Eerie Harmonies, Ghostly Melodies, Uncanny Symphonies

Abstract

The classical music genre throughout its long history has often been distinguished by its sombre funereal themes and atmosphere, as well as its supernatural and fantastic motifs. Yet, it was in the late eighteenth century that music started to depict more explicit gothic and dark supernatural tropes by composers who were, naturally, influenced by the gothic literature of that period, the Romantic movement, and the fascination with death and the supernatural that prevailed among authors and artists during the nineteenth century. In this context, the purpose of this chapter is to explore the various representations of the Gothic and the uncanny in works of classical music from the late eighteenth until the early twentieth century.