I'm not one to be depressed by sad music - it inspires me, but I don't have enough of it! I was wondering if anybody could recommend some sad music to me, Barber's 'Adagio for Strings' aside... It can be songs or classical music, whatever you like. Just something heart-wrenching.

The slow movement of Bach's double violin concerto

You should take a listen to "Funerailles" by Liszt. Listen to Martha Argerichs version.

The original manuscript of funerailles had "October 1849" written on, which was the month that Liszt's close friend Frédéric Chopin died, and funerailles is seen by many as the speech which Liszt would have made at Chopins funeral in musical form.
There is no actual proof though, that Liszt wrote the piece in memory of Chopin.

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?'

The other one which probably fits your bill a little more is the song 'Tired' from Vaughan Williams' Four Last Songs. The words were by Ursula and they were some of the last pieces he wrote before he died (It's the one that starts 'Sleep and I'll be still as another sleeper, holding you in my arms...')

David

Thanks guys, I'll have a look

Keep 'em coming! I've got 2 GB to spare!


Oh my That actually brought tears to my eyes! I cry at the drop of a hat though...

Tchaikovsky Symphony 6. One of the darkest and most poignment pieces of music ever written, centred around ideas of fate and death. It was premiered just a few days before Tchaikosky's own death, which was presumed to be by his own hand. Symphony's 4 and 5 also draw on fate mottos and the idea of struggles over darkness and death.

They are very short, but in terms of Choral music I think Solus ad Victimam by Kenneth Leighton and Lord Let Me Know Mine End by Maurice Greene (which has an beautiful sop and mezzo duet inthe middle) and Save Us, Oh Lord by Edward Bairstow. There are lots of very moving settings of the Nunc Dimittus (words start 'Lord now lettest Thou Thy servent depart in peace').

I've performed Stanford's 'Nunc Dimittis in G' and it was beautiful I hadn't thought of Tchaikovsky's symphonies though...

There's also an anthem called When to the Temple Mary Went but I can't remember who composed it. I've got the music, but it's at home and I'm at work.

Johannes Eccard? If that's the composer you're thinking of, then I agree very much!

Yes, I've just found it on youtube.

It's not sad (and is a bit off topic), but I've just been listening to Parry's I was Glad on youtube and it had the music scrolling across as well. I'm really pleased because I can still get a nice clean top Bb even though I haven't sung properly for nearly 18 months. I used to be okay up to a top D, but I'm very out of practice now, so that would probably be too ambitious.

Shostokovich - piano trio No. 2. A wonderful, desolate, work.

Mahler's Symphonies nos. 9 and 10. Not immediately 'sad' but heart-rending once you know them. Also Kurtag's 'Grabstein fur Stephan' is a terrifying portrayal of grief - I can barely listen to it for the impact it has on me.

Just my 2p

EDIT: Actuall Mahler 6 trumps all of them - devastating music. Especially the third (slow for the picky ones) movement.

Purcell's 'when I am laid in Earth' (I think it's called) from Dido and Aneas.

Has some rib-wobbling chords..

Rib-wobbling?! Nice description!

I'll check all these out later today

One random thought from the many buzzing to the forefront of my mind on this topic: Sweelinck's "Mein junges Leben hat ein End". Alison Balsom / Quentin Thomas's rendition of this on trumpet and organ is just exquisitely sad.

Plenty on the choral side, but I can never remember most of the names properly . These are a couple that I can remember:
Allegri's "Miserere"
Farrant's "Call to Remembrance"

As an aside, I always find it more moving to sing something in a minor key than a major one. Guess I must just be naturally melancholy - or should that be ??

What makes one person cry leaves the other stone-cold - very difficult ...

I really love Lisa Gerrard, I find her voice hauntingly touching, and she can emote without even using words (most of her music is sung in some made-up language). I'd recommend her albums The Silver Tree, Duality or The Mirror Pool
She's the only reason why I absolutely love the Gladiator-Soundtrack, and I still think it was an absolute cheek that she didn't 'qualify' for the Oscar and Hans Zimmer got it - I can't quite remember what exactly the problem was, but it was a co-operation, and he got the main credit.

The Moldau by Smetana

The theme tune to the film 'Champions', by Carl Davis (now used by the BBC in their coverage of the Grand National). Gets me every single time...

Another I thought of today is the first movement of Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances.

Beethoven's 7th, 2nd movement

I love this!

Gorecki - Symphony No.3

Yes that would be on my list too, particularly when you know what it commemorates/symbolises

Anything from the X Factor leaves me wanting to cry into a pint of beer....

