Edgar Allan Poe and music

The influence of Edgar Allan Poe on the art of music has been considerable and long-standing, with the works, life and image of the horror fiction writer and poet inspiring composers and musicians from diverse genres for more than a century.

Classical music

Claude Debussy wrote an unfinished opera based on "The Fall of the House of Usher."

Leon Botstein, conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra—which presented a program of "Tales From Edgar Allan Poe" in 1999—noted that in the realm of classical music, as in literature, Poe's influence was felt more deeply in Andre Caplet's Conte fantastique for harp and strings, published in 1924 but begun at least as early as 1909, is a musical retelling of "The Masque of the Red Death" and "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym".

Rachmaninoff’s choral symphony The Bells set Poe's poem (or at least a Russian translation) to music.

Other operas based on stories by Poe are Ligeia, a 1994 opera by Augusta Read Thomas, and The Tell-Tale Heart by Bruce Adolphe. A ballet based on a story by Poe is Hop-Frog, a 2009 ballet by Terry Brown with fifty minutes running time.

The contemporary Greek composer Dionysis Boukouvalas has set to music Poe's poem To Zante, for mezzo, mandolin and guitar.

Swedish composer Fredrik Klingwall released in 2009 nine piano pieces, each one inspired by one of Poe's poems in a collection called Works Of Woe.

American composer, Emma Lou Diemer, set "A Dream Within A Dream" and "Eldorado" for mixed chorus and piano. These works were published by Hinshaw Music, Inc. in 2001. Daron Hagen included settings of "A Dream Within a Dream" and "Thou Wouldst Be Loved" in the 1983 song cycle "Echo's Songs," published by E.C. Schirmer. Leonard Bernstein set "Israfel" as part of his song cycle for voices and orchestra, Songfest.

Nikita Kosher wrote the put Poe's short story "The Fall Of The House Of Usher" into music in 1984 and called it the Usher Waltz. The Usher Waltz is most notably played by John Williams.

Iowa composer, James Poulsen, composed "Five Poems of Edgar Allan Poe" for medium high voice and piano in 1986. The song cycle was orchestrated in 1998 with a commission from Jack and Dawn Taylor of Des Moines, Iowa. The Des Moines Symphony premiered the work in 1999 with Robin Roewe, tenor. The poems in the set are: 'Alone', 'Evening Star', Hymn', 'A Dream', and 'To One in Paradise.' Poulsen has also set a letter of Poe, a letter of Maria Clemm, and the valentine poem of Virginia Poe to music.

Popular music

• Frankie Laine recorded a version of Annabel Lee in 1957, which was adapted from Poe's poem by Vic Corpora and Albert Lerner.

• Jim Reeves recorded "Annabel Lee" in 1963 for an album of poems called Talkin' To Your Heart.

• The American folk and protest singer Phil Ochs set Poe's poem "The Bells" to music on his debut album, All the News That's Fit to Sing, in 1964.

• Bob Dylan's 1965 song "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" makes reference to "Rue Morgue Avenue".

• Poe's final poem "Annabel Lee" was set to music by composer Don Dilworth, and was recorded by Joan Baez as part of her 1967 album Joan, as well as by Spanish pop band Radio Futura, and Israeli singer Shlomo Artzi in 1972.

• When the Beatles compiled images of their heroes for the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, one of the most recognizable faces was that of Poe, in the center of the top row. The same year, 1967, the Beatles declared in their song "I Am the Walrus," "Man you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allan Poe." The British band's embrace of the romantic, melancholy Poe as one of their precursors foreshadowed the writer's impact on a wide range of popular musicians.

• In 1969, RCA records released "Poe Through the Glass Prism", a concept album in which all the songs featured the words of Edgar Allan Poe set to psychedelic rock. The Glass Prism, from Scranton, Pennsylvania, had a Billboard top 100 hit with "The Raven".

• In 1976, the British art rock group the Alan Parsons Project released a full album, Tales of Mystery and Imagination, based on Poe's stories and poems. Opening with an instrumental named for Poe's poem "A Dream Within a Dream", the album features songs based on "The Raven", "The Cask of Amontillado", "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether" (which was a Top 40 hit) and "To One in Paradise", as well as a five-part rock symphony called "The Fall of the House of Usher". Producer and engineer Alan Parsons released a remixed version of the album in 1987, featuring narration by Orson Welles; executive producer Eric Woolfson revisited the concept in a 2003 stage musical [Poe: More Tales of Mystery and Imagination]. [1].
  Also, in their 1980 album The Turn of a Friendly Card, there is an instrumental song called "The Gold Bug".

• The Deathrock band Voodoo Church wrote a song for their eponymous 1982 EP called "Second Death," which incorporates several lines from "The Black Cat" into the lyrics.

• The song "Allan" by French singer Mylene Farmer from her album Ainsi Soit Je... (1988) is dedicated to Edgar Allan Poe.

• The American rock band the Smithereens released a song called "William Wilson", based on the Poe story of the same name, on their 1989 album 11.

