Album

The intent of this double-album compilation of tracks from other Naxos-label releases was doubtless to capitalize on the Halloween market in North America, and it could certainly provide a successful soundtrack for a Halloween party. The booklet notes are putatively provided by Lucifer himself. Several of the greatest hits of the satanic genre are present, including Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor (in the Stokowski orchestration), the Saint-Saëns Danse macabre, and Tartini's The Devil's Trill. As usual with Naxos, however, the fun is partly in the unexpected material the label has revived. It's not common to find music of the 20th century on an anthology like this, but the program includes not only Vaughan Williams and Stravinsky, but even György Ligeti (L'Escalier du Diable). This variety also makes the disc useful for those studying how the Devil has been musically represented over the centuries, even though the Bach is the earliest piece (the question has been on the table ever since medieval theorists defined the tritone as the Diabolus in Musica). While there are constants (minor keys with lots of minor-second intervals, virtuosity used in tortured ways), the concept of the Devil naturally evolves, through waltzes and other dances that conflate the demonic and the sensual, up to dramatic psychological studies like Arnold Bax's The Devil That Tempted St. Anthony, one of several unusual pieces included. Recommended for those who want to dig a little deeper for their Halloween music, or for students who want an instant term paper topic.

© James Manheim, Rovi

CD 1 of 2
Leopold Stokowski Composer Toccata and Fugue in D-, transcription for orchestra (after Bach, BWV565) Work José Serebrier Conductor, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Phil Rowlands Producer
1	Toccata and Fugue in D-, transcription for orchestra (after Bach, BWV565)	9:02			$1.49
Harald Saeverud Composer Peer Gynt Suite No.2, Op.28, No.2 Work Bjarni Runar Engineer, Bjarte Engeset Conductor, Iceland Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
2	The Devil's 5-Hop	2:18			$0.99
Hector Berlioz Composer La Damnation de Faust, Op.24 (légende dramatique) Work Lille National Orchestra Orchestra, Slovak Philharmonic Choir Chorus/Choir, Jean-Claude Casadesus Conductor
3	Chorus of the Damned & the Demons	4:04			$0.99
Michel Meynaud Composer Sonata for cello & piano ("Faust") Work 4:00 Etienne Bultinger Engineer, Oliver de Mones Cello
4	Faust	0:18			$0.99
5	Obiettrouvé avant Luis	3:42			$0.99
Joaquín Rodrigo Composer 4 Estampas andaluzas Work Artur Pizarro Piano
6	3.Seguidillas del diablo	3:55			$0.99
Giuseppe Tartini Composer Violin Sonata in G-, B.g5 ('The Devil's Trill') Work Bin Huang Violin, Hyun-Sun Kim Piano
7	Violin Sonata in G-, B.g5 ('The Devil's Trill')	14:45			$2.49
Charles Wuorinen Composer Mission of Virgil, ballet in 7 parts Work Richard Moredock Piano, Phyllis Bryn-Julson Piano
8	Satan	1:57			$0.99
Ralph Vaughan Williams Composer Job, A Masque for Dancing (ballet) Work English Northern Philharmonia Orchestra, David Lloyd-Jones Conductor
9	2.So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord	3:38			$0.99
Franz Liszt Composer Mephisto Waltz No.1, S.514 Work Giuseppe Andaloro Piano
10	Mephisto Waltz No.1, S.514	12:05			$1.99
Igor Stravinsky Composer Suite from 'L'Histoire du soldat' version for 7 instruments Work 3:28 John Feeney Double Bass, Gregory K. Squires Producer, Michael Powell Trombone, Gordon Gottlieb Percussion, Rolf Schulte Violin, Frank Morelli Bassoon, Christopher Gekker Trumpet, William Blount Clarinet, Robert Craft Conductor
11	7.The Devil's Dance	1:19			$0.99
12	11.The Devil's Triumphant March: Tempo di tango	2:09			$0.99
Richard Wagner Composer A Faust Overture, in D-, WWV 59 Work Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Alexander Rahbari Conductor
13	A Faust Overture, in D-, WWV 59	12:19			$1.99
CD 2 of 2
Camille Saint-Saëns Composer Danse macabre, tone poem, Op.40 Work Keith Clark Conductor, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
1	Danse macabre, tone poem, Op.40	7:08			$1.49
Sergey Prokofiev Composer Waltz Suite, Op.110 Work Leonid Bylchynsky Engineer, Theodore Kuchar Conductor, George Orobynsky Producer, Ukraine National Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
2	3.Mephisto Waltz (from film: Lermontov)	3:46			$0.99
Franz Peter Schubert Composer Des Teufels Lustschloß, D.84 (opera) Work Christian Benda Conductor, Jiri Gemrot Producer, Prague Sinfonia Orchestra, Karel Soulenik Engineer, Vaclav Roubal Engineer
3	Overture	9:04			$1.49
Sir Arnold Bax Composer The Devil That Tempted St. Anthony, for 2 pianos Work Ashley Wass Piano, Martin Roscoe Piano, Mike Clements Engineer
4	The Devil That Tempted St. Anthony, for 2 pianos	6:31			$0.99
Charles-Valentin Alkan Composer 48 Motifs, Op.63 Work Laurent Martin Piano
5	Les diablotins, for piano in Eb (Motifs 4/45), Op.63, No.4/45	2:33			$0.99
Johann Strauss II Composer Mephistos Höllenrufe (Mephisto's Cries in Hell), Op.101 Work Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosice Orchestra, Alfred Walter Conductor
6	Mephistos Höllenrufe (Mephisto's Cries in Hell), Op.101	8:16			$1.49
György Ligeti Composer 8 Etudes, Book 2 Work Idil Biret Piano
7	13.L'escalier du diable. Presto legato ma leggiero	6:51			$0.99
Robert Alexander Schumann Composer Scenes From Goethe's Faust, WoO3 Work Johannes Wildner Conductor, Otto Nopp Engineer, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
8	[Excerpt]	8:57			$1.49
Charles Gounod Composer Faust (opéra)...Act 2 Work Munich Radio Orchestra Orchestra, Julius Rudel Conductor, Samuel Ramey Bass
9	4.Le veau d'or est toujours debout (Song of the Golden Calf)	2:18			$0.99
Franz Liszt Composer Faust Symphony, S.108, R.425 Work Andras Ligeti Conductor, Franz Liszt Academy of Music Orchestra Orchestra
10	3.Mephistopheles	16:39			$2.99