I need epic music.

December 17, 2006 3:40 PM

1812OvertureFilter: I need epic music.

The 1812 Overture! At its apex, it's an astounding, epic song that makes me positively tingle.

What other music makes you do this? Or, rather, more music like the 1812 Overture!

It doesn't necessarily have to be classical (i'm a huge fan of post-rock and the like, which tends to do the same thing).

Epic.

posted by Lockeownzj00 to media & arts (46 comments total)

This may not fit the criteria of the style you describe, but the live versioin of "Comfortably Numb" as captured on the PULSE CD and DVD by Pink Floyd gives me the tingles almost every time. The guitar solo builds to an incredible climax. I never get tired of it.
posted by The Deej at 3:52 PM on December 17, 2006

This is why, I think, there is such a significant following with OST (original sound tracks / movie scores)

For me, the heavy hitter, goosebump-raising movies scores..

Hans Zimmer - Crimson Tide OST
John Barry - Dances With Wolves OST
James Horner - Glory OST

To name a few..
posted by vanoakenfold at 3:52 PM on December 17, 2006

Godspeed You Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas Towards the Heavens.

But you probably already knew that.
posted by dobie at 3:59 PM on December 17, 2006

The final movement of the "Organ Symphony" by Saint Saens
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 4:08 PM on December 17, 2006

O Fortuna. (Link goes to some weirdo anime thing on youtube. The important thing is the background music)

Ride of the Valkyries

Also sprach Zarathustra

All three have been co-opted by Hollywood, but so has the 1812 overture. Hollywood knows epic when they hear it.
posted by IvyMike at 4:11 PM on December 17, 2006

Beethoven's 9th, particularly the 4th movement.
posted by dilettante at 4:17 PM on December 17, 2006

Verdi's Requiem will get your attention.
posted by geekyguy at 4:28 PM on December 17, 2006

"The threatened cloud has passed away" from The Mikado. Start with the song before it, "With aspect stern and gloomy stride." It builds really beautifully and always gives me tingles when the chorus really gets going (when they get to "with joyous shout and ringing cheer...").
posted by not that girl at 4:30 PM on December 17, 2006 [1 favorite]

Barber's Adadgio for Strings. It is so simple and yet so moving. You have probaly heard this music before. It is quite popular and has appeared in a good deal of pop culture, such as the Vietnam movie Platoon where it was prominently featured.

Jazz composer Hugh Fraser has a mindblowing CD called Big Works that you should check out.

A lot of wind ensemble material by Robert W Smith fits the bill as well. His compositions, which are certainly epic, are often performed by high school field bands.
posted by PercussivePaul at 4:44 PM on December 17, 2006

Dare I say it? Pretty much *anything* by John Williams would fit the bill. As craptacular as the first prequel was, "The Duel of the Fates" is a spine-chiller. "The Raiders March" is still epic all these years later.

I'd also throw John Phillip Sousa into the fray ...
posted by GatorDavid at 4:51 PM on December 17, 2006

More stuff:

Certain arrangements of the Song of the Volga Boatmen. There's one by the Red Army Choir (and the same arrangement was done at some point by the Leningrad Cowboys) that might fit your description.

More Tchaikovsy: Marche Slave.

There's probably some Dvorak that would fit, as well - maybe the 7th, or parts of it.
posted by dilettante at 4:54 PM on December 17, 2006

Late 90's / early 00's prog trance does this, especially as heard in the Global Underground CD series. Most of it is downright silly, but it's very functional music pushing all the right "epic" buttons: big buildups, whooshing sounds, high tempo. Dave Seaman live on St. Patrick's Day 2001 (should finish uploading in ~30 minutes) might be an interesting example, especially when the crowd gets really drunk & rowdy and he drops MLK's I Have A Dream towards the end.
posted by migurski at 4:58 PM on December 17, 2006

