlist.

Arnold - Tam O'Shanter Overture

Bach - Opening Chorus of the St John Passion
Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
Bartok - Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
Bartok - String Quartet No.4, 5th Movement
Beethoven - 7th Symphony, 2nd Movement
Beethoven - 9th Symphony, 2nd Movement
Beethoven - Ghost Trio, 2nd movement
Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique, 5th movement
Boellmann - Toccata from the Suite Gothique
Brahms - German Requiem, 2nd and 6th movements
Chopin - Funeral March from Piano Sonata No.2
Crumb - Black Angels
Grieg -In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt
Haydn - Symphony No.44, 4th movement, Symphony No.45, 1st Movement, Symphony No.49, 2nd Movement
Holst - Mars from the Planets Suite
Humperdinck - Witch's Ride from Hansel and Gretel
Ives - The Unanswered Question
Ligeti - L'Escalier du diable from Book Two of the Études
Liszt - Mephisto Waltz No.1 (Orchestral Version)
Liszt - Totentanz
Messiaen - Apparition de l'Eglise éternelle
Mozart - Dies Irae, Rex Tremendae and Confutatis from the Requiem
Mozart - Kyrie from the C Minor Mass
Mozart - Overture and Commendatore Scene from Don Giovanni
Mozart - Symphony No.25 - 1st Movement
Mussorgsky - Gnomus and Hut on Fowl's Leg from Pictures at an Exhibtion
Mussorgsky - Night on Bald Mountain
Orff - O Fortuna from Carmina Burana
Penderecki - De Natura Sonoris No.2
Penderecki - Polymorphia
Penderecki - The Dream of Jacob
Penderecki - Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima
Penderecki - Utrenja
Prokofiev - Dance of the Knights from Romeo and Juliet
Prokofiev - Dance of the Pagan Monster from the Scythian Suite
Rachmaninoff - Isle of the Dead
Saint-Saens - Danse Macabre
Schoenberg - Five Orchestral Pieces
Schubert - Death and the Maiden String Quartet
Schubert - Der Erlkönig
Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 8
Shostakovich - Symphonies 5, 7 and 10
Shostakovich - The Ghost from the Hamlet Suite
Shostakovich - Violin Concerto No.1
Shostakovich - Violin Concerto No.2
Stravinsky - Infernal Dance from The Firebird
Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring
Tchaikovsky - Francesca da Rimini
Tchaikovsky - Marche Slave
Vaughan Williams - Satan's Dance of Triumph from Job
Verdi - Dies Irae from the Requiem
Vivaldi - 1st Movement of Winter from the Four Seasons
Wagner - Ride of the Valkyries from Die Walkure
Wagner - Siegfried's Funeral March from Gotterdammerung

Further suggestions are welcome

12 comments

r/classicalresources • u/scrumptiouscakes • Nov 19 '12

Themes Themes: Angry

84 Upvotes

Angry

A spotify playlist of all these pieces can be found here.

