As the nights grow longer and shadows stretch across the walls, there’s something magical about the way music can evoke the uncanny, the mysterious, and the supernatural. If you’re planning a flute recital around this eerie time of year, what better way to enchant your audience than with pieces that whisper and thrill in equal measure?

Here are ideas to inspire a recital that feels less like a program and more like a journey into something otherworldly.

Opening the Gates: Invitation to the Unknown

Begin by easing listeners into the realm of the supernatural. For example, Camille Saint-Saëns’s Danse Macabre is a natural portal: built on the legend that Death plays his fiddle at midnight, summoning skeletons to dance beneath the moon. 

Or you might choose Cinq Incantations by André Jolivet, a flute‐alone work charged with ritualistic energies. Written in the wake of the composer’s grief, it’s both dazzling and haunting. 

Into the Shadows: Building Atmosphere

Once your listeners are in the space, deepen the spell with works that trade in suspense and texture. Night Soliloquy by Kent Kennan, whether in its solo or ensemble version, offers ascending lines that float in tension before descending into more restless territory. 

Olivier Messiaen’s Le Merle Noir summons nature in extremis, a birdsong turned eerie, patterns fraying at the edges. It’s a reminder that even the natural world carries mysteries we can’t fully explain

And for something truly ethereal, Vox Balaenae by George Crumb demands that the flutist not only play, but sing, while the pianist reaches inside the instrument to pluck strings. The combination feels aquatic, spectral, and untethered. 

Whispered Voices and Haunted Techniques

Midway through, lean into pieces that showcase more extended techniques: the clicks, breaths, and microtones that seem to awaken hidden spirits. Voice by Toru Takemitsu is a brilliant example: it incorporates key clicks, multiphonics, flutter tonguing, and other “unusual” sounds that feel less like gimmicks and more like ghosts murmuring in the darkness. 

Nicole Chamberlain’s Asphyxia similarly dramatizes the struggle as the title itself hints at breathlessness. Here, the flutist’s physicality becomes part of the narrative, as dissonance, rhythm, and color coalesce into an audio hallucination.

Moments of Reflection: Beauty Amid the Chill

After traversing intensities, it’s often effective to let the tension ease briefly — like breathing out, before plunging again. Lowell Liebermann’s Sonata (flute and piano) features short-lived, violent outbursts - a moody tone poem with infinite color possibilities. While not overtly “spooky,” it brings emotional grounding.

Frank Martin’s Ballade strikes a balance: dramatic and heartfelt, with dissonance surfacing amid melodic shapes. In a spooky context, its darker moments can feel like suppressed memories stirring at the edges.

Casting the Final Spell

To close, consider Chant de Linos by Jolivet that leans into mysticism and myth. Its transcendent character makes it a powerful send-off, lingering in listeners’ minds long after the last note fades.

As the final notes die away, the audience is left suspended: haunted, captivated, uplifted.

Tips for Crafting a Cohesive Program

• Think of your recital as a story. Let tension build, retreat, and resolve (or not!) rather than simply presenting “scary” works back to back.

• Balance familiarity & surprise. Opening with "Danse Macabre" draws listeners in with a recognizable sound, but introducing lesser-known or experimental pieces keeps curiosity alive.

• Use transitions wisely. A spoken introduction, brief commentary, or lighting shift can help your audience move from one musical “scene” to the next.

• Be mindful of pacing. Too many high-intensity works in a row can exhaust both performer and listener; intersperse lighter or more meditative pieces