10 dark pieces to listen to on darker evenings What's the perfect musical accompaniment for a gloomy winter's night? New teaching resources for Ten Pieces are available for use across the 2017/18 academic year and are packed with ways to get young people inspired by classical music. The pieces themselves provide a great musical introduction to the classical world for all ages. We've dipped into this year's list of pieces plus the Ten Pieces back catalogue to find some mysterious, atmospheric and suitably sinister music to soundtrack your winter season. Mussorgsky's A Night on the Bare Mountain is the piece for you. A Night On The Bare Mountain is based on a short story set near Kiev in the old Russian Empire. A wild and terrifying witches' party is taking place on a mountainside, but when the church bell chimes at 6am and the sun comes up... the witches vanish. The unsettled strings with trombones, tuba and bassoons thundering out the theme make it a perfect accompaniment for an eerie dark evening! Try Sibelius's Finlandia . This piece is a musical tribute to the composer's beloved homeland, Finland. Sibelius wanted to represent his country's national pride with rousing melodies that reflect the strength and hope of the Finnish people. The music also captures Finland's majestic landscapes. Grab a hot drink and be transported to icy mountains and snowy forests - it'll make you feel that the weather outside is perhaps not that chilly after all. Listen to Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King . Originally written as incidental music for a play in 1875, Grieg's atmospheric piece has been used extensively in popular culture - in soundtracks, adverts and even video games. As the piece builds to a dramatic climax, this is music that'll make you want to walk faster and faster - and will make you wonder what's really lurking in the shadows... Give Mason Bates' A Bao A Qu a go. Mason Bates' Anthology of Fantastic Zoology from 2015 has eleven distinctive movements, each conjuring up a different legendary creature, including the A Bao A Qu from Malay mythology. The tower-dwelling beast is brought to life with slithering, evocative sounds from the orchestra. Had your fill of cute festive films and adverts? This mysterious creature is the ideal alternative to reindeer and robins. Try Wagner's 'Ride of the Valkyries' from 'Die Walküre' . 'Ride of the Valkyries' is probably the most famous piece from Wagner's operatic epic, The Ring Cycle. (The whole opera took 27 years to compose and takes over 15 hours to perform!) Valkyries are warrior spirits that act as Death's cavalry, soaring over battlegrounds to choose who will die... It's a blockbuster story with a suitably blockbuster soundtrack. Get the popcorn out! Orff's 'O fortuna' is the perfect piece. Inspired by medieval literature, 'O fortuna' is one of the most famous choral pieces in the world. It gives us a chance to meet the Roman Goddess of Fortune. As she spins her wheel, who will win and who will lose? Composed in the 1930s, its super-dramatic music and atmospheric chanting still give us the chills now, and it makes for fitting listening to ponder the future to. What does fate have in store for us? Only Fortune herself knows... Listen to Britten's 'Storm' Interlude . This piece is from the opera 'Peter Grimes', which focuses on a community struggling to make their living by the sea. The orchestral interludes, including 'Storm', are sandwiched between the sung acts to build drama. The thunderous timpani and raging brass will soundtrack a cold blustery day - but listen out for the harp, representing the sun shining through the clouds. Try Anna Clyne's Night Ferry for another stormy musical backdrop. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor will set the mood. This is one of J. S. Bach's most memorable pieces, and it has regularly featured in film soundtracks, from Disney's Fantasia to a number of classic horror movies. It's a piece that manages to be both intricate and majestic in parts, but ultimately the powerful sound of the orchestra combined with its dramatic opening motif makes this a scary movement of music that's full of suspense. Try Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. Beethoven's fifth symphony is passionate and fiery. Its opening motif is one of the most famous in musical history, and has been interpreted in several ways. A popular theory is that it's the symbolic representation of fate arriving angrily at the door. If you're alone on a dark night and waiting for a knock at the door... pop this piece on and try not to jump. Verdi's 'Dies Irae' and 'Tuba Mirum' is the one for you. If winter's never going to be your favourite season and no amount of festive cheer is going to help, this powerful music will suit your mood. Written in memory of a friend, Verdi explores themes of death and redemption using an enormous wall of sound and voices. The result is a piece that's pretty terrifying in parts. Close the curtains, mutter bah humbug, and wait for spring. Similar programmes BY GENRE: MUSIC > CLASSICAL LEARNING CHILDREN'S > MUSIC Home Copyright © 2017 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Ten Pieces BBC Ten Pieces - opening up the world of classical music to the next generation. 1. If you fancy a fright... Watch the full performance of the piece and learn more about Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky. 2. If you're feeling freezing... Watch the full performance of the piece and learn more about Jean Sibelius's ode to Finland. 3. If you're going for a winter walk... Watch the full performance of the piece and find out more about Edvard Grieg's folklore-inspired music. 4. If Christmas creatures aren't for you... Watch the full performance of the piece and learn more about American composer and DJ Mason Bates. 5. If you like a good story by the fire... Watch the full performance of the piece and find out more about Richard Wagner's epic Ring Cycle. 6. If you're looking ahead to next year... Watch the full performance of the piece and find out more about Carl Off's Carmina Burana. 7. If there's a storm outside... Watch the full performance of the piece and learn about British composer Benjamin Britten's music. 8. If you're watching a scary film... Watch the full performance of the piece and learn about the history of this famous Baroque music. 9. If you're home alone... Watch the full performance of the piece and find out more about one of history's most famous composers. 10. If you're in a bad mood... Watch the full performance of the piece and learn more about Giuseppe Verdi's dramatic operas. Explore more from Ten Pieces You can listen to or save all of the music from the Ten Pieces repertoire as free MP3s Learn more about the Ten Pieces project, including how to get involved and what's happening this year Browse all of the musical resources available from Ten Pieces, including clips, arrangements and lesson plans You may also like VIEW