Threnody to The Victims of Hiroshima by Krzysztof Penderecki

[ParkusComplex]

TVTROPES. WHAT THE HELL IS THAT NOISE

[cbasgsm]

when i listen to justin bieber, it sounds like this but ugly

[Vesivian]

Sounds like the victims screaming in horror from the bombing.

[bachelorfox]

Incredible piece. And the visuals work really well with it.

[papat1999]

i love have sex on this music.

[samhalal]

jonny greenwood

[V0idslime]

Polymorphia was in The Shining, not this.

[darklynx69]

If this is high culture i'll stick with my bud light and ESPN.

[goodgrief78]

@darklynx69 You don't have to choose between them, you know. And this isn't high culture, either. It's just good and interesting.

[darklynx69]

@goodgrief78

According to my sociology professor, kids in families who re part of high culture actually go to schools to learn how to listen to and appreciate music like this. He explicity named this piece as a good representation of high culture.

[goodgrief78]

@darklynx69 It sounds like your professor is trying to convince you that taste is dictated exclusively by education and social status. That's nonsense, and I wouldn't buy it if I were you. Look at us. We both went to college, neither of us had very good professors, and we have different opinions on this music.

[bikemylifestyle1997]

I'm here cuz i have test tommorow and i have to figure out what song is playing...i might be this one....

[nadavgal]

I dedicate this song to my ex

[hombreg1]

imagine a really abstract painting of people running while set on fire. yes, this is creepy.

[Polonium96]

This is the first avant-garde type thing that I enjoyed.

[Dingir2011]

I wonder how much of the players were freaked out during the performance. I really respect this piece of art though, not just because its originality and avant-garde style but also because it is the most creepiest thing I've ever heard and managed to frighten me more than a movie.

[MasterOfDisguise116]

I had been eyeing this score in music theory all semester, its quite an eyeboggling sight on paper, and i had been curious to know what it sounded like. Then my music theory teacher turned up the volume and played it with surround sound.... and almost everyone in the class left that room shaking or crying of fear. High school students. We were scared for our lives. This is a piece that really captures the essence of how horrible war and atomic energy really is.

[37sikora]

dude this is crazy it literally sounds like people screaming for their lives.

[sosjozsef]

07:50-08:00.

[DesertDustX]

I work out to this every morning.

[goxdie000]

>in car with hot chick

>play this

>"what is this crap?, it's not even real music"

>She puts Lady Gaga

>mfw

[alphabet661]

What if there were no prgram title and it was never heard with film? Trust me, there would be far fewer positive responses. It shows our predilection to tie music to a function. Non-musicians do it automatically - Bach's preludes and fugues were first studies in counterpoint and composition - yet people assign religiousness and depth to them unable to explain why. Penderecki's piece was a study in alternate unorthodox notation and radical string techniques. The "program" was an afterthought.

[alphabet661]

THis is a piece you either love or hate. And yes, it lends itself to a program. In fact this is one of the few pieces a programmic title and an association with a film works well. Partly it is so well geared for film - there are a nice wide variety of sounds any film music editor can cut and add to a film scene. 

[floratronik]

Listened to this right after listening to Kraftwerk's "Radioactivity" and the world did not explode (yet).

Seriously, while I agree that the emotional effect of this piece is disturbing - and probably meant to be - I don't see why Penderecki's music in general is thought of as "scary". Is it avant-garde music in general that's seen as scary or only poor Krzysztof P.?

[beasty907]

i used to be afraid of this song, until i took an arrow to the knee.

[AskariNari]

@beasty907 I used to think this meme was funny, until I read this comment.

[Steveniox]

9:15... there are no words.

[SneakyDBH]

I turned off all of my lights, closed my blinds, and turned off my computer monitor while this song was playing. I closed my eyes, and sat in complete darkness. My friends, I have truly experienced hell. And it was actually an incredibly enlightening experience. I highly suggest you all try this, and actually realize how amazingly well that sound can send our minds into the blackest, most hopeless places imaginable.

[LokitheCajun]

@SneakyDBH I tried that, and jumped out of my skin at 1:29. Bully for you! :)

[TheMysticSquire]

Chuck Norris Lullaby...

