Ghost stories have captivated audiences for generations—and music has long played a role in bringing those supernatural tales to life. From ghostly apparitions and haunted landscapes to witches’ spells and eerie midnight scenes, composers have drawn on the uncanny for inspiration. Opera brims with scenes set in crypts and shadowy forests, while orchestral works by Mussorgsky, Saint-Saëns, and others conjure spine-tingling imagery through sound alone. Bach’s famous Toccata and Fugue has become a signature piece for the undead, and horror films use chilling scores to amplify the suspense.
Join composer and lecturer Dr. Robert Butts for an engaging exploration of music’s most macabre masterpieces. Featuring recorded examples, the talk will delve into works such as Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Saint-Saëns’s Danse Macabre, Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain, and iconic film scores from Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, King Kong, and House on Haunted Hill.
Dr. Butts is a seasoned educator and conductor who has taught at The Caspersen School of Graduate Studies, Montclair State University, and The College of Saint Elizabeth, and has lectured for the New Jersey Council for the Humanities. He is the longtime conductor of the award-winning Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey and has led performances with the New Jersey Symphony, Opera at Florham, and internationally in Russia, Romania, Germany, and Italy. His compositions have been performed across the United States, Europe, and Asia.
This program is presented with the support of The Friends of the Livingston Public Library.
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