Full Version: Sad Music...
For me the saddest piece of music is the beginning of the second movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 23 not helped by the fact that they used it to accompany Mozart's funeral scene in a series about Mozart's life shown on German TV a few years ago.
A few non-classical, most of which I believe are on youtube, sorry for lack of links but it's currently not working for me 
Hold On by Rosie Doonan - She also has the most amazing voice and the rest of her stuff is well worth checking out.
America by Uiscedwr - Seeing Anna sing this live nearly had me in tears
If you can find a decent recording, there's a song that a friend sings called Roses in December, which I believe is by Ian Walker. It's about the Falklands war, written from a teenage girl's perspective and I find it practically impossible to listen to without crying, which can be slightly embarrasing in the middle of a session...
A few of the songs from Titanic the Musical, either because they are at face value very sad or because you know what is going to happen
I'm sure I'll think of a few more as well as soon as I click reply
Hold On by Rosie Doonan - She also has the most amazing voice and the rest of her stuff is well worth checking out.
America by Uiscedwr - Seeing Anna sing this live nearly had me in tears
If you can find a decent recording, there's a song that a friend sings called Roses in December, which I believe is by Ian Walker. It's about the Falklands war, written from a teenage girl's perspective and I find it practically impossible to listen to without crying, which can be slightly embarrasing in the middle of a session...
A few of the songs from Titanic the Musical, either because they are at face value very sad or because you know what is going to happen
I'm sure I'll think of a few more as well as soon as I click reply
QUOTE(dcmbarton @ Oct 27 2009, 10:48 PM) 
Gosh that's hard! I think that for me, the sadness is usually in the association rather than the music itself. On that basis, the one that springs to mind for me is Howells' Hymnus Pardisi - the music isn't necessarily sad, but what is sad is the story which goes that when Howells was dying, it came on the radio and he didn't recognise it. As far as I can remember, Ursula left him listening to it, and when she came back there were just tears streaming down his face and he said 'Did I write that?'
Also, don't forget that Howells wrote Hymnus Paradisi as a requiem in memory of his son who died from polio aged 9. Howells never really got over it.
Howells does sad well. There is also the Elegy for Viola, String Quartet and String Orchestra, about which Howells himself said (rather immodestly, one might think) "if there is better music to express mourning, I have yet to hear it". Among his songs there are one or two beautifully sad ones: There was a Maiden; Lost Love; O Garlands Hanging by the Doors; King David. The last is well-known; the others might be more difficult to find (they once appeared on a Hyperion double CD of Howells's songs).
One gloriously sob-worthy bit of Purcell not yet mentioned: the anthem Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my crying come unto thee.
The first movement of the Elgar Cello Concerto.
John Dowland's song I saw my lady weep.
Not at all sad - quite the opposite actually - but well known for making people want to cry through its sheer beauty is Sir W H Harris's double-choir anthem Faire is the heaven.
Sad, but in a comforting, hopeful sort of way, is the Requiem by Maurice Duruflé. It mood is very similar to Fauré's Requiem, but with luscious, impressionistic harmony. Try the full orchestral version since this has the richest colours (there are also versions for small orchestra and for organ accompaniment only).
Good to see Purcell, amongst other British composers, cropping up a lot in this thread..... what a sad, mournful bunch we must be !
My shortlist of choices for title of 'the most heart-wrenchingly sad music of all time' are...
