I find sad music to be very cathartic whenever I’m feeling down, so I’m searching for songs to put on a couple “release” CDs. I know there was a “sad songs” thread just a little while ago, but the posted songs almost all had lyrics, and I prefer instrumentals–it universalises the experience for me. If you’re curious what makes me sad, just check out Ashokan Farewell and Last of the Mohicans.
Moving thread from IMHO to Cafe Society.
Don’t know if it’s still available, but if you’re interested in baroque instrumental music, try to get your hands on “Night’s Black Bird” by Fretwork. I put it on when I’m down, for much the reason you mention.
Another one is Mozart’s Requiem.
Barber’s Adagio for Strings (theme from Platoon) is often played at funerals. Stately but sad.
I’ll second that one. If you’re looking for a different take on that song, check out William Orbit’s version of it on his “Pieces in a Modern Style” album.
I’ll throw out New Order’s “Elegia”. The name alone says sad to me.
Well, it’s only half a song, but I’ve always thought that the second (instrumental) half of Entangled by Genesis would be very cathartic at a (my?) funeral.
There are a number of passages in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, particularly the ending, which qualify.
Beethoven’s String Quartet in C-Sharp Minor, Opus 131, is freaking depressing.
And, for something more contemporary, you should check out A Silver Mount Zion’s A Shaft of Light Slowly Bends Around the Corner of My Room (or something equally pretenious, it’s typed from memory.) Although it does revel in pretension, the album was written for the singer’s dog who died, and only one track on the entire album has lyrics. Every track is like a funeral procession crashing through a children’s daycare.
The full title, having looked it up, is “He Has Left Us Alone but Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corners of Our Rooms.”
Old-timer checking in.
Wonderland by Night by Bert Kaempfert always depresses me, and Sukiyaki by Kyu Sakamoto – I don’t understand Japanese, but I know his girlfriend must have just died.
“Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers” by Jeff Beck.
Oops. Sorry. Sukiyaki isn’t an instrumental.
I get all melancholy when I listen to Jorden Ingman’s version of Apache and the Ramrods’ doing Ghost Riders in the Sky. Whole cultures disappeared, and I think the songs evoke that loss.
I haven’t heard that one, but the second movement of his seventh symphony is very sad.
Incident at Neshabur, by Carlos Santana
Tom Waits’ “Just Another Sucker on the Vine” off of Swordfishtrombones. A nice (but short) little piece of sad whiskey-drinkin’ carnival music.
Circus of Regrets - Béla Fleck
Watermelon in Easter Hay by Frank Zappa, off Joe’s Garage.
Mozart’s Requiem, except that it has lyrics.
Beethoven’s Moonlight and Pathetique sonatas
Adagio for Strings. Natch.
Chopin’s Funeral March
Funeral March #1 performed by “119th NYSV Field Music” is a little gem I found on iTunes, by accident—I’m pretty sure it’s the march you hear in Ken Burns’ The Civil War, during one of the scenes of Lincoln’s funeral(s).
Home Coming and the instrumental version of It’s A Long Road from the First Blood soundtrack.
Movement I from Vangelis’ El Greco
Across the Stars from the Attack of the Clones soundtrack.
The main theme to Gary Larson’s Tales from the Far Side
He’s My Friend from the Predator soundtrack.
A number of Yoko Kanno’s works.
Holst’s Saturn, Bringer of Old Age
Itzak Perlman and John Williams - the theme to Schindler’s List. Breaks my heart every time.
The first time I heard this was the first time I experienced the effect music could have on emotion. (I was pretty young at the time.)
Coltrane’s version of *My Favorite Things * always makes me sad, but that may be more about the loss of Coltrane than the music.
A lot of Go (Stomu Yamashta / Steve Winwood / Michael Shrieve) is melancholy, but it is difficult to seperate the vocal from the instrumental. (The CD I have (The Go Sessions) is tracked one track for each side of the album.)
Gorecki’s 3rd Symphony, first movement.