Music is often described, in the vaguest terms, as ‘dreamy’ or ‘dreamlike’. But many composers and artists have gone further than this, creating music with the specific intention of evoking the world of dreams or the unconscious. Here are five of the best pieces of music inspired by dreams.
1. Hector Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique
Hector Berlioz‘s symphony is a narrative of an artist’s opium-induced dreams, portraying his unrequited love for actress Harriet Smithson (whom he later married). The first movement, titled ‘Rêveries – Passions,’ sets the stage for a fantastical journey filled with emotional turmoil and vivid imagery.
- Read: Music inspired by mindfulness
- Read: Review of Howl | a concert exploring dreams, Gaelic folk tunes, ancient music and contrapuntal music from Venezuela
2. Bohuslav Martinů: Julietta
Next up on our list of music inspired by dreams: Based on a surrealist play, this 1936 opera by the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů features music that reflects the dream-like quest of a bookseller searching for a girl he has been dreaming about. The narrative explores themes of memory and longing in a fