Dark Classical Music

Free Downloads by the composer and organist Frederik Magle

Skull in a cathedral
»In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.«  —Francis Bacon

Contents:

Whether you seek out real dark music, or you are fascinated by a gothic atmosphere and horror - or just looking for some scary classical music for Halloween, the following works by Frederik Magle may be what you are searching for...

(Note: You may use the music on this page freely in strictly non-commercial ways, such as personal videos (on YouTube, etc.) and other social media, as long as you credit Frederik Magle. For any commercial and/or professional use, please read the copyright/Creative Commons license details.)


Dark Music for Symphony Orchestra & Choir

Gothic womanThe symphonic suite Cantabile consists of three movements of dark classical music about love and death: 'Souffle le vent' (Cry of the Winds) is about lost love, with a tone of despair and melancholy.

'Cortège & Danse Macabre' (Funeral Procession & Dance of Death) depicts a procession of the dead dancing towards their grave and the eternal. Dark and ominous music but also with a touch of black humor.

Thigh bone in Danse Macabre'Cortège & Danse Macabre' is one of the only - if not the only - symphonic works ever to use a real thigh bone as an instrument together with the symphony orchestra! (Can be heard at 0:34 in the YouTube-video, or 1:27 in the MP3):



The Third and final movement 'Carillon - Finale' is based on a poem called 'Lacrymae Mundi' (Tears of the World). The part available for free download starts out with an eerie and mournful flowing choir and then builds up to a triumphant finale with the full power of the symphony orchestra, large choir, and pipe organ. Dark classical music in full force.

 

Dark Organ Music

Like a Flame - haunted gothic organ music album
»you are alternately shaken and stirred by dark, DARK, images which fill you with dread – afraid even to cast a glance over your shoulder sometimes for fear of that which you might glimpse darting into the shadows there...« –Abi Rhodes

Frederik Magle has also composed and performed many works for the pipe organ, including the following dark pieces:

»Gothic« organ music: "Origin" for organ, a thunderous piece played on a new pipe organ in a 1000-year old gothic church. The organ is built with a tonal design by Frederik Magle himself. Origin is part of the album "Like a Flame" *.

For higher audio quality you can buy 'Origin' on iTunes, Amazon.com, and other stores. A free 1½ min. excerpt is available in 320kbps MP3 and lossless downloads as well.  'Origin' is also available as sheet music.

Frederik Magle playing the pipe organ at Copenhagen Concert HallFrederik Magle
»Listen to it carefully – just in small chunks if you’re a person of nervous disposition and certainly not as something to lull you off to sleep. It could give you NIGHTMARES.« –Abi Rhodes

"Awakening" for organ. Also from "Like a Flame", Awakening may be the darkest music listed on this page, but be warned; it is also the least accessible and thus certainly not for every taste. A slow awakening building up to a scream of pain. (Buy Awakening on Amazon.com and iTunes).

"Lament" for organ (from Like a Flame). Sad, mournful organ music:

Sheet music for "Lament" is available.

"End of the Circle" (from Like a Flame) - Ghostly, haunted music for pipe organ...

»...a strange, sick, fascinating, and ghostly universe".«
–Christian Præstholm (Associate Professor of organ and music theory at the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus)

Organ Music for Halloween

The pipe organ in Riga Cathedral

A free download of the classic "scary" halloween, haunted mansion, and horror movie favorite; "Toccata and Fugue in D-minor, BWV 565" by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by Frederik Magle on the grand pipe organ in Riga Cathedral - an organ with 144 ranks and 6718 pipes.

Please credit Frederik Magle (e.g.: "J.S.Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D-minor, BWV 565, performed by Frederik Magle https://www.magle.dk") if you use this recording in your own videos, webpages, etc. For commercial use, please contact Frederik Magle.

More dark and scary organ music...

 

Other Dark Music & Horror Film Music

(Left-click the buttons to play audio or right-click to download):

 

Loneliness and Loss (Alone... so alone. A feeling of hopelessness, sadness, and fear - overwhelmed by a dark truth...)

(There's a chilling... surprise... inside. This is horror music, you have been warned.)

Creative Commons LicenseLoneliness by Frederik Magle is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

 

Tenderness - Despair - Inevitability...

Creative Commons LicenseIntermezzo "Inevitability" by Frederik Magle is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

 

Death - Sad but beautiful, calm and angelic yet eerie. A voice of light heard through the dark whispers of the dead; a "Vision of Beauty in the Land of the Dead":

Creative Commons LicenseVision of beauty in the land of the dead by Frederik Magle is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

 

Halloween Music

The Halloween Present – Scary music for Halloween and all other "frightening" occasions, inspired by tales of vampires, werewolves, ghouls, zombies, monsters, evil scientists, and other creatures of the dark – with a touch of humor. The music was composed right before Halloween, but is meant for the whole year; the ghosts and the undead never rest...

The Halloween Present 2020 Remastered "Ultra scary" edition:

The Halloween Present Original version:

Creative Commons LicenseThe Halloween Present by Frederik Magle is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Create your own scary video

Create your own scary, grotesque and/or dark-humored video with "The Halloween Present" as soundtrack (feel free to upload it to your YouTube channel, etc.) and send the link to Frederik Magle (contact). The best videos will be shared with Frederik Magle's 11,000+ fans on his facebook page and here on this page (below). All other videos will receive honorable mention. Just remember to credit Frederik Magle as the composer.

 

Dark Classical and Rock Fusion

Polyphony is a fusion of rock/metal and contemporary classical music.

Buy Polyphony as MP3 (256 kbps), FLAC lossless audio, or Apple lossless audio (ALAC).

 

The battle of Copenhagen

War Music

The following work depicts the battle of Copenhagen in 1801. It was commissioned by the Royal Danish Navy for the 200th anniversary to commemorate the losses and lament the horrors of the gruesome battle:

"The Hope" for brass band, choir, organ and percussion (free mp3, wav, flac, and apple lossless downloads of the entire 14 minutes work)

 


Contact Frederik Magle (Email)


COPYRIGHT / CREATIVE COMMONS

All music is © Frederik Magle. You may use the music made available for download on this page freely (royalty free) for personal and non-commercial use (including non-commercial YouTube videos, etc.) as long as you credit Frederik Magle.

Any kind of commercial or otherwise professional use requires prior permission by Frederik Magle, except Loneliness, Inevitability, Vision of Beauty, and The Halloween Present which are licensed under Creative Commons and may be used commercially for free without prior permission as long as Frederik Magle is credited.