Pieces NOT to play in church.

[cherub_rocker1979]

One that comes to mind is Prokofiev Suggestion Diabolique 

[steinwaymodeld]

I played Mephisto waltz in a Catholic University and received standing ovation (it was in the resting area)

it was the funniest thing.



Yea... I am probably going to hell..... 

[lau]

I played Fantasie Impromptu for the church christmas program!!

[perfect_pitch]

One piece you should never play....

Ina-ga-da-gavida....  Really Funny.

Either that or Symphony Fantastique... Dance of the Witches Sabbath.

[steinwaymodeld]

I played Fantasie Impromptu for the church christmas program!!

ic

so your repotire consists of 2 pieces, Fantasie Impromtu
and the relatively 'easy' Mazeppa


and yes, you have the most random reply!

check the topic of the post before u reply.

[pita bread]

I intend on playing Scriabin Sonatas 5, 6, 7, 8 in some form of church setting someday.

[zheer]

Rahmaninoff prelude in C# minor ( bad idea )

[mcgillcomposer]

Any Liszt transcription of a Wagner piece...oh wait...maybe that should only be omitted from performance in a synagogue...

[mikey6]

I played Shosta prelude and fugue no.24 in a church.  Went down well.

[invictus]

Ac/DC - Highway to Hell

 

Played a piano transcription of that once

Laughed the hell out

Liszt - Mephisto Waltz
Porkofiev - Suggestion Diabolique

hehehe

[apion]

DO NOT play Liszt's Totentanz

[henrah]

Why is Mephisto Waltz a bad piece to play at a church? Is it the story behind it, or just too flashy? I myself can't find anything wrong with it...

[notturno]

Scriabin Sonata No. 9 "Black Mass"

Anything by Slayer would probably be a poor choice: not that I've seen piano transcriptions of their work.

Joseph

[Kassaa]

Why is Mephisto Waltz a bad piece to play at a church? Is it the story behind it, or just too flashy? I myself can't find anything wrong with it...

Mephisto=devil

[tompilk]

definitely suggestion diabolique (= satanic apparition) and probably Totentanz... or danse macabre... i suppose you could play that in the graveyard under a full moon.. and bring a dog along to howl...
Tom

[lau]

ic

so your repotire consists of 2 pieces, Fantasie Impromtu
and the relatively 'easy' Mazeppa


and yes, you have the most random reply!

check the topic of the post before u reply.

how is that random? It is what pieces not to play in church, and Fantasy Impromptu is something not to play in church. My repetouir consists of more than 2 pieces! I happen to know... let me count now, about 50 pieces by memory! They aren't all that easy either, yay.

[mike_lang]

ic

so your repotire consists of 2 pieces, Fantasie Impromtu
and the relatively 'easy' Mazeppa


and yes, you have the most random reply!

check the topic of the post before u reply.

I am not sure by what standard Mazeppa is considered an easy piece.  Perhaps relative to Gaspard or the Don Juan Fantasy.

[superstition2]

A piece that has a program that says rationality trumps irrationality.

[steinwaymodeld]

I am not sure by what standard Mazeppa is considered an easy piece.  Perhaps relative to Gaspard or the Don Juan Fantasy.

it was meant to be a satire to the 'i only-play-mazeppa-and-don't-understand-why-people-think-it's-difficult-and-i-only-play-fantasy-impromtu-before-and-it's-my-only-showpiece-user-lau'

[maxy]

Mephisto=devil

more than that, the "script" of Mephisto waltz highly suggests sex and all that leads to the action.  They dance, they run in the woods, tender moments, tender moments getting some intensity....   the waltz is suddenly becoming a wild monkey dance "thump" "thump" ... climax... no need to get too much into details.

Suggestion diabolique is actually a mistranslation, there is nothing about the devil in the russian name.  It's more like: obsessive halucination.

why not play totentanz?  it is based on the gregorian "dies irae"...   It's almost like saying: "ave maria" should never be played in a church.  I would not complain but...

 

[ahinton]

What about Sorabji's "St. Bertrand de Comminges" (one of two piano pieces based around stories of the supernatural by the English author Montague Rhodes James), whose subtitle "He was laughing in the tower" might turn into an unpleasant accident in the belfry were it to be played in church (except to say that it fortunately had no such effect when Jonathan Powell performed it in St Cyprian's Church, Marylebone, London, almost opposite where the composer lived for many years).

Best,

Alistair

[nanabush]

Where could I get an MP3 of the st bertrand de comminges?

[apion]

or danse macabre... i suppose you could play that in the graveyard under a full moon.. and bring a dog along to howl...
Tom

Yep, perfect "graveyard music" 

[moi_not_toi]

The 1812 Oveture in church.

[ahinton]

Where could I get an MP3 of the st bertrand de comminges?

I have no idea. You can, however, get a copy of the composer's manuscript, a copy of the Rice edition of that score and a CD of Sorabji piano pieces including that work played by Donna Amato on the Altarus label, all from us.

Best,

Alistair

[notturno]

The 1812 Oveture in church.

I think the 1812 would be OK as long as you didn't include cannons, howitzers, etc at the end.

[jason2711]

Yep, perfect "graveyard music" 

just out of interest... do you often get the chance to play in a graveyard... i think it would be pretty cool, especially if you were recording a video of the piece, but it would get a little creepy also 

[gorbee natcase]

Generaly church music is uplifting, would it be safe to say that mozart falls into this obscureidea of what is acceptable, but then again Chopins funeral sonata would be out of place on the wrong occasion 

Church seems about conveying messages, What kind of message do you want to convey??? positive/negative???

Apparently the church accepts music from the rock genre now so you would have to think very hard of a piece that would offend God, and only you would know if that was the case. so when he eventualy asks you this question you better have a good explanation
That is of course if you need to explain that you are not testing him (deep and dark this is)
By choosing the wrong answer the path to the dark side you choose. temptation is a path to the dark side, tread carefully. Intention is 9/10ths of the law

[moi_not_toi]

yeah. a guy played THAT'S JUST THE WAY IT IS in church and yet people object to LIBESTRAUME NO. 3. What kind of sense does that make.

[quantum]

Funny thing about Christian Rock.  On CD recorded by the artist it sounds like reasonable music, but when a bunch of people decide to sing the same songs in church with little thought to the performance of the same music it considerably declines in quality.  Performance really does matter with rock too. 

[ludwig]

lol I like this topic!! I think I might have played suggestion diabolique in chapel service once for school because they asked me to play something... should have thought more about piece choice

[moi_not_toi]

How about Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. That's very appropriate.

[chopinfan_22]

The Hungarian Rhapsody by Liszt.
The Entertainer/Maple Leaf Rag by Joplin.
You Shook Me All Night Long by ACDC.

[cherub_rocker1979]

Another piece to avoid playing in church would be Chopin's F Major Ballade; the unexpected Presto con fuoco episode might give somebody a heart attack.

[moi_not_toi]

Anything by Marylin Manson I would deem inappropriate.

[Barbosa-piano]

 There is no piece more sinful than Grieg's Erotik. Ha!