[Sup3rmassiveDeadStar]

Jonny Greenwood goes to bed after listening to this song

[whaddupmf]

@Sup3rmassiveDeadStar ; Hey, I understand that Greenwood and Penderecki are putting out an album together

[sierinjsh]

I think this guy made the mess or rather the harmony that electronic music is making today in classical music and without the amounts of crazy bass, so he's pretty much a genius.

[JackTR21]

@sierinjsh except for the fact this was made in the 60s?

[o8poq8o]

love it! it's wonderful how many feelings it makes me feel :D

[voracious32]

I'm honestly afraid of this music.

[deejayalemus]

I know I'm going to hell for this, but someone will one day attempt a dubstep remix.

[pjyazoo527]

An interesting point is that this piece was not initially titled in memoriam for the victims of Hiroshima. It just evoked emotions incredibly barren and apocalyptic that it became what you know it as today.

[GoOnMaggotBrain]

is this dubstep

[Magical725]

@GoOnMaggotBrain Get out.

[nottheissue1]

I always doubted that someone could go insane from listening to music, let alone classical.

Then I heard Penderecki's music. Holy fuck.

[123must]

I get scared, but beautiful music !

A lot of thanks

[agniky]

@123must beautiful?... I bet Penderecki would get ackne all over his face from hearing this:D . I certainly do agree with you:D

[JohnFWitt]

OH GOD! I CAN SEE FOREVER!

[MuthazFuckaz]

this... this thing fucked my mind !

[VampiraTod]

Very eye opening....

[PhanteraLupus]

try playing 2 or 3 of this in parallel

[TheDancingMelody]

...

i think i can't go to sleep this night..

*hide under the blanket*

[huincas54]

...escucho esta obra....la pantalla NEGRA...y mi conciente la llena con imáge nes de lo que ocurrió en ese tétrico fatal instante de...PUM!!!!

...creo que la realidad de ese instante....supera a lo que yo pueda imaginar...

la intencionalidad de esta obra, solo se puede comprender como decía

BRENTANO, con el contenido de la conciencia....

[eXcommunicate1979]

Yeah, I swear this is in 'There Will Be Blood' too.

[insanity8me]

@eXcommunicate1979 Jonny Greenwood (The composer of the 'There Will Be Blood' soundtrack) was inspired by this piece in his work on the soundtrack; but this piece does not actually feature in the film itself.

[eXcommunicate1979]

@insanity8me

Ah, good to know!

[SmoothHourglass]

@eXcommunicate1979 Nope. That soundtrack was entirely composed by Johnny Greenwood. Although the similarities are undeniable.

[PhotonCherades]

RIP those killed by the atomic bomb.

[vinnyEtv]

insidious...

[dirtyvicar]

Chills. 

[felic70]

this is just perfection, i was almost physicaly sick when i first heard it, because it exactly mirrored the images of atom bomb tests, photos, simulations etc you just get a sense of absolute doom

[xPhilharmoniquex]

i i i .... i

*speechless*

[Machival666]

For those of you saying that this is scary: Yes it is. He meant for the listeners to imagine what the people of Hiroshima felt as their world disintegrated.

[morkinofoso]

@Machival666 while he was composing this, he didn't mean to compose it for victims of Hiroshima. First title was 8'37'', and after it was finished, he named it Threnody to the victims of Hiroshima. But your answer is true and right answer who says it is scary

[fukyous]

This is awful.

[deliman]

Krzysztof Penderecki: giving people panic attacks since 1960.

[GrungeRockabilly]

Although I will probably never listen to this again, I kind of enjoyed it.

[900watttruck]

@GrungeRockabilly That's what I said the first time I listened to it, but for some reason, I'm drawn constantly back to it.

Kind of un-nerved about that to be honest lol.

[Carloshache]

Beautiful!

[Iwritewithbottles]

@DrSunshineAOD

Bugs.

Millions of them

On facebook.

[leftwinger84]

thanks, I dont like sleeping anyway

[ChewedUpAirplane]

Worst cover of 'Viva La Vida' I've ever heard.

[LudwigVanGallegos]

@ChewedUpAirplane

Actually, I feel like he did it better than the original

[sephirothsdemise]

I love how the video is pitch darkness...