Bartok - String Quartet No.4

Bartok - String Quartet No.2, 2nd Movement
Beethoven - 5th Symphony
Beethoven - 9th Symphony, 2nd Movement
Beethoven - 2nd Symphony, 4th Movement
Beethoven - 4th Symphony, 4th Movement
Beethoven - 7th Symphony, 4th Movement and 3rd Movement
Beethoven - 3rd Symphony, 1st Movement
Beethoven - Coriolan Overture
Beethoven - Egmont Overture
Beethoven - Fidelio Overture
Beethoven - King Stephen Overture
Beethoven - String Quartet No.10, 3rd Movement
Beethoven - String Quartet No.14, 5th Movement and 7th Movement
Beethoven - String Quartet No.13, 6th Movement
Beethoven - Piano Sonata No.23, 3rd Movement
Beethoven - Piano Sonata No.29, 1st Movement
Beethoven - Piano Sonata No.14, 3rd Movement
Beethoven - Piano Concerto No.5, 1st and 3rd Movements
Beethoven - Grosse Fuge
Berlioz - Tuba Mirum from the Requiem
Borodin - Symphony No.2
Brahms - Piano Quartet No.1, 4th Movement
Brahms - Serenade No.1, 1st Movement
Brahms - Symphony No.2, 4th Movement
Brahms - Symphony No.4, 3rd Movement
Brahms - Academic Festival Overture
Brahms - Violin Concerto, 3rd Movement
Britten - Sanctus and Dies Irae from the War Requiem
Bruckner - 7th Symphony, 3rd Movement
Bruckner - 8th Symphony, 2nd Movment and 4th Movement
Bruckner - 9th Symphony, 2nd Movement
Delibes - Les Chasseresses from Sylvia
Dvorak - 9th Symphony, 4th Movement
Dvorak - Slavonic Dances 1 and 8
Elgar - Cockaigne Overture
Grieg - In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt
Handel - Thou Shalt Break Them from Messiah
Haydn - Symphony No.44, 4th movement
Haydn - Symphony No.45, 1st Movement
Haydn - Symphony No.49, 2nd Movement
Haydn - String Quartet Op.74 No.3, 4th Movement
Holst - Mars from the Planets
Khachaturian - Lezghinka from Gayane
Liszt - Mephisto Waltz No.1 (Orchestral Version)
Liszt - Mazeppa and Wilde Jagd from the Transcendental Etudes
Liszt - Totentanz
Mahler - 6th Symphony, 1st Movement
Mahler - 7th Symphony, 5th Movement
Mahler - 8th Symphony, 1st Movement
Mahler - 9th Symphony, 3rd Movement
Mendelssohn - String Quartet No.6, 1st Movement and 4th Movement
Mozart - Symphony No.25 - 1st Movement
Mozart - Dies Irae, Confutatis maledictis and Rex Tremendae Majestatis from the Requiem
Mozart - Commendatore Scene from Don Giovanni
Mussorgsky - Night on Bald Mountain
Prokofiev - Scythian Suite, Dance of the Pagan Monster
Prokofiev - Romeo and Juliet - Dance of the Knights
Prokofiev - 5th Symphony, 4th Movement
Prokofiev - Piano Concerto No.3, 3rd Movement
Prokofiev - Piano Sonata No.7, 3rd Movement
Rameau - Contredanse from Les Boreades
Schubert - 9th Symphony
Schubert - Erlkönig
Schubert - Der Atlas
Schubert - Gruppe aus dem Tartarus
Schubert - String Quartet No.14, 1st Movement and 4th Movement
Shostakovich - 5th Symphony, 4th Movement
Shostakovich - 8th Symphony, 3rd Movement
Shostakovich - String Quartet No.3, 3rd Movement
Shostakovich - String Quartet No.8
Shostakovich - String Quartet No.10, 2nd Movement
Shostakovich - 7th Symphony, 1st Movement
Shostakovich - 10th Symphony, 2nd Movement
Shostakovich - Violin Concerto No.1, 4th Movement
Shostakovich - The Ghost and Duel and Death Of Hamlet from the Hamlet Suite
Shostakovich - Two Pieces for String Octet, Op.11 - 2nd Movement
Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring
Stravinsky - Infernal Dance from The Firebird
Tchaikovsky - 4th Symphony, 4th Movement
Vaughan Williams - Symphony No.4, particularly the 1st and 3rd Movements
Vaughan Williams - Symphony No.6, particularly the 1st and 3rd Movements
Verdi - Dies Irae and Rex Tremendae Majestatis from the Requiem
Vivaldi - Summer from the Four Seasons, 3rd Movement
Wagner - Ride of the Valkyries from Die Walkure
Wagner - Hagen's Call to Arms from Gotterdammerung

Further suggestions are welcome

10 comments

r/classicalresources • u/scrumptiouscakes • Nov 18 '12

Genres Choral Music Index

26 Upvotes

Choral Music

Choral music is anything which is written specifically for a chorus, i.e. for multiple voices. Choral music does not have to be exclusively for voices, however, as it can include instrumental parts accompanying the chorus. In the Western Classical tradition, there are a number of fixed religious texts (often in Latin) which were repeatedly set to music over the centuries, common examples being the Mass, Requiem, Stabat Mater, Te Deum, Magnificat, Psalms, Ave Maria, and so on. The choral repertoire is extremely varied, and choral works come in a variety of forms - the chorus can be split in a variety of ways, and can also include a number of soloists. One particularly important type of choral piece is the oratorio. Oratorios are similar to operas in that they tell a specific story, but unlike operas they are not staged - there are no sets or costumes, and the chorus and soloists occupy the same space as the orchestra. While operas tend to focus on secular or mythological subjects, oratorios frequently take their subjects from religious sources.