• Peter Hammill of Van der Graaf Generator released an operatic version of "The Fall of the House of Usher" in 1991. A remixed and re-recorded version was released in 1999.

• Tool featured the lyrics "seems like I'm slipping into a dream within a dream" in the song "Sweat" on their 1992 album Opiate.

• Blues Traveler featured the lyrics, "Once upon a midnight dreary," (from "The Raven") in their 1994 hit "Run-Around".

• Cuban musician Silvio Rodriguez has several songs on Poe, including "Trova de Edgardo" (1992), on the album Silvio.

• A Québécois artist Jean Leloup (Jean Leclerc) has a song Edgar depicting humorously Edgar Allan Poe on the album Le Dôme (1996).

• The tribute album Closed on Account of Rabies was released in 1997, with musicians and actors such as Jeff Buckley and Christopher Walken reading Poe's works with background music.

• Avant-garde Metal band Arcturus have a song on the album La Masquerade Infernale (1997) called "Alone" incorporating the full, unaltered text of Poe's poem "Alone".P

• Pop-punk band, then known as, A New Found Glory featured a song named "Tell-Tale Heart" on their 1999 album Nothing Gold Can Stay.

• The band Odes Of Ecstasy on their second album Deceitful Melody (2000) incorporates the full text of "The Conqueror Worm" under the title of "Abstract Thoughts."

• Pop singer Britney Spears named her 2001-2002 concert tour Dream Within a Dream, incorporating lines from that poem (and other Poe works) into her show.

• The Post-Hardcore band Thrice has a song "The Red Death" on their album The Illusion of Safety (2002) which in style and plot refers to the short story "The Masque of the Red Death".

• The band Cinema Strange perform a song called "Legs and Tarpaulin" on their 2002 album "The Astonished Eyes of Evening," dramatizing the plot of Poe's "King Pest"

• Lou Reed released a double CD concept album called The Raven in 2003 that featured a number of musical and spoken-word interpretations of Poe, with guest appearances from various actors, including Steve Buscemi and Willem Dafoe.

• Five Iron Frenzy's song "That's How The Story Ends" has several quotes from "The Raven" incorporated into it. It was released on their album The End Is Near (2003).

• He was mentioned in the song "St. Jimmy" by Green Day on the album American Idiot (2003). The lyric says, "I am the son of a bitch and Edgar Allan Poe, raised in the city in the halo of lights."

• MC Lars heavily refers to "The Raven" in his song "Mr. Raven" on his album The Laptop EP (2004). The song includes the words, "We got EAP in the house tonight, Edgar Allan Poe. America's favorite anti-transcendentalist." He continues to refer to "The Raven" throughout.

• The song "The Casket of Roderick Usher" by Finch references the character from "The Fall of the House of Usher" on the album Say Hello to Sunshine (2005) and the song "Reduced to Teeth" would appear to be a reference to "Berenice."

• Scarlet's Well's fifth album Black Tulip Wings (2006) features musical settings of "To One In Paradise" and "Evening Star".

• The L.A. Goth Rock Duo Creature Feature wrote the song "Buried Alive" about Poe, released in 2007. The song contains over 20 references to Poe's work and life. Works named include "A Dream Within a Dream", "The City in the Sea," "The Valley of Unrest," "Loss of Breath," "The Premature Burial," "The Oblong Box," "Never Bet the Devil Your Head," and many others.

• Finnish goth-metal singer Ville Valo of the band HIM frequently cites Poe's work as the inspiration for many of his lyrics, even sporting a tattoo of Poe's eyes on his back.

• Marilyn Manson has been quoted saying that some of his inspiration for his music and art comes from Edgar Allan Poe's works, and has even painted a portrait of Poe.

• Nox Arcana, an American gothic instrumental duo, pays homage to all of Poe's literary works with their 2007 album Shadow of the Raven.

• Several heavy metal bands have made reference to Poe in their recordings. Iron Maiden recorded a song titled "Murders in the Rue Morgue" for their second album, 1981's Killers. Grave Digger's 2001 album The Grave Digger is dedicated to Poe, and some of Poe's works, including "The Raven" and "Fall of the House of Usher" are the basis of a number of songs. Progressive/thrash metal band Nevermore takes its name from "The Raven". Other Metal bands that wrote songs inspired by Poe are: Agathodaimon, Annihilator, Crimson Glory, Ra's Dawn, Manilla Road, Donor, Hawaii, Rage, Metal Church and Stormwitch

• Gothic Metal band Tristania have a song called "My Lost Lenore." The song refers to "her raven eyes" and ends similarly to the poem "The Raven," still mourning his lost Lenore.

• The neocelt band Omnia has set "The Raven" to music on their 2007 CD Alive!.

• The song "The Poet and the Pendulum" by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish is partly inspired by Poe's short story "The Pit and the Pendulum." Poe is one of the favorite writers of the band's leader, Tuomas Holopainen.

