Brief Summary
This video explores why organ music is associated with horror, tracing the instrument's history, its connection to religious institutions, and its use in film. It argues that the organ's inherent qualities—power, complexity, religious connotations, and the solitary nature of its performers—make it a perfect instrument to represent villains and the corruption of something sacred.
- The association of organ music with horror is largely due to Hollywood's use of it to depict villains.
- Organs are powerful, complex instruments with religious connotations, often played by solitary figures.
- The corruption of the organ's religious associations is a key element in its use to create a sense of unease and horror.
Introduction: The Association of Organ Music with Horror
The video addresses the question of why organ music is so closely associated with horror, particularly the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. The simple answer is Hollywood's consistent use of organs to represent villains. However, the more complex answer involves understanding the history of the organ and its cultural associations. The video aims to explore the nuances behind this connection, suggesting that it's not just the instrument itself, but also the context and the type of music played on it that evokes a sense of unease.
The History and Construction of the Organ
The organ is described as a complex instrument with a keyboard connected to numerous pipes, each containing a reed or fipple that produces sound when air (or "wind") is forced through them. Organs date back to ancient Greece and have evolved into massive instruments built into buildings, requiring entire rooms for their function and maintenance. These instruments are incredibly powerful, capable of producing both loud volumes and extremely low pitches, some even below human hearing range. Some organs have pipes that are several stories tall, like the 64-foot pipe in the Atlantic City Convention Center.
The Complexity and Capabilities of the Organ
Organs are not only powerful but also extraordinarily complex, demanding a high level of skill from the performer. Unlike pianos, organ pedals function like a keyboard, requiring players to use both hands and feet. The instrument features multiple rows of keys (manuals) and stops, each corresponding to a rank (collection) of pipes. By the 1920s, Wurlitzer organs included various instruments like pianos, drums, and orchestral bells, aiming to replace a full orchestra with a single performer. The arrangement of stops varies by country and manufacturer, requiring organists to be highly skilled to manage the instrument's many functions.
The Organist as a Figure of Genius and Privilege
The video tells a story about Bach improvising an eight-part harmony, highlighting the organist's perceived genius. Practicing the organ was difficult, requiring teams of people to operate the instrument, making experienced organists appear as hyper-privileged musical geniuses who could produce incredible music seemingly out of nowhere. The ability to create eight-part harmony, equivalent to the power of eight human voices, amplified the organist's mystique.
The Religious Connotations of the Organ
Organs have strong Christian connotations in Western European history and music. Their lack of portability made them perfect for churches and cathedrals, which were often the only institutions with the resources to sponsor their construction. The architecture of cathedrals, combined with the organ's sound, amplified the sense of wonder and awe, reinforcing the idea that only God could power such a formidable instrument. Church organists were seen as loner figures, gifted enough to understand and play this intimidating machine, adhering to complex music theory rules and creating beautiful music.
The Toccata and Fugue in D Minor and Its Misattribution
The video touches on the popular association of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor with the organ, but notes that there is some scholarly debate about whether Bach actually composed it. Regardless, the piece became widely used in silent films in the 1920s, often without proper attribution. The silent film era was chaotic, with music being copied, renamed, and misattributed, making it difficult to trace the origins and composers of specific pieces.
The Organ in Early Sound Films: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
With the advent of sound in films, organists lost their jobs, and Wurlitzer organs were repurposed. In 1931, the film Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde used an orchestral arrangement of the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor for its opening credits. Dr. Jekyll is depicted playing another piece by Bach, transposed to D minor to match the opening theme. This use of religious music and the organ served as shorthand to establish Jekyll's character as intelligent, privileged, powerful, and religious.
The Corruption of Religious Connotations: The Black Cat (1934)
The 1934 film The Black Cat used the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor to directly convey the horror of the villain, played in its original instrumentation. The film also features other organ music during a satanic ritual, corrupting the religious connotations of the instrument. This manipulation of the organ to serve satanic forces highlights the idea of a powerful, complex instrument being used for evil purposes.
Carnival of Souls (1962) and the Essence of Organ Horror
The 1962 film Carnival of Souls provides further insight into what makes organ music scary. The protagonist, Mary Henry, works as an organist but finds herself unable to play religious music, instead deviating into atonal and dissonant performances. This inability to perform religious music as she loses her connection to the living world reveals that the scariness of the organ comes from who is playing it: someone privileged and educated, using the instrument for selfish purposes.
The Organist as a Corrupted Figure
The organist is often portrayed as someone who has the power of God at their fingertips but uses it selfishly, creating a sense of supernatural fright. These individuals are often secretive, mad geniuses plotting in the background, or religious figures who have fallen from grace. They possess the power of a god without the good intentions, making the organ a symbol of corrupted holiness.
The Organ in Popular Culture: Villains and Their Instruments
The video references various villains in popular culture who play the organ, such as the Phantom of the Opera, the villain from Beauty and the Beast 2, Davy Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean, Captain Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the Penguin from Batman Returns, Sweeney Todd, and Ganon from The Legend of Zelda. These characters are often eccentric geniuses, broken and isolated, plotting and planning, and using the organ to project their dark intentions.
Conclusion: The True Horror of Organ Music
The video concludes that the scary thing about organ music isn't the instrument itself, but who is playing it. The organ requires immense resources and skill to play, and whoever controls it has the power to broadcast their musical ideas from a distance. The organist is often an eccentric genius, broken and isolated, who has corrupted a historically religious instrument. The true horror lies in the intentions of the person playing the organ, suggesting that if you can hear the organ, it's because someone wants you to, and everything is going according to their plan.
