Years ago I wrote a little Halloween ditty. It was just a quick hack job, but it came out OK. Of course, in best Liszt tradition, I incorporated the Dies irae. Shortly after I wrote it I wrote the first movement of a sonata that used a similar theme. I now have a hard time listening to this because it sounds like a ghost of the much better piece. Here is the original Halloween music:
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For a comparison, here is that movement of the sonata I wrote a little later. Some of the themes are similar, though of course not identical, and I didn’t use the Dies irae since this inspired more by Beethoven than Liszt:
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Want to hear the Liszt that I was talking about? Here is a Youtube of the fabulously spooky Totentanz:
Note : The music player for my music doesn’t show up in the Reader. If you don’t see it, go to the web site to listen
Trent's World (the Blog) 
The first one is definitely more sinister compared to the second which reminded me of Charlie Chaplin for some reason! I thoroughly enjoyed both. 😀
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Hi Eloise. Yeah, the top one was supposed to be spooky or sinister. the other was dark, but not necessarily spooky. Someday I’ll post the entire sonata. If you think this reminds you of Charlie Chaplin, wait until you here the forth movement. It’s a bit of a joke (purposefully) and has parts that are, well, “Chaplinesque”.
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Can’t wait to hear it Trent. Fantastic music to accompany a spooky house!
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The second one is so much of a steal from Beethoven that it made me laugh. Not meant as an insult, I promise, Trent ! :-) It’s amazingly clever ! But I don’t know anything of Liszt in terms of my own piano playing, so can’t really comment on the first one.
You are a clever bloke !
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Hi M-R. I obviously was studying Beethoven when I wrote it and tried to emulate his style. I didn’t copy any actual notes or themes, just ideas. Someday I’ll post the enter 4 movement sonata, all of which was influenced by his music.
The top one isn’t really taken from Liszt as much as the bottom from the Big B, but I did steal the idea for using the Dies Irae from him and Berlioz.
Glad you liked it!
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Hey, I really like your little Hallowe’en Ditty, Trent; it appeals to me greatly! Enjoyed the sonata too.
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Thanks Ali! I wrote the Halloween music for a music forum and most people just shrugged their shoulders. Everybody else did spectral sound effects with sudden loud noises. Ah, the kids these days, what do they know about spooky?
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