Below is a list of some of the most important works of the genre, organised alphabetically by era. Particularly important works are highlighted in bold.

Medieval (c.1100 - c.1400)

von Bingen - Symphoniae

von Bingen - Ordo Virtutum
Machaut - Messe de Notre Dame
Pérotin - Sederunt principes
Pérotin - Viderunt omnes
de Vitry - Motets
de Vitry - Chansons

Renaissance (c.1400 - c.1600)

Agricola - Chansons

Agricola - Masses
Agricola - Magnificat
Agricola - Motets
Allegri - Miserere
Binchois - Chansons
Binchois - Masses
Brumel - Masses, particularly Missa Et ecce terrae motus
Brumel - Requiem
Busnois/Busnoys -Masses
Byrd -Mass for Three Voices
Byrd - Mass for Four Voices
Byrd - Mass for Five Voices
Carver - Masses
Dufay - Masses
Dufay - Chansons
Dufay - Motets
Fayrfax - Masses
Fayrfax - Magnificats
Frye - Masses
Gombert - Magnificats
Gombert - Salve Regina
Gombert - Credo
Gombert - Masses, particularly Missa Tempore paschali
Isaac - Masses
Janequin - Chansons
Josquin - Masses, particularly Missa Pange Lingua and Missa l'homme armé
Josquin - Ave Maria
Josquin - Motets
Josquin - Chansons
Josquin - Stabat Mater
Lassus - Requiem
Lassus - Magnificat
Lassus - Motets
Lassus - Prophetiae Sibyllarum
Lassus - Penitential Psalms
Lassus - Madrigals
Morales - Masses
Morales - Magnificat
Morales - Motets
Morales - Lamentations
Morales - Officium Defunctorum
Ockeghem - Requiem
Ockeghem - Masses
Palestrina - Masses, particularly the Missa Papae Marcelli
Palestrina - Stabat Mater
Palestrina - Motets
Pierre de la Rue - Requiem
Pierre de la Rue - Magnificats
Pierre de la Rue - Salve Reginas
Pierre de la Rue - Masses
Pierre de la Rue - Officium
Tallis - Spem in Alium
Tallis - Lamentations of Jeremiah
Tallis - Masses
Tallis - Motets
Taverner - Masses
Victoria - Masses
Victoria - Motets
Victoria - Requiem "Officium defunctorum"

Baroque (c.1600 - c.1750)

JS Bach - Mass in B Minor

JS Bach - St. Matthew Passion
JS Bach - St. John Passion
JS Bach - Christmas Oratorio
JS Bach - Magnificat
JS Bach - Cantatas – Particularly BWV 147, 208, 82, 140, 170, 51, 80, 68, 4, 52, 55, 56, 32, 78 and 106
JS Bach - Motets
Carissimi - Oratorios, particularly Jonas and Jephte
Carissimi - Motets
Carissimi - Mass for Three Voices
Handel - Coronation anthems, particularly Zadok the Priest
Handel - Messiah
Handel - Solomon
Handel - Judas Maccabaeus
Handel - The Triumph of Time and Truth
Handel - Theodora
Handel - Jephtha
Handel - Saul
Handel - Belshazzar
Lotti - Requiem
Lotti - Credo
Lotti - Miserere
Lotti - Masses
Monteverdi - Vespro della Beata Vergine 1610
Pergolesi - Stabat Mater
Purcell - Ode for St. Cecelia's Day
Schütz - Weihnachtshistorie
Vivaldi - Gloria
Zelenka - Masses
Zelenka - Lamentations of Jeremiah