[xXxJarrydxXx]

I'm 15, and all I can say is that if a song can ever top this piece in a "how many time's can a song make your spine tingle" competition, it'd damn well be something not born on earth.

[PleezPlusTanQ]

played this with him for his honorary doctorate in NUIM in Ireland 2years ago with him conducting, cool guy :)

[414najawa]

@PleezPlusTanQ Just out of curiosity, how was it notated? A lot of this material passes between half-tones, and probably covers every cent of tuning in an octave. And the rhythm? I understand that's the point, but I'm just curious. That is so awesome, though.

[PleezPlusTanQ]

@414najawa when we were practicing for the concert, the famous Irish pianist Barry Douglas was conducting us and i noticed that unlike any other piece i've ever played, it depended entirely on the conductor; entrances, change of notes < all of which you have to constantly have an eye on the conductor to get correctly,

[XavierMacX]

@414najawa I have a score. If you're the conductor, you get a special treat.

The music when lined up in the original stave scoring, looks like atom bombs being dropped sideways. Something akin to an elongated "C" stretching across certain pages. Look it up... it's extremely interesting. Bone chilling.

[XavierMacX]

@XavierMacX Well... more like a sideways V

[vicariousbass10]

if the 2 minute hate in gorge orwells 1984 had a sound....

[PlancusxKingOfJerks]

MY SPINE WENT FUCKING CKKDJDFJDKJRACK WHEN I HEARD THIS

[DJCOHYEAH]

This reminds me of walking through an abandoned city, and seeing burnt bodies lying all around me, and I know that something evil is near me... WOAH MAN! THERE ACTUALLY IS SOMETHING HERE WITH ME!!!! OH GOD!! HELP ME! HELP MEASDDKLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL­LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL­LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL­LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL­LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL­LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

[FailureIsImminent]

come on!!! Its midnight! I gotta get up in 5 hours.

[bballsroutt622]

we had "music friday" in choir, and the theme was halloween/scary music. the teacher decided to play this and warned us it would be uncomfortable to listen to. the imagery this song demonstrates is something that really makes me not be able to focus on anything for the rest of the day. a bunch of ignorant fucks said they didn't find it scary at all, just screeching noises. shit i cant sleep

[BJ219]

This is scary as fuck.

[Emanresu56]

This piece should always be performed in darkness.

[SweetEyedPandaPie]

Penderecki, you are one messed up dude. Brilliant, yes, but holy freaking crap.

[byranntherockstar1]

Dead bodies all pilled up in front of me. That's what this reminds me of. That or an actually scary movie.

[Desleyinhillegom]

Im listening this on my Ipod every day when I go to work.

[intervalkid]

@Desleyinhillegom

Work must seem terrifying.

[slashification1]

Please! Kill me! I can't hear this song!!!



[ColonelChamberlain]

I didn't feel like sleeping tonight anyways.

[mathia34]

I'm sorry but this is fucking bollocks.

[xsaladbar]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH­HHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dubiousbattle]

this scared the shit out of me when it popped up in Children of Men

[25PHANTOM69]

This brought me to tears within the first minute. The image it paints. Very sad, very disturbing.

[mistertadakichi]

WAT



[TheHumanMeat]

Ha! I got a twitch on my back on the middle of the piece and I freaked out!

[TheEmoSaimon]

Fear !Very nice , this must listening only a dark night ! I like this !!!

[marihuanovampiro]

mash it up with daddy yankee sounds creepy

[Skywolf17]

A hand was clapped to my mouth and my stomach clenched in the most unpleasant ways. This brilliant piece of music is indeed hell. I'm listening to it in the midst of the day and still felt like I was slowly being throttled from behind. I can only imagine how much worse it must feel at night with your eyes closed and nothing but your own mind to try and soothe the demented images this piece invokes.

[MichaelLawlorRojas]

Why am I listening to this at 1am? Oh yeah, I forgot I didn't want to sleep.

Beautiful piece though.

[aps42able]

@MichaelLawlorRojas why am i listening to this at 2am in the dark.. i can't turn it off D:

[FlamboyantSisters]

I listened to this in orchestra today. My teacher turned off all the lights and warned us it was going to be emotionally challenging. Just the first note scared the living crap out of me - and after ten minutes everyone was just torn apart. This is the musical version of pure horror. There is really no other way I can word it. Ten minutes of terror, without a single word being spoken. The mental images alone are enough to drive you insane. Penderecki is both brilliant and horrifying.

