How this Bach masterpiece became the soundtrack of Halloween
If Halloween had a theme song, it would almost certainly be Johann Sebastian Bach’s organ music masterpiece “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.”
It’s a composition that pairs perfectly with the sound of a creaky hinge on the door to a haunted house, or with the horror of a monstrous face emerging from the shadows in a scary movie. “Toccata and Fugue” has become the soundtrack for some of our spookiest moments. It was used in the 1931 film “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” the 1934 Edgar Allan Poe-inspired film “The Black Cat,” a 1962 film adaptation of “The Phantom of the Opera,” and more.
What makes the composition so creepy? Was that what Bach intended? Megan Sarno, assistant professor of musicology at The University of Texas at Arlington, answers questions about the song that sends shivers down our spines.
Why do you think this piece has become so readily associated with things like haunted houses and old horror and monster movies?
Sarno: Well, first, the opening hook of the piece uses two or three minor second intervals, which is the smallest interval we have. It’s a sound that’s associated with creepiness, tension and suspense, such as in the “Jaws” theme. So that instantly grabs your attention and sets the mood for entering the piece. It’s this unresolved, tiny musical cell, and then right away, the music unfolds and opens so quickly into this expansive exploration downward in the range of the organ. It gets very chromatic very quickly, meaning dissonant and complex, and then resolves also just as quickly, and you get this really impressive chord. And that all happens in the first minute.
I also think we have to consider the organ itself, and its timbre, which is the quality of sound. Bach was using a pipe organ in the 17th and early 18th centuries, and at the time, it was one of the most complex inventions humankind had created. Most instruments at the time had a limited number of pitches they could play in tune, but with the organ, you could play any key. They are also most often associated with churches, which is the place where we grapple with ideas around our souls and salvation. I would also conjecture that because we’re not used to hearing the organ as much anymore, it sounds old and distant to us. Our minds sort of instantly go “this is scary.”
Does “Toccata and Fugue” stand out as distinct from Bach’s other works?
Sarno: Bach was a great organist, and in his obituary, his son wrote that he was a far better organist than he was a composer. Which, as a historian, just sets your imagination on fire. Bach is maybe one of the greatest composers that we know of in the Western European tradition, and the people who knew him said he was better at playing music than writing it down. It’s like, “Oh, we’re missing a lot of the story here.” And that’s incredible. So “Toccata and Fugue” was composed for the organ, and that was Bach’s primary instrument. He composed organ music his whole life.
Would Bach have intended “Toccata and Fugue” to be scary?
Sarno: Oh, I don’t think it would have registered as scary at all. Some people might attribute its “scariness” to be about the minor key, but some might think of it being like a Dorian mode, which is very serious, kind of stern and maybe archaic-sounding. For Bach, the significance of D minor is probably about the seriousness of organ virtuosity. It’s purely a virtuoso piece, about showing off technical ability. We have a documented instance of him performing it in 1732. He’s a mature professional by this point, and he doesn’t take his accomplishments lightly. “Toccata and Fugue” might have been just a way for him to honor the abilities of this very complicated machine.
-Interviewed by Amber Scott – Marketing, Messaging and Engagement