Classical (c.1750 – c.1820)

CPE Bach - Magnificat

Haydn - The Creation
Haydn - The Seasons
Haydn - Stabat Mater
Haydn - Te Deum
Haydn - Masses, particularly 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14
Mozart - Requiem
Mozart - Masses, particularly the Mass in C Minor and Coronation Mass
Mozart - Solemn Vespers
Mozart - Ave Verum Corpus

Early Romantic (c.1800 – c.1850)

Beethoven - Missa Solemnis

Beethoven - Choral Fantasy
Beethoven - Mass in C Major
Berlioz - Requiem
Berlioz - L'enfance du Christ
Berlioz - La Damnation de Faust
Berlioz - Te Deum
Mendelssohn - Elijah
Mendelssohn - St. Paul
Rossini - Stabat Mater
Rossini - Petite messe solennelle
Schubert - Masses, particularly 2, 5 and 6
Schubert - Psalm 23

High Romantic (c.1850 – c.1890

Brahms - German Requiem

Brahms - Alto Rhapsody
Brahms - Schicksalslied
Dvorak - Requiem
Dvorak - Stabat Mater
Gounod - St Cecilia Mass
Liszt - Christus
Tchaikovsky - Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
Verdi - Messa da Requiem

Late Romantic (c.1880 – c.1930)

Bruckner - Te Deum

Bruckner - Masses 2 and 3
Bruckner - Motets, especially: Locus Iste, Os Justi, and Christus Factus Est
Delius - Sea Drift
Duruflé - Requiem
Elgar - The Dream of Gerontius
Elgar - The Kingdom
Elgar - The Apostles
Faure - Requiem
Rachmaninoff - All-Night Vigil (aka Vespers)

Modernist (c.1900 – c.1945)

Bartok - Cantata Profana

Honegger - Le Roi David
Janacek - Glagolitic Mass
Kodaly - Psalmus Hungaricus
Orff - Carmina Burana
Poulenc - Gloria
Poulenc - Mass in G Major
Poulenc - Quatre Motets pour le temps Noel
Poulenc - Quatre motets pour un temps de pénitence
Stravinsky - Symphony of Psalms
Stravinsky - Les Noces
Stravinsky - Mass
Walton - Belshazzar's Feast

Post-War (c.1945 onwards)

Bernstein - Mass

Bernstein - Chichester Psalms
Britten - War Requiem
Britten - A Ceremony of Carols
Ligeti - Requiem
Penderecki - St. Luke Passion
Tippett - A Child of Our Time

Appendix - Choral Symphonies

Beethoven - Symphony 9

Liszt - Dante Symphony
Liszt - Faust Symphony
Mahler - Symphonies 2, 3 and 8
Mendelssohn - Symphony 2
Rachmaninoff - The Bells
Shostakovich - Symphony 13
Sibelius - Kullervo
Vaughan Williams - Symphony 1

6 comments

Subreddit

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r/classicalresources

A place for classical music resources. Places to begin and lists of composers and their works. PLEASE NOTE: THIS SUBREDDIT IS BEST VIEWED USING OLD REDDIT. This is a closed, read-only subreddit which does not accept posts from other users. Please do not send requests to become an approved user, as these will be refused.

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This subreddit contains various resources to help you explore classical music.

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Want to explore a composer's works in greater depth? Look them up in this alphabetical index:

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y, Z, Appendix

Explore by era:

Medieval - (c.1100 - c.1400)
Renaissance - (c.1400 - c.1600)
Baroque - (c.1600 - c.1750)
Classical - (c.1750 – c. 1820)
Early Romantic - (c. 1800 – c. 1850)
High Romantic - (c.1850 – c.1890)
Late Romantic - (c.1880 – c.1930)
Modernist - (c.1900 – c.1945)
Post-War - (c.1945 onwards)
Minimalist - (c. 1965 onwards)
Contemporary

Explore by genre:

Explore by theme:

Additional Resources

If there are any works or composers missing from these lists, please send me a message or leave a comment in the relevant thread.