Vocal / Choral
Hildegard von Bingen 'O Euchari, In Leta Via' (Elin Manahan Thomas - soprano)
Dowland 'Flow my Tears' (EMT again)
Dowland 'Weepe You No More, Sad Fountaines' (yes, EMT yet again)
Tallis 'With All Our Heart'
Tallis 'I Call and Cry to Thee, O Lord'
Purcell 'O Solitude' (James Bowman - counter tenor)
Purcell 'O How Blest is the Isle' from 'Why are all the Muses mute?' (Mark Padmore - tenor solo)
Purcell 'Close Thine Eyes'
Purcell 'When I am Laid in Earth' (obvious really)
Handel 'Verdi Prati'
Handel 'He Was Despised' from 'Messiah'
Instrumental
Chopin 'Piano Concerto no 2' - second movement
Berg 'Violin Concerto - in memory of an Angel' (seems strange I know, but it has it own story)
Shostakovich 'Piano Concerto no 2' - second movement
Glass 'Violin Concerto' - second movement
Gorecki 'Symphony no 3 (of Sorrowful Songs)'
Arvo Part 'Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten'
Arvo Part 'Spiegel im Spiegel' (Tamsin Little - violin)
Fascinating how the Ground Bass is often the chosen form behind so much sad music...
denmark
My shortlist of choices for title of 'the most heart-wrenchingly sad music of all time' are...
Vocal / Choral
Hildegard von Bingen 'O Euchari, In Leta Via' (Elin Manahan Thomas - soprano)
Dowland 'Flow my Tears' (EMT again)
Dowland 'Weepe You No More, Sad Fountaines' (yes, EMT yet again)
Tallis 'With All Our Heart'
Tallis 'I Call and Cry to Thee, O Lord'
Purcell 'O Solitude' (James Bowman - counter tenor)
Purcell 'O How Blest is the Isle' from 'Why are all the Muses mute?' (Mark Padmore - tenor solo)
Purcell 'Close Thine Eyes'
Purcell 'When I am Laid in Earth' (obvious really)
Handel 'Verdi Prati'
Handel 'He Was Despised' from 'Messiah'
Instrumental
Chopin 'Piano Concerto no 2' - second movement
Berg 'Violin Concerto - in memory of an Angel' (seems strange I know, but it has it own story)
Shostakovich 'Piano Concerto no 2' - second movement
Glass 'Violin Concerto' - second movement
Gorecki 'Symphony no 3 (of Sorrowful Songs)'
Arvo Part 'Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten'
Arvo Part 'Spiegel im Spiegel' (Tamsin Little - violin)
Fascinating how the Ground Bass is often the chosen form behind so much sad music...
denmark
Forgot to mention Jaqueline Du-Pre's rendition of the slow movement of the Elgar cello concerto.
On the popular song front, I remember being moved by Streisand singing a song called 'You don't bring me flowers'. (not sure who wrote it
)
On the popular song front, I remember being moved by Streisand singing a song called 'You don't bring me flowers'. (not sure who wrote it
)
Alfred Schnittke's Piano Quintet - written after the death of his mother. Pretty heart-rending stuff.
I never expected to get this many recommendations - I'm having trouble looking them all up! 
Seriously though, there are some really beautiful pieces amongst all these ideas. 
Seriously though, there are some really beautiful pieces amongst all these ideas.
Oh! So many have been mentioned already, but of ones I can think of at this particular moment in time which I do not think have been mentioned...
Greig: Solveig's Song and Ingrid's Lament. Solveig's Song in particular is beautiful.
Wagner: Funeral Music at the Death of Seigfried (played this at orchestra recently and thought it was marvellous).
Tchaikovsky: Serenade Melancolique
Mozart: Ach Ich Fuhls http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53RwokMkgqk
Dvorak: Song to The Moon. Not necessarily obviously sad to listen to, I always think there's an incredible warmth to it, but when you consider it's the song of a young girl yearning for a love and life that can never be her's, I think it qualifies as sad! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSoa-xuFPh4&feature=fvw
Greig: Solveig's Song and Ingrid's Lament. Solveig's Song in particular is beautiful.
Wagner: Funeral Music at the Death of Seigfried (played this at orchestra recently and thought it was marvellous).
Tchaikovsky: Serenade Melancolique
Mozart: Ach Ich Fuhls http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53RwokMkgqk
Dvorak: Song to The Moon. Not necessarily obviously sad to listen to, I always think there's an incredible warmth to it, but when you consider it's the song of a young girl yearning for a love and life that can never be her's, I think it qualifies as sad! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSoa-xuFPh4&feature=fvw
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