Oh hell - YouTube really does have everything. Song of the Volga Boatmen, performed by the Red Army Choir and the Leningrad Cowboys. Sorry I didn't look before I posted earlier.
posted by dilettante at 5:02 PM on December 17, 2006

"O Fortuna" is from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. The whole thing can sound either incredibly spooky or Epic and Wagnerian. Which leads to a few more:

Wagner: "Die Walküre" (Ride of the Valkyries)
Wagner: Tannhauser overture
Beethoven: (Particularly the finale to his) 9th Symphony (Ode to Joy)
Gustav Holst: Planets has lots of cool stuff. I've always liked "Saturn"
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 5:10 PM on December 17, 2006

Very much seconding
O Fortuna
Also Sprach Zarathustra
Duel of the Fates

Also
some of James Horner's Titanic OST, especially
Take Her To Sea, Mr Murdoch (I'm not ashamed to admit this - it's beautiful!)
Haendel's Sarabande from Harpsichorde Suite in D Minor
Basil Poledouris - Hymn from Hunt for Red October (by the above mentioned Red Army Choir)
posted by ClarissaWAM at 5:14 PM on December 17, 2006

Godspeed You Black Emperor - F#A#00 (MUCH more so, to me, than Lift Your Skinny Fists)

E.S. Posthumous - Unearthed (definitely)

Bach - Tocatta & Fugue (duh.)

Sorten Muld - songs: Roselil Rose, Tor af Hafsgaard

Hans Zimmer - Gladiator soundtrack
posted by dmaterialized at 5:34 PM on December 17, 2006

And getting away from classical:
Flash Gordon Theme - Queen


Flash! A-AHHHHH!!!!
posted by Thrillhouse at 5:38 PM on December 17, 2006

The soundtrack to Conan the Barbarian, by the recently deceased Basil Poledouris.
posted by adipocere at 6:29 PM on December 17, 2006

Flight of the Valkyries!!!
posted by vito90 at 6:57 PM on December 17, 2006

How about Richard Rogers' Victory at Sea? Lots of samples on the link to help you decide. It was one of Richard Nixon's favorites, if that helps.
posted by Opposite George at 7:05 PM on December 17, 2006

Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, the last part called the "Great Gates of Kiev". It's hugen, take together with the buildup from the rest of the sections.

More modern, I get the feeling you describe with Radiohead's "The Tourist" for some reason.
posted by ontic at 7:10 PM on December 17, 2006

The Polovetsian Dances from "Prince Igor" by Borodin.

The Royal Hunt and Chase from "Les Troyens" (Berlioz).

Suite from "Die Frau ohne Schatten" by Richard Strauss.

Siegfriend's Funeral March from "Gotterdammerung" by Wagner.

"Dies Irae" from the Verdi "Requiem."

First movement of "Symphony of a Thousand" (Mahler)
posted by La Cieca at 7:15 PM on December 17, 2006

Dvorak's Symphony no 9 ("From the New World). Most specifically the 4th movement "Allegro con fuoco". Guaranteed to induce goosebumps. If you ignore the horrific dance, you can YouTube it here.

On the rock/post-rock bent, I recommend Smashing Pumpkins. Specifically "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness", blending into "Tonight, Tonight", which happen to be the first two tracks from the dual album called "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness"
posted by pivotal at 7:15 PM on December 17, 2006

OSTs are great for this of course, but one of my favorites is the "Kissing In The Rain" sequence from Patrick Doyle's "Great Expectations" soundtrack (especially if you start with the track before it, "I Saw No Shadow). It is one of the biggest romantic crescendos and dimenuendos I can recall.

Though it's "quiet," I consider Hovanhess's "Mysterious Mountain" pretty epic -- "sweeping" is perhaps a better word.

