Halloween is that one holiday that has many soundtracks. If you’re a family with young kids, it probably sounds like Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin or Danny Elfman’s Frankenweenie. If you are someone who likes Fall and scarecrows but not the Grim Reaper, then maybe The Addams Family or Beetlejuice is the way to go. But for those who like a good scare, there’s an enormous amount of material out there that will ensure that you lose sleep for days.
On Music from the Movies, we’ll look at the musical sounds that cause this fear in films. Psycho is one of those films that can’t be forgotten. Even if you don’t know much about film music, the sounds of Bernard Herrmann‘s screeching violins are sure to be remembered by all who watched it.
Herrmann opened up a sonic world for film composers of the future. He has helped most “horror” composers achieve new levels of fright with the unconventional use of conventional instruments.
One modern composer who admired the music of Bernard Herrmann is composer Douglas Pipes. His score for Trick ‘r Treat helped director Michael Dougherty shape the film. Along with producer Bryan Singer (X-Men), Dougherty relied on Pipes to find a voice that would give the film the feel they were looking for.
Tune in this weekend to find out more about this score and to explore other scores that walk on the scary side.
Music from the Movies is on-air Saturdays at 7pm and Sundays at 5pm on Classical 91.7.