[geek42]

I don't know much about classical, but I'm looking to get a few of the most dramatic, exciting peices out there... any reccomendations? The kind of stuff that uses organs and shakes the room

 

[Riordan]

carl orff - carmina burana - o fortuna
edvard grieg - peer gynt suite - in the halls of the mountain king

if you happen to be a movie buff it's quite likely that you already know the pieces and wouldn't have thought them to be classical.
excalibur among others used o fortuna, and stephen king's needful things among others used the insane classical metal/punk

of edvard grieg

 

[KR...]

try these :

Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 9 (Telarc)

Eiji Oue - Mephisto & Co (Reference Recording)

Respighi – Belkis, Queen of Sheba (Reference Recording)

Richard Wagner - Ring Without Words (Telarc)

Bolero! Orchestral Fireworks (Reference Recording)

Battle Music (Naxos)

 

[meech]

Shostakivich: Symphony No. 11 (1905). Very slow opening movement but the last three movements more than make up for it. Very aggressive, very loud, definately some MEAN stuff.

 

[Nacher]

Elend - Winds Devouring Men. This is more like "Dark orchestra", which in this case means classical with industrial and dark ambient influences. Totally shakes the room and I don't know how this album could be any meaner. Seriously, this is suicidal stuff.

 

[vtny]

Holst - Mars the Bringer of War. It's been used in a number of sci-fi movies and has a very sinister feel.

vtny

 

[strohmie]

Heh. Just take most composers' Dies Irae (especially Verdi). That will certainly do the job.

 

[some1x]

Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique

Mahler's 9th

First two minutes of Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra.

 

[RobertR]

saint saens symphony no. 3 for organ & orch.
Hovanness Mt. St. Helens symphony on delos cd. the eruption of st. helens is an orchestral explosion.

 

[XXhalberstramXX]

I second the Shostakovich reccomendation. the 5th, 8th, 11th and 12th are all very exciting symphonies.

Verdi's Requiem is excellent as well, with a very powerful Dies Irae.

Some Mahler [would be] good [for your purposes] as well, particularly the last movement of the 1st, the 2nd, the 6th and the 8th symphonies. the eighth symphony uses an expanded orchestra along with about three choruses and an organ for a total musician count of ~1,000 performers. i know of no other peice that compares in terms of pure aural assault.

Bruckner's 8th and 9th symphonies would be an obvious reccomendation as well. both are quite powerful (and quite loud).

Then theres always Beethoven's 9th symphony...

EDIT: clarity injection

 

[Calanctus]

Hehe, lots of CDs being ordered thanks to this thread!

 

[hciman77]

Bach Toccata and Fugue in D Minor BWV 565 (Organ)
- play it loud

This is my favorite rendering

Soloist Daniel Chorzempa
Record Label: Philips

Format: Compact Disc
Catalog Number: 410 038-2
Year Released/Recorded: 1982

Individual Works:
Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565
Prelude, Largo and Fugue in C major, BWV 545
Prelude and Fugue in E flat major, BWV 552

 

[fredpb]

It don't use an organ, but Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" is a bit aggressive.

 

[oneeyedhobbit]

Beethoven--

The 9th, particularly the end
The 5th--the 1st and last stand out, but you lose some of the effect without the whole thing.
The 3rd (Eroica)--the second especially (imo). although slow, this funeral march is powerful.

I also concur with the Mahler recommendations.

Respighi's Pines of Rome

Carmina Burana

 

[earful]

a naxos cheapie (7.99 at tower): ji-yoen choi organ recital (the winner of the 2000 american guild of organists national competition).