# What is the Most Romantic Music **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 17, 2001, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-romantic-music/62271 "2001-04-17T11:41:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rue\_DeDay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/41988e/32.png) [@Rue\_DeDay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rue_DeDay)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2001, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-romantic-music/62271/1 "2001-04-17T11:41:35Z")
The Little Woman and my copy of _The Anvil Chorus_ is getting a bit thin, and that got me wondering “What would be just the best romantical music I could get?” So I turn to you. What do you think is the Music of Romance? Be it classical, jazz, bluegrass, insrumental or lyrical: whatever.\* \*Any one who says “Kenny G” will get a black mark on their Permanent Record, and upon their Grizzly Death will be plunged to the Deepest Pit of the Most Firey Hell Imaginable. No exceptions. The same for John Tesh. Only more so. ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2001, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-romantic-music/62271/2 "2001-04-17T12:40:37Z")
Vaughan Williams “Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis” - Long: about 16 minutes of string orchestra, unfolding like a blossoming rose, and two very nice climaxes (in the music). Wagner “Siegfried Idyll” - Another long one: strong but not bombastic, nice variations in the melodies. Hey, it’s Wagner without the voices. Ravel “Bolero” - 10 - 15 minutes, depending on the recording: eh, it’s nice but overrated. It only gets louder, no variation in speed until the very end, and is usually played WAY too fast. Not to mention the “bom bodida bom bodida bom bom bom bodida bom bodida etc.” gets on my tiny little nerves arfter awhile. Then again, get some Gregorian chants, light a small candle and pretend your’re in the dark recesses of an abbey/cloister/monestary/church. [Or is that TMI?] (I’ll have to check my CD library at home for more) ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2001, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-romantic-music/62271/3 "2001-04-17T12:58:16Z")
My vote goes to “John Coltrane and Johhny Hartman.” (1963) As far as I know it was the only time Coltrane recorded with a vocalist, and Hartman’s vocals mesh with Coltrane’s sax in what can only be descibed as perfect musicianship. I see it’s available now as an remastered original recording. Check out the songs: 1. They Say It’s Wonderful 2. Dedicated To You 3. My One And Only 4. Lush Life 5. You Are Too Beautiful 6. Autumn Serenade If you can’t get lucky with this playing in the background, put away the wine, roses and candles. There’s no hope! ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2001, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-romantic-music/62271/4 "2001-04-17T13:17:25Z")
Well, hot dang. I was gonna say Vaughan Williams’s “Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis…” but I see that once again, Screech-owl has beat me to it. You can find it and other great, slow romantic music on [this](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000025TX/qid=987513347/sr=1-6/ref=sc_m_7/107-5229622-7701320) CD. ---
**Author:** ![pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9bcb4/32.png) [@pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pagan)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2001, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-romantic-music/62271/5 "2001-04-17T13:30:59Z")
Check out Portisheads first disc, “Dummy” 30s-style torch jazz with some 90s techno overtones to it. Definately music to get sweaty and sticky with (Esp. the songs ‘Sour Times’ and ‘Glory Box’). Or you could put on Ministry’s ‘Filth Pig’ real loud, and just get nasty. This may not appeal to you, but I sometimes get strange ideas of what constitutes “romantic”… ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2001, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-romantic-music/62271/6 "2001-04-17T13:34:46Z")
Anything by Al Green or Barry White is apt to get me in the mood… ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2001, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-romantic-music/62271/7 "2001-04-17T13:56:17Z")
[Marilyn Monroe voice]: Rachmaninoff! The second piano concerto! It shakes me—it quakes me—it makes me feel goose-pimply all over! I don’t know who I am—or where I am—or what I’m doing! Don’t stop—don’t stop—don’t ever stop! ---
**Author:** ![Rue\_DeDay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/41988e/32.png) [@Rue\_DeDay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rue_DeDay)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2001, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-romantic-music/62271/8 "2001-04-18T12:17:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by screech-owl \* > **Vaughan Williams “Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis” - Long: about 16 minutes of string orchestra, unfolding like a blossoming rose, and two very nice climaxes (in the music).** Long? 16 minutes is long? This is romance, and you think 16 minutes is a LONG time? Wow, you must be one popular date. And that Gregorian Chant/abbey/cloister/monestary/church thing goin’ on… Oh, wait…16 minutes for one piece of music…yeah, I guess that is a little timey… And Coltrane… Hmmmmmm… Think I’ll skip Ministry’s ‘Filth Pig’, though. I’m an old man after all. With a trick back. Don’t wanna sieze up. Could be embarrassing. Thanks all. Keep 'em coming. Er… if you have any more ideas I’d like to hear them. ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2001, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-romantic-music/62271/9 "2001-04-18T12:56:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rue DeDay \* > \*\*Long? 16 minutes is long? This is romance, and you think 16 minutes is a LONG time? … > > Oh, wait…16 minutes for one piece of music…yeah, I guess that is a little timey…\*\* Not to mention I have a 5 disc CD changer with random play and repeat. Basically, we’re talking about 16 minutes out of a full-fledged marathon. 'Kay? Oh, and add my to list: Wagner - “Lohengrin” - Prelude to Act I. Very nice. Most of Bruckner’s symphonies are good for the long haul, also. My fav is #4, “Romantic” CAVEAT: Mahler’s “Kindertotenlieder” is “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” of the classical world - kills any romantic mood instantly on contact. I had the player cued up wrong. Trust me on this one. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2001, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-romantic-music/62271/10 "2001-04-19T01:41:10Z")
Skip _Bolero_. Even Ravel didn’t like it that much! Get his music for the ballet _Daphnis and Chloe_. It’s the most sensuous music I’ve ever heard. It comes in two suites or the full ballet. Get the latter. Also, it was written to include a wordless chorus (think ahs and hums). Make sure the recording you get uses a chorus, because sometimes the piece is recorded without one. ---