[MichaelLawlorRojas]

@FlamboyantSisters I'm happy your teacher can appreciate pieces like this.

[JarrodCanHasSinging]

@FlamboyantSisters I cried in class when my teacher played it...

[JarrodCanHasSinging]

@FlamboyantSisters I cried in class when my teacher played it...

[Foobitz]

@JarrodCanHasSinging There's so much overwhelming terror and confusion and rage in it, like the voices of the victims all rising in unison. Made me cry too

[alphaBEARD]

This is fucking horrifying.

[zoooooopopo]

i wouldnt want to listen to this on shrooms!

[TheFesta01]

Magnificent !!!! So powerful!

[FreddyCazzper]

07.50-8.02 sounds like seals getting raped.

Makes me sad. :(

[FrauofGermany]

I've been listening to this and thinking about 9/11.

[101kingsfan]

went over this in music class

[mrbobbo666]

this music seemed to suck all the warmth out of the room as i listened, about 2 minutes in everything was freezing

[MatiEmmi]

We had to listen this in music lesson. It was first lesson in the morning.... everybody where quiet and terrified. I can almost imagine the Hiroshima in my eyes :S

[ThatsFunkedUp]

Tears. No kiddding, straight up fucking MAN tears

[momo22151]

Definitely defies what is considered traditional music.

[momo22151]

What's interesting about this piece is that it never actually had sheet music. Instead of sheet music, everyone was simply given worded instructions, and the conductor stood with a timer, directing how long each section was supposed to do each instruction. At the beginning, the musicians were asked to play the highest note they possibly could for x amount of seonds, and because of the variation in instruments and talent, it created that eery sound. Great piece.

[blunk28]

@momo22151 There is actually sheet music to this song. He had to invent new musical symbols for what he wanted the artists to do.

[zcbm141414]

2:25 - 3:00 LOST (series)!!

[vasssos]

@zcbm141414

Well spotted!!!

[rebelshark1]

@zcbm141414 Also the beginning of There Will Be Blood!

[KingCrimson776]

@rebelshark1 I believe that was Johnny Greene from Radiohead, but yeah he ripped this.

[backpowar]

usa liberty!!

[monson45]

The strings in the beginning begin to sound like screams after a while.

[SShamit1]

this is so freaky and awesome at the same time

[cl4ir3byw]

This music turned Courage Wolf into Scared Cat ¬.¬

[taosalyte]

Using this for my Gothic Theatre performance... makes it so scary :O

[Sedik66861]

GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT Krzysztof Penderecki you are a brilliant genious !!! God bless you !!!

[ViolaGirlLovesMusic]

Our teacher played this to us in music class. He gave us the score to and man, it was so confusing to read because it wasn't annoted like normal music and it was so confusing- you'd be on page 4 and it's still at page 2 :P

But to play this, on stringed instruments and so well- Brilliant! :D

[mpgregor]

THE SONG WAS GIVEN THE TITLE AFTER IT WAS WRITTEN!!!!! IT WAS NOT INTENDED TO BE ABOUT HIROSHIMA!!!! this was attributed to it after the fact.

[boobitybobbity]

A fucking cover girl commercial??really??

[simonxag]

I think the black screen works really well.

[ThinkOriginalThought]

@redsunflower67 So we fought. And In 1945, when Hitler was defeated, we had to make the choice. 1) Invade Japan and risk the lives of our soldiers, Russian soldiers, and other allies along with Japanese total infrastructure or 2) end the war quickly and efficiently.

So we did. We ended the war caused BY the Japanese quickly. The Japanese who murdered, raped and impaled the Chinese and Manchurians. The Japanese who, unprovoked, attacked us for their war interests.

[ThinkOriginalThought]

@redsunflower67 We had one of the most high tech navies in the world at the time, 2nd of all. We were known for our navy. Still, it didnt matter. America cared about isolationism at this time. They stayed out of Japan's business, although they were killing millions upon millions of innocents. Now Japan chose us as their target over indo-china. They saw us as weak. Our peacetime military was indeed weak. So they, knowing the consequences of their actions attacked us.