Don't do that - you'll water it down!

you only specified songs or classical music, but might i suggest Niel Gow's Lament for the Death of His Second Wife (first tune)? originally composed by Scottish fiddler Niel Gow.

Of course! Any music's fine I can't listen to it now, but I will later.

Purcell - Music for the funeral of Queen Mary

Vocalise by Rachmaninov. I did this for my grade 6 violin and it was a struggle to keep it together and not start blubbing.

Elgar Dream of Gerontius.

Finzi Requiem de Camera (the words are poetry by I think Houseman amongst others describing how the English Landscape was affected by WW1)

I think it was Bairstow wrote an anthem including the text 'God shall wipe away all tears' which always gets me.

And I saw a new heaven ? ( Edgar Bainton, if that's the one!).

The Eccard motet - yes, one of my all time favourites. I have been known to play it at funerals.

I had the opportunity to sing in Gerontius (in the semi-chorus) this time last year - unforgettable.

Ah good choice. The Drum Recessional certainly puts a lump in my throat.

Lots of Mahler applies of course - 2nd, 8th and 9th in particular for me.

Oh and Frank Zappa's "Watermelon in Easter Hay" (have to get FZ in somehow).

Malcolm Arnold Symphony No 5. Written whilst he was grieving for four of his friends who died young, all within a short space of time. It's a roller coaster ride through the phases of grief and I always cry (usually more than once).

Bainton, of course, that's the one thank you. I once sang it in a church choir under very difficult circumstances and it was almost too much for me... and a few years later I remember seeing it was the anthem sang at the first Sunday service at St Paul's after 9/11 which seemed very poignant.

Piers Adams playing Rachmaninov's 'Vocalise' and von Paradis' 'Sicilienne'...and the Banchieri Singers singing 'Drop, Drop Slow Tears'...

*blub*

I've listened to quite a few of these now! It's been difficult to find some of them, but I'm sure I'll be able to hunt them down after a while

Thanks! Keep recommending if you have any more!

(To those who recommended 'Vocalise', I agree very much! It succeeded in reducing me to tears when I first heard it )

Two settings of 'When David heard that Absolom was slain' - now - working from memory - are they Weelkes and Tomkins? I think. we sang them both a year or two back - and it was very difficult to get through without voice ' breaking'. I found the most heartbreaking bit was when the minor tonality briefly turns on to a major chord near the end of one of them - absolutely devastating.

Eric Whitacre's setting of the same text is almost unbearable - although I haven't sung it. A musical howl of anguish might be a not inappropriate description.

Anything by piers lane is amazing. I have had the pleasure of being in an orchestra that accompanied him in a concert.

Try the slow movement of winter, it's short, sweet and sad. Also try violin romance played by patrick doyle.

I adore Eric Whitacre's version! I burst into tears when I first heard it... I really do cry at anything though! I would love to perform it.

You could try a song "when I am laid in earth" by Purcell, or for violin Chaconne for violin & continuo in G minor by Vitali (listen to sarah chang play this!) or song "she moved through the fair" trad, but with proper words which are "my dead love came to me" - not as most sing it with "dear" and include all verses. Going off classical - anything by Leonard Cohen will make you want to join the lemmings off a cliff!

No ones mentioned Beethoven yet. 'What!' I hear you say, 'Beethoven sad?!' but the Arioso (dolente) in his late A flat Piano Sonata (op110) is as sad as anything I have heard. I love playing it too. Of course there's also the funeral march in his other A flat Sonata Op 26 .

I personally love the theme from Schindler's List (JW).

Good one. According to Wagner the first movement of the Op131 string quartet "reveals the most melancholy sentiment ever expressed in music."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qslZVaz8MBE

It's very beautiful, but really that piece has never struck me as sad at all. Funny how music affects people in different ways. Often what kind of emotions we associate with specific pieces of music depends as much on what we personally associate them with (people we know or particular episodes in our lives, etc.) as anything else, I think.

Neither did I, although I've always thought it to be a beautiful piece. I can sort of see where Daisy's coming from though - I think it's the expression in the music and how the soloist interprets that.

The second movement from Chopin's Piano Concerto No.1 is very melancholic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAUKvaW7boU

another sad piece is the Albinoni Adagio in G minor.

Chopin's Etude in C#Minor (op.25, no.7) is really melancholy. Also, I agree with Solari's suggestion of 'Schindler's List'- my wife does a lovely performance of this on the violin and she generally never fails to reduce people to tears!