**Author:** ![Orual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orual](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orual)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2001, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-romantic-music/62271/11 "2001-04-19T02:48:23Z")
_Adagio for Strings_ by Samuel Barber. (I know , I know, I’ve never seen _Platoon_ and I never intend to, for I know it will ruin this song for me, which I won’t let happen) _Toccata and Fugue in D minor_ by J.S. Bach _Swan Lake_ Tchaikovsky Chopin’s _Prelude #15_ (The Raindrop Prelude) actually, any of Chopin’s piano preludes. Debussy’s _Clair de Lune_ This one makes me go all warm and fuzzy when I play it. Ohh… I wish dorm rooms came with pianos… ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2001, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-romantic-music/62271/12 "2001-04-20T02:26:03Z")
More: _Un Sospiro_, concert etude #3 for piano by Franz Liszt. _Caprice Viennois_ by Fritz Kreisler for violin and piano. Ravel’s _Valses Nobles et Sentimentales_ for solo piano. Lots of Ravel’s music is good. Debussy’s 3 Nocturnes for orchestra. Lots of Debussy’s piano music (except the overdone _Reverie_). If you want to start getting into opera, there’s even more. Puccini’s _La Boheme_ is an obvious choice. The aria “Au fond du temple saint” from Bizet’s opera “The Pearl Fishers” is excellent. It was used in a movie a few years ago. Re Platoon: it didn’t ruin the Barber for me, but YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2001, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-romantic-music/62271/13 "2001-04-21T01:06:20Z")
I’m with pagan on this one, but if you’re looking for something more conventionally romantic, get The Best of The Platters, you’ll thank me later. ---
**Author:** ![Suo\_Na](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@Suo\_Na](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suo_Na)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2001, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-romantic-music/62271/14 "2001-04-21T16:15:41Z")
This sounds weird, but when you hear it you’ll understand: _Hush_ by Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin. Except for one track (which is fun), it’s beautiful, quiet, romantic, and unusual. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2001, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-romantic-music/62271/15 "2001-04-22T00:47:57Z")
For real romance, these are hard to top: “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” – the Gershwins “I Only Have Eyes For You” – Warren/Dubin (though this is often performed slow and sappy, unfortunately – find the original from “Dames”) “The Way You Look Tonight” – Jerome Kern “Let’s Face the Music and Dance” – Irving Berlin. There’s a very sexy version of it in Kenneth Branagh’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost” “I Get a Kick Out of You” – Cole Porter “'Til There Was You” – Meredith Willson “Sue Me” – Frank Loesser ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-romantic-music/62271/16 "2001-04-23T00:29:54Z")
Scott Hamilton on tenor sax. Narada Decade Album. (Instrumental) The Enchanted Isles, Carol Thompson (on neo-Celtic harp) Warren Vache on cornet Kevin Mahogany ---
**Author:** ![hardygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@hardygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hardygrrl)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2001, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-romantic-music/62271/17 "2001-04-23T03:04:46Z")
Depeche Mode…the songs A Question of Trust.Strangelove and Enjoy the Silence. Or for those more frantic moments…you can’t go wrong with the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Nine Inch Nails. ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2001, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-romantic-music/62271/18 "2001-04-24T03:51:15Z")
Fragile, like a baby in your arms hardygrrl… ---
**Author:** ![dlb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@dlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dlb)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2001, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-romantic-music/62271/19 "2001-04-24T09:37:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by arisu \* > _Adagio for Strings_ by Samuel Barber. (I know , I know, I’ve never seen _Platoon_ and I never intend to, for I know it will ruin this song for me, which I won’t let happen) Well, you took mine. I will therefore be severe with you. > [@](#): > > _Toccata and Fugue in D minor_ by J.S. Bach > > _Swan Lake_ Tchaikovsky Trite, I tell you! Overdone. You must branch out. > [@](#): > > Chopin’s _Prelude #15_ (The Raindrop Prelude) actually, any of Chopin’s piano preludes. Nonsense. Go for the nocturnes. They make me melt. My insides turn liquid. > [@](#): > > Debussy’s _Clair de Lune_ This one makes me go all warm and fuzzy when I play it. Trite, trite, trite! _La Cathedrale Engloutie_! Now **that** will make the hardest heart turn into a little puddle of emotional waste. Sublime! Seriously, all your selections are at least as good; I just had to get mine in as well. But since you took my best one, I had to pretend to be testy about it. I’ll take anything here. ---
**Author:** ![hardygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@hardygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hardygrrl)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2001, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-romantic-music/62271/20 "2001-04-24T12:03:19Z")
Almost forgot 2 songs by Liz Phair… Flower and Supernova. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-romantic-music/62271.md?page=2)