Music for Dracula

If you were to put on a stage version of Dracula, what would your musical choices be?

This is a task I have given myself: some suggestions for my best friend Amanda's co-production of Dracula in October. She didn't ask me for any suggestions, and the choice is entirely her and her co-director's (and if they have a musical director, then them too I suppose), but I am intrigued by this.

Her request: dark, string-based (particularly 'cello), and if possible, Victorian.

Well, I don't have any knowledge of Victorian music. Perhaps one day when I'm investigating very early/pre-cinema and the origins of musical theatre I will, but at this point I'm rather content with my explorations of (post-)minimalism and other avant-garde 20th century classical composers. I'm actually thinking that this strain of music could be very useful for theatrical productions, given their often repetitive natures: they are easily edited in basic music programs.

Max Richter has been my recent obsession, with his albums memoryhouse and The Blue Notebooks being stuck on repeat. And the remix of "On the Nature of Daylight" with Dinah Washington's "This Bitter Earth" that was featured in the closing credits of Shutter Island? Absolutely divine, but I don't think that Richter's melancholy, mournful style would be suitable for Dracula. Something like "Shadow Journal" may work for another production, but its contemporary electronic throbs may disqualify it. "Jan's Notebook" is a brittle, spare harpsichord piece that may have potential for a set change, but is it too minimal? "Embers" is a beautiful piece driven by a mournful, repetitive piano, accented by strings -- but does it have the necessary darkness for Dracula?

But thinking of Shutter Island's remarkable soundtrack, what about the major theme of the film, Krysztof Penderecki's Symphony no. 3, the 4th movement: "Passacaglia (Allegro Moderato)"? A terrifying, plodding piece full of throbbing, deep chords, perhaps perfect for scene changes or the end of the first act. Check it out here. It's nearly 7 minutes long, yes, but it's also a piece that could be very easily edited.

A recent discovery of mine was the album Fordlandia by Icelandic composer Johann Johannson, and I think the piece "The Rocket Builder (Io Pan!)" may have some potential. The first movement of the piece slowly builds up, and some of the phrases near the beginning may be good for small details, but where the track really shines is in the second half: a combination of dread, mourning and beauty, suitable for a sensual scene with Dracula and Mina or Lucy. A potential problem though may be the dominant musicbox synth may be a bit too contemporary.

Also from Fordlandia is the first of five "Melodia" pieces: "Melodia (i)". It's a small, two-minute piece driven by bassoon and clarinet: delicate and strangely ominous, suggesting future catastrophe. I'm thinking as an early set change.

Another Icelandic composer that sometimes piques my interest is Olafur Arnalds, although I do find that some of his work goes too 'poppy' and saccharine for my taste, particularly when he introduces his drumkit. That being said, "Loftið verður skyndilega kalt" from last year's ...And They Have Escaped the Weight of Darkness is heartbreakingly pretty. The piano reminds me a lot of Arvo Pärt's "Spiegel im Spiegel", and those strings just destroy me every time. Speaking of Pärt, there may be some potential in his massive oeuvre: some of his Gregorian chants or his organ work could be very appropriate. Perhaps the sixth piece from his Seven Magnificat-Antiphonen, "VI. O Konig Aller Volker" when Dracula has just been killed? Some of the other pieces from these seven --maybe the third-- could also work. One of Pärt's recent masterworks, Orient and Occident, could be a good source, too. Amazingly, this is the only video I could find of the piece: Amanda, I have a copy of it if you are intrigued at all! It's decadent and beautiful, with just the right amount of ominous exoticism bubbling up.

And because I'm on Pärt right now, I can't help but mention his brilliant, brilliant second movement to Tabula Rasa, "Silentium". I don't think it would work for Dracula, but I just really want to share it. One of my absolute favourite compositions ever.

Iannis Xenakis was far from the first composer that came into my head when I began searching for anything remotely close to 'Victorian' music. If you're familiar with his work, you may be saying to yourself "well, duh!" He's far too contemporary, dissonant and mathematical to perhaps even fleetingly consider, but there's one piece of his that I think proposes some interesting uses in some scenes of chaos and horror: "Kottos for Solo 'cello" from 1977. You would have to edit the crap out of the piece, but there are many small treasures hidden away: the disturbing drones beginning at 30 seconds that break into brittle cries at 0:52; the violent bursts that begin in the fourth minute; the psychotic, dizzying phrases in the seventh (imagine this in the background as Dracula makes a particularly horrific speech). This is probably just too much work to make manageable, but I think it's an interesting suggestion.

And dark, ominous, string-based, eh? Hmm... If I was directing, there would have to be a massive blood orgy scene with this playing. But then again, I'm bat-poop crazy. The introduction to the play would also be this, just to scare the crap out of people... and y'know what? It may actually be appropriate.

I'm going to search outside of my comfort zone now, into the realm of Victorian-era music. Any suggestions?