Spine-tingling music at Halloween concert

What makes certain works of classical music scary? The human imagination is so susceptible that powers of suggestion can often hold sway. The annual Halloween concert, part of Singapore Symphony Orchestra's organ series, had the ideal setting in Victoria Concert Hall.

- Chang Tou Liang

Its Klais pipe organ was the star, with the Introduction from French composer Leon Boellmann's Suite Gothique performed by the Singapore Symphony Chorus' director Eudenice Palaruan opening accounts. Loud stentorian chords and long-held resonances conveyed vibes of haunted houses and things that go bump in the night. Then entered the men from the Singapore Symphony Chorus, all 17 with grim expressions. They sang a brief movement from Francis Poulenc's Four Little Prayers Of Saint Francis Of Assisi, led by assistant conductor Ellissa Sayampanathan.

Johann Sebastian Bach's infamous Toccata And Fugue In D Minor did not make an appearance, but his Little Fugue, in G minor (BWV.578), did. This was almost cheerful by comparison.