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Classical music and psychedelics

I would really like to get into classical music more though, while tripping or sober, but where to start? I'll check out some of the suggestions in this thread for sure.

Well, since you are familiar with Miles Davis, you may want to check out the classical composition he covered on "Sketches In Spain"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9RS4biqyAc

Joaquín Rodrigo - Concierto de Aranjuez (second movement). (This is one of several classical pieces that people may "know" without even knowing who it's from.)
 
Any word on what psychedelic enhances the listening experience the most?

It depends on if you want to get to the point of ego death or not in my opinion.

I would say LSD, DMT, and salvia are the best, in no particular order. Obviously LSD is long lasting and DMT and salvia are short acting; I recommend shorter acting psychedelics.
 
Andres segovia sounded amazing on lsd while rambling through a meadow, but i prefer jazz to classical on psychedelics, look no further than coltrane's my favorite things.
 
This is a great thread!

I enjoy many kinds of classical music combined with psychedelics, but sacred music - the definition is broad, it goes from a 15th century mass to some modern symphonies ans other instrumental works - has particularly amazed me.
I have no religious background, you could call me a tabula rasa in these matters, and Bach's cantatas and magnificat and Messiaen's 20 visions of the child Jesus have brought me (with the tiny help of lsd or 2ce) spiritual feelings I didn't know I could have and that were certainly meant by the composers.


Also, lamanogaucha, thanks for your list of 'modern' music. Do you know any instrumentists/conductors that are especially suitable for psychedelics? For example, I feel Celibidache ('Music is not beautiful. Music is truth. Music is reality.', he said) only makes sense on an altered state, while Gould, that I quite like otherwise, has scared me a bit once..
 
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@electrodevo - I did actually listen to Sketches of Spain once while dissociated and it was quite an experience. I should definitely try it while on traditional psychs, it would probably be even better.

@lamanogaucha - thanks very much for the link, greatly appreciated.
 
You're welcome, Lastest!

Efoj, it's hard to answer your question because I don't normally associate particular conductors or instrumentalists with psychedelics. That said, Stockhausen and his ensemble made a number of recordings in the late 60's and early 70's that might fit the bill -- Kurzwellen, Aus den sieben Tagen and some others. These pieces/recordings should be available via the Stockhausen Verlag (at a hefty price), but you can probably find excellent copies of the original Deutsche Grammophon issues in a good record store.

Speaking of Stockhausen, much of his compositional work from the mid-60's onward has an oddly psychedelic feel to it. Major pieces that immediately come to mind are Trans (a very weird piece indeed!), Inori (perhaps the most intensely meditative orchestral work of the 1970's) and Licht (particularly the earlier operas of the cycle; e.g. Donnerstag). I strongly suspect that Stockhausen tried psychedelics at least a few times in the 60's and 70's. On the other hand, maybe he didn't and the language of his later music really springs *only* from his highly personal brand of spirituality.

Anyway, some other composers and performers have definitely dabbled with psychedelics at some point, but I'd rather not give names... All I will say is that some are still with us, and some have moved on to meet the chef.

BTW, Celibidache was not one of them (he was a pretty strict Buddhist), but Gould was a notorious pill popper... but not into psychedelics, as far as I know. Cage was an avid mushroom collector but whether or not he consumed psilocybin mushrooms is unknown to me. I bet that he did from time to time though. One thing is certain: he enjoyed white wine.
 
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does anyone know pantha du prince? his musical form of expression is "techno" but it is quite obvious that he is heavily influenced by german romanticism (actually more by graphic art&literature/poetry than music..). his latest album relies heavily on carillon ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carillon ), which brings him a little closer to "serious music"...
 
Listening to "Le Quattro Stagioni" (the four seasons) by Vivaldi while watching the infinite horizon by the seaside on ayahuasca was simply amazing!
And i am not usually into classical music so much...
 
Awesome thread :) and I'll just reiterate what many have already said about Bach. I have been familiar with classical music for most of my life but have only in the last few years listened to it with psychedelics, and it's amazing how apparent the quality and spirit behind the music becomes! I have consequently realised some composers aren't quite as good as I thought they were, but Bach has stood out above all as an absolute master. The Brandenburg Concertos especially.

@Efoj - for some slightly crazy 'modern' Soviet acapella sacred choral music, try Schnittke's Concerto for Choir (the last movement is my favourite).

@fractal fountain - that Faure is lovely :)
 
If you guys like classical guitar you should check out Francis Kleynjans, he's this way underplayed contemporary French impressionist composer.

Here's the first movement of his most famous work, a somewhat gimmicky but masterfully written piece that translates to "the dawn of the last day." It's a programatic piece that documents a prisoners last day on earth, from lying in his prison cell to being marched to the gallows, and the inevitable end.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=bqrW9UfYUiQ&desktop_uri=/watch?v=bqrW9UfYUiQ

Here's the second movement:

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?feature=relmfu&v=VVQ2Lfy8t2s

Here's a lighter and more lyrical piece of his that translates to "I had a strange and marvelous dream":

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=py7DdQrovKw

I hope you guys enjoy this, he could use more renown.
 
ya know when I first started going to Raves in the Early 90's DJ's almost always intro ed with some kind of classical music that flowed nicely into the world of thundering house music.

then things slowly changed and it became more and more about samples from movies. But they still went for a classic feel, I will never forget the first time I heard Vaders imperial deathmarch theame laced into an intro to a set in a dirty NYC Warehouse Rave Summer of 1994.


It isn't something I would go out of my way to listen to, but pychadelics enhance anything melodic. Most rap is kinda harsh and hard to listen to on pychadelics..... but go for some Pharcyde or Boogiemonsters tracks and you will find melodies in there.
 
@dextrofan, I just did a search of all the places I am familiar with which sell or share classical music, and I found only very sparse things of Kleynjans work. Seems recordings are very, very sparse, thus left to youtube to try and have people play his work publicly. I had thought I had heard of all the impressionists...
 
I'm SO glad I came across this thread. I have been playing piano (all styles) since I was about 7 and still to this day do my best to play each and every day. I love everything that has been posted in here!! If you want some good music check out some things from the Romantic Era and you won't be disappointed!

Even though this isn't really classical, it's something that I listen to every time I trip. I even listen to it when I'm not tripping and it sends chills down my spine. Everything by Eric Whitacre is just phenomenal. Most of his music is strictly acapella (no instruments only voice) but my god is it amazing with all the dissonance he crams into his pieces. Here are two of my favorite songs by him. I hope you like it!

Eric Whitacre - Sleep: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxjWNJU8rNE (CHORAL)
Eric Whitacre - October: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TuMsn270O4 (INSTRUMENTAL)

However, to stay on topic, I will post one of my all time favorite classical arrangements that would suit tripping quite nicely. This is from the Medieval to Renascence period. This is just way too beautiful; everyone should listen to this song. :)

Tomás Luis de Victoria - O Magnum Mysterium: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn5ken3RJBo

Happy Tripping!!
 
Hovhaness' music is very uneven in quality, but he did write some good pieces. I enjoy listening to his Symphonies Nos. 2 (Mysterious Mountain), 11 (All Men Are Brothers), 15 (Silver Pilgrimage), 19 (Vishnu), 50 (Mount St. Helens), "Fra Angelico" and "Mountains and Rivers Without End". I have several other works by him, but these are the ones that I return to most often, especially Symphony No. 19 and "Mountains and Rivers".
 
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