Eric Wolfgang Korngold, an Austrian composer who went to Hollywood to escape the Nazis, composed a ton of film scores for Warner Brothers, including Robin Hood and The Sea Wolf. There are various recordings of his film, symphonic and operatic work available (though I think the best soundtrack re-recordings are those done by Charles Gerhart and the National Philharmonic made in the 70s). A lot of scores from the 30s and 40s have potential material you might try mining.
posted by lhauser at 7:47 PM on December 17, 2006

Copland's Fanfare For The Common Man.
posted by spasm at 7:58 PM on December 17, 2006

You might like other big bombastic 19th and 20th century orchestral music. Especially by Russian composers! Highlights include:

Tchaikovsky- Symphonies 4 and 6; Romeo and Juliet Overture; Piano Concerto
Prokofiev- Romeo and Juliet
Shostakovich- Symphony No 5. Almost anything by him actually
Rachmaninov- Symphonic Dances; Piano Concertos 2 and 3.
Stravinsky- Firebird, Rite of Spring, Petrushka.
Khachaturian- Suite from Gayenah, Suite from Spartacus, Violin Concerto
Mozart- Requiem
Respighi- Pines of Rome
Sibelius- First and Second Symphonies, Violin Concerto
I second the Orff- Carmina Burana, Holst- Planets Suite and Verdi Requiem mentioned above also.

Plenty of Italian Opera has that effect too: Madame Butterfly, Tosca, and Turandot for example. But you might not get the benefit of it unless you listen to the whole thing. That goes for most of this list come to think of it. They'll often come to a climax sort of towards the end though.
posted by Coaticass at 8:11 PM on December 17, 2006

March to the Scaffold.
In the Hall of the Mountain King.
Much of the Star Wars soundtrack.
posted by dagnyscott at 8:13 PM on December 17, 2006

Shostakovich's Eleventh Symphony has extraordinary power as pure music, which is only heightened if you know what it's about.

Like all great epics, it is loaded not only with sound and fury but with moments of exquisite emotional detail -- the lifting of spirits in a protest crowd that is just realizing its numbers; its sudden panic upon not knowing what comes next. Shostakovich still takes flak for this piece (as for all his commemorations of revolutionary events in Russia), but this is not a paean to the glorious regime; it's a blunt exposition of the fact that injustice provokes redress. In less (currently) politicized contexts, that fact has been taken as the definition of tragedy.
posted by aws17576 at 8:28 PM on December 17, 2006

- climax of Act II, Don Giovanni, Mozart
- triumphal scene, Aida, Verdi
- anvil chorus, Il Trovatore, Verdi
- Night on Bald Mountain, Mussorgsky
- overture to Mefistofele, Boito
- Lieutenant Kijé Suite, Prokofiev

also, Ride of the Bumblebee
posted by rob511 at 8:54 PM on December 17, 2006

Definately nth-ing E.S. Posthumous. Also "Un Bel Di Vedremo" from Madama Butterfly, Queen's "Who Wants to Live Forever?", and "The Journey" by Tommy Emmanuel.
posted by ninazer0 at 10:43 PM on December 17, 2006

Oh, and just about everything from Howard Shore that he did for Lord of the Rings - I spend most of the movies with my hair on end from the score and to hell with the action on screen.
posted by ninazer0 at 10:45 PM on December 17, 2006

More Tchaikovsky as mentioned. the Romeo and Juliet Overture as mentioned/
posted by Neiltupper at 11:27 PM on December 17, 2006

Nth-ing O Fortuna. Damn song makes my spine shiver.
posted by Totally Zanzibarin' Ya at 12:11 AM on December 18, 2006

Wagner and Beethoven in general.

Siegfried's funeral march from Gotterdamerung and the 9th symphony to be more specific.
posted by Pollomacho at 12:38 AM on December 18, 2006

Explosions in the Sky

Check them out on YouTube.
posted by nineRED at 7:16 AM on December 18, 2006

Respighi's Church Windows (Vetrate di Chiesa), in particular the second movement, St. Michael Archangel.

Nth-ing O Fortuna and much of the rest of Orff's Trittico Teatrale (Carmina Burana, the source of O Fortuna; Catulli Carmina; and Trionfo di Afrodite)

Carl Nielsen, in particular his Symphony No. 4 "The Inextinguishable."

