Chiller

Recalling chilling moments through music

This is a playful CD by Erich Kunzel conducting the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Here, music associated with "chilling" moments is deployed. The orchestra plays in a spirited manner and this is, simply, quite a bit of fun.

The opening sequence sets a tone: Thunder, a wolf howling, footsteps on pavement, a cat crying out, a creaking door--and a shout. With that out of the way, the music begins, with the theme from "Phantom of the Opera," with the organ wailing and setting a chilling tone.

Familiar chillers follows, such as "Night on Bald Mountain" and "Danse Macabre." But I'll focus more on some odder choices that remind me of a movie and two TV series. There is the theme from "Twilight Zone," whose stories were often disquieting. This is an adequate version, but I found it a little disappointing, given my memory of the wound up version on the TV series.

Then, a mini-suite from the movie "Psycho." The three components--"Prelude," "Mad House," and "Murder." The latter focuses, as one might guess, on the shower scene. Boy does this conjure images of that scene! Those crazy strings bring us back to the movie.

The CD closes out with Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette," which served as the theme for "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." The music is well and energetically played, bringing back images of some of Hitchcock's shows that still remain in my memory.

So, not a heavyweight, cerebral CD, but one that is a lot of fun!
October 24, 2008

This is creepy music!

I bought this Cd two years ago, and I have to say that it is full of creepy classical music. When I heard this, I was happy to hear the song of "Dance Macabre". It was very creepy. The other tracks were good as well as "Night On Bald Mountain". I think the song "Dance Macabre" should be great for the reading of the Edgar Alan Poe story called "The Mask Of The Red Death". The song would fit the story pretty well, because it provides the dark, and spooky atmosphere of the story. This Cd is great for Halloween. Highly recommended. June 26, 2008

Excellent Spooky Classical & Stuff

I was very pleased with this purchase. Most of my Halloween/Spooky CD's have movie theme songs or just plain sound effects. This CD delves a bit deeper into the foray of frightful, classical compositions. It may be a bit slow for the younger crowd... possibly even a little dull for them. But for those who enjoy the more macabre classical selections then I definitely recommend this collection. November 8, 2007

Classic - Hold the Chills

This is a fine collection of mostly classical themes.
Some of them have nice creepy moments, but on the whole, it's just some solid music. Not something to buy if you want really "spooky" music, but worthwhile for some interesting listening. June 25, 2006

Packed with creepy stuff

This is an awesome album. It starts off with thunder crashing, running footsteps, a gate creaking, the wind howling, a cat screeching, a door opening, a woman crying that she needs help....and then SCREAMING! And then straight into track 2, the overture to 'The Phantom of the Opera'. Wow! The rest of the cd also features 'creepy' music from various sources, such as Alfred Hitchcock films, like Psycho, various classic works like Rimsky-Korsakov's 'Night on Bald Mountain', and also some other creepy sound effects. A good album not only for Halloween but I dare you to listen to it during a dark night with a thunderstorm raging outside. December 15, 2000

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