25th May 2026

Famous for inspiring Heavy Metal pioneers Black Sabbath, Gustav Holst (UK 1874 – 1934) is most famous for his Planet Suite, composed during the First World War. Mars, the Roman God of War, is the opening movement.

Another composer known to the general public for a single work is Carl Orff (Germany 1895 – 1982) and again I have chosen the opening movement. Carmina Burana is based on medieval poetry, and O Fortuna is about the vagaries of fate.

Giuseppe Verdi (Italy 1813 – 1901) is best known for his operas, but I’ve chosen the Dies Irae from his 1874 Requiem as an example of heavy classical music.

To end our ‘annoy the neighbours’ fest, a piece not just heavy in volume but heavy in theme. Hector Berlioz (France 1803 – 1869) wrote programme notes to explain his 1830 Symphonie fantastique, based on his experiences of falling love with an Irish actress. The fifth movement describes a drug-induced hallucination, where the composer is surrounded by witches, ghosts and monsters, and there is a grotesque version of the Dies Irae, found in the Catholic requiem mass.

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