[ThinkOriginalThought]

@redsunflower67 Now the wualification. In the years leading up to World War II, Japan had massacred China's population, yes women and children included, enslaved Mongolia, renaming it Manchukuo and pushing towards Indo-China for oil for their War machine. They committed an unmitigated number of atrocities against humanity. And Washington decided to ignore it. Japan had a choice. They certainly had a choice. Either push hard and take indo-china, or attack America. Either way, their war.

[ThinkOriginalThought]

@redsunflower67 Youre stupid as shit

[brenonion]

the soundtrack to mass murder for sure, i just about shit myself

[dekanotto]

uno dei brani più profondi e suggestivi della storia della musica! Stupendo!

[percussion14]

freaks me out everytime. really powerful music

[mambo4dude]

this is the most dissonant piece i've ever heard

[jankington216]

I want to add brass parts to this, the only thing that could make this scarier is extremely loud brass. The fact that it's this scary with just strings is amazing

[myco578]

shrill

[JazzyPick]

O_____________________________­__0

[Novskij]

So powerful, so emotional... it just makes me shit my pants....

[JulAntonCrest]

why do i feel like gutting myself O-O;;;;;;;

[FinalFantasyCenter]

@SeanIsaacBillings You're scarily twisted. I like you!

[Atienne01]

This is the most horribly amazing piece I have ever heard. While writting an essay on the limitations of vocabulary I came across this. This piece stirs so many new emotions which physically make me sick.

[Icarus01]

at first i didn't like it yet i keep coming for more. either i'm a glutton for punishment or this piece is brilliant after all... i think the later.

[123lucasmg]

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

[spulian]

I'm sitting in my bedroom, it's 1:43am right now. It's dark in here, and I have big headphones on. I got to 0:09 and immediately had to turn this off. Holy. Shit. I don't even want to know what the rest sounds like. Nightmares, here I come.

[bigalex6393]

You know, being a violinist, I should be used to such high pitched noises being thrown out of string instruments, but this piece, no matter how amazingly powerful, still tends to make me shudder. It's beautiful in it's own way, and allows us to feel the fear of this event. Penderecki is a genius.

[SekretZdzicha]

Remind me of Dead Space.

[metalgtrfreak]

Never before in my life has a song rattled my soul and given me shivers. This is a masterpiece.

[TifaAyase]

Oh, god this song creeps the hell out of me. At first it sounds like the screaming of millions, next it gets into music that sounds a lot like one of the Elfen Lied OSTs called Hakuri.

[SydFloyd1967]

@TifaAyase Hakuri is one of my favourite pieces from that OST. I'll allways remember it as the song that made me find this awesome style.

[prking97]

i'll stop existing now.

[Tjac]

@tylertoon2 try the other hand

[midnightsuicider]

can anyone take the challenge of making a short-film with this music?!

[MajorKoenig156]

this reminds me so much of the alien soundtrack. especially alien3.

[eldelsombrerillo60]

ps ni estaba tan penderecki el vato

[Shinbasher]

I visited Japan in Janurary and we visited Hiroshima and the A bomb site / peace park. Makes me feel ashamed that humanity would do such a stupid and horrific thing.

Zannen desu, Nippon.

[slickrickjohnson]

Great for going to sleep,very relaxing.I'm going to go to sleep now wish me luck :) Fuck that,I started thinking scary shit,ah what the hell I'm still doing it.Dude I dreamed peoples faces were melting and my heart exploded.Real shit I kid you not.

[slickrickjohnson]

@slickrickjohnson Anyone from Japan I mean no offence.I really dreamed that stuff but I realize it could offend someone, sorry if I did.Rest in peace to all the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.I pray for those in japan and wish you all the best during this recent disaster.

[XpianoxboyX]

This is so... eerie.

[pantscrapper12]

Our teacher showed us this today in class when we were going over serialism. This... is hard to listen to. In several ways.

[thaiguy20fromla]

@pantscrapper12 This is more textural and avante-garde than serial... More for texture of color, not specifically tone. It's actually quite interesting. Haha. Scary, yet intriguing.

[pantscrapper12]

@thaiguy20fromla I agree. This stuff is very interesting...

[enVme731]

this made me want to throw up but it was a very accurate tone to what happened that day. This discord projected immediate feelings of death