• Voltaire's song Graveyard Picnic is dedicated to Poe, and includes in the lyrics references to Poe's works, such as The Conqueror Worm, Lenore, Annabel Lee, and The Tell-Tale Heart, as well as mentioning Poe by name.

• The post-hardcore band Chiodos cites Poe as one of their inspirations for lyrics from their third CD, entitled Bone Pallace Ballet.

• Michael Romeo from Symphony X recorded an instrumental album called The Dark Chapter where has several songs inspired from Edgar Allan Poe including "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Premature Burial", and "The Masque of the Red Death".

• Italian rocknoir band Belladonna regards Poe as their main inspiration and have included a line from Ligeia in the booklet of their debut album, entitled Metaphysical Attraction.

• The Christian heavy metal band Tourniquet wrote their song "Tell-Tale Heart" entirely as a tribute to Poe and have said that his works have inspired them throughout their tenure.

• Also the Christian heavy metal band Tourniquet used a line from the story, "The Masque of the Red Death" in their song Vanishing Lessons, from the album of the same title.

• The famous thrash metal band Annihilator dedicated one song to Poe's short tale "Ligeia" in their debut album "Alice in Hell" (1989)
• Utada Hikaru in her early career wrote her song "Kremlin Dusk" about Poe's poem "The Raven".
• German Ambient Doomrock band The Ocean used "The City in the Sea" as lyrics, only swapping a few lines to fit rhythmical patterns of the song. It was used both due to the band's love of Poe, and the themes common to both poem and band.
• The indie rock band Draught did a version of "Annabel Lee."

• The blues/rock band, The Yardbirds, adapted The second stanza (and a portion of the first) of Poe's "Dream within a Dream" to music.

• The steampunk band Abney Park refer briefly to Poe in "The Secret Life of Dr. Calgori" on their 2008 album Lost Horizons.

• The musician, Jered Gallagher, released the CD "Outis" in 2009 where the words from eight of Poe's poems are sung over eight of Beethoven's works arranged and performed with modern instruments.

• The Argentinian band Soda Stereo made a song called "Corazón Delator" from Poe's short story "The Tell-Tale Heart".

• Greek-Cypriot songwriter and singer Alkinoos Ioannidis has written a song entitled "Edgar Allan Poe", recorded in the album O Dromos, O Hronos Kai O Ponos.

• Buddy Morrow and His Orchestra recorded an album of songs based on Poe's work. The album, "Poe for Moderns," was recorded by the jazz ensemble at Webster Hall in New York in 1960 and includes the following tracks: "The Murders In The Rue Morgue," "Annabel Lee," "The Gold Bug," "A Descent Into The Maelstrom," "The Bells," "The Fall Of The House Of Usher," "The Pit And The Pendulum," "Ulalume," "The Black Cat," "The Raven," and "Quoth The Raven/The Tell-Tale Heart."

• In the West End musical, Snoopy!!! The Musical, a musical number in act one is titled "Edgar Allan Poe". In the song, some characters are worried that their teacher is going to ask them something about Edgar Allan Poe, who they know nothing about, while other characters list facts and titles by Poe.

• Other bands or musicians that have recorded songs inspired by Poe or using lyrics by Poe include Belladonna, Blues Traveler, Bright Eyes, Green Carnation (in the song "Alone"), Good Charlotte, Tourniquet, Mr. Bungle, The Crüxshadows, Roses Never Fade, Cradle of Filth, Team Sleep, Utada Hikaru, Elysian Fields, The Smithereens, Symphony X, Rozz Williams, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Tiger Army, Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows, Overlord, Insane Clown Posse, Antony and the Johnsons, Marissa Nadler, Lloyd Cole, Panic at the Disco, Propaganda, Michael Hurley, AFI, and Dredg. and MC Lars

• The album The Emptiness by Alesana is heavily influenced by the poem "Annabel Lee". In the album, the lead character had a lover named Annabel Lee, who was murdered before the first track starts, and the track name "In Her Tomb By The Sounding Sea" is the last line of the poem.

• The Irish singer-songwriter Fionn Regan, in his song, "Lord Helpy My Poor Soul", sings the lines "Lord help my poor soul, I'm down like Edgar Poe"

• The British extreme metal band, Cradle of Filth released an album in 2004, named Nymphetamine. It is heavily influenced and based upon Edgar Allan Poe and his works.

• The 2010 concept album Poe by Spanish power metal band Opera Magna revolves entirely around some of the most famous Poe's works.

• The band Glass Wave included a song on their 2010 album entitled Annabel Lee, in reference to Poe's last complete poem.

See also

For his influence on other media:

• Edgar Allan Poe in television and film

For his appearances as a fictional character:

• Edgar Allan Poe in popular culture

External links

• American Symphony Orchestra: "Tales of Edgar Allan Poe"
• Music with Poe Themes @ HouseOfUsher.net
• Ballet with Poe Themes
• [2]Music video for "Annabel Lee" by the cerebral rock band Glass Wave.