You may find Alan Hovhaness's Symphony No. 50 "Mount St. Helens" interesting.

Also, seriously, listen to almost anything by Mahler. Symphonies 1 through 3 are good starting points.
posted by musicinmybrain at 7:47 AM on December 18, 2006

Seconding Explosions in the Sky, and adding Sigur Ros (try Glosoli - it starts quiet, but it builds).
posted by vytae at 8:12 AM on December 18, 2006

The orchestral version of Clint Mansell's (Requiem for a Dream OST) 'Lux Aeterna' which they recorded for 'The Two Towers' trailer is pretty epic.

I'm also a huge fan of Michael Gordon's 'Industry'
posted by TwoWordReview at 8:13 AM on December 18, 2006

Oh, and for classical music, most anything on the Classical Thunder CDs will fit.
posted by vytae at 8:14 AM on December 18, 2006

Scheherezade, Rimsky-Korsakov

Mahler's Second Symphony ("Resurrection")

nth for Siegfried's Funeral March from Wagner's Götterdämmerung

nth for Beethoven, esp. Symphonies 5, 6, 7 and 9

Symphonie Fantastique, Berlioz

Powaqqatsi soundtrack, Philip Glass (all three of the 'qatsi soundtracks are good, but Powaqqatsi best fits the criteria of this question, IMO)

John Williams has justly been mentioned above, and in addition to his works already recommended I'll add "Call of the Champions" which he composed for the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics. It can be found on the American Journey CD.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 9:35 AM on December 18, 2006

Sibelius's Finlandia and Ravel's Bolero.

Benjamin Britten's A Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra is also excellent. A version without narration is better for your purposes, I think.
posted by that girl at 11:16 AM on December 18, 2006

Men of Harlech when done by a men's choir. The version from the movie Zulu is pretty good.

Hallelujah from Handel's Messiah.

Journey of the Sorcerer by The Eagles. Not exactly overwhelming like the 1812 Overture, but epic in that it depicts a story. Starts out slow, builds to a crescendo as the orchestra kicks in, and ends with a processional. Main instrument is a banjo. If you saw Hitchhiker's Guide, you heard part of this song.
posted by forrest at 1:19 PM on December 18, 2006

I vote for the OST "Roar of the Earth" as featured in the game Shadow of the Colossus for the PS2. Some quiet, creepy choral stuff, and some huge, crazy we're-all-doomed battle music. In particular, "The Opened Way," "Revived Power," or that one bit in "Prologue" that's about 2:12 in.

(I'll admit it probably helps to have played the game, as often when I listen to the music from a particular battle I will have the proper image of one tiny little man against a hulking monstrosity...)
posted by Monster_Zero at 4:27 PM on December 18, 2006

ditto Nthing Beethoven's 9th...and it's even better if you can get the old Microsoft Home Multimedia Beethoven's 9th to run on your machine...learning just how everything comes together in the 4th movement and finding out what the lyrics mean just adds to the experience.
posted by StrangeTikiGod at 8:42 PM on December 18, 2006

Some smart MEFIers recommended E.S. Posthumus to me and I have really enjoyed listening to it.

It's not classical, in fact I think most of the instrumentation is electronic, but it is EPIC. Powerful music that is good for inspiring writing; turn it down and it fits well anywhere as background music. Loved by boys and girls alike, this L.A. duo's first album has really found its niche.
posted by 53B3L1U5 at 11:32 AM on December 25, 2006

You won't beat Beethoven's Ninth - the 4th movement - and Wagner has a lot of epic music.

Check out The Planets by Gustav Holst - especially Mars, the Bringer of War

Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. Very epic sound by a 20th century composer

If you want a more rock feel, check out Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds or Tran-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas Eve/ Sarajevo 12/24
posted by jimraw1 at 7:52 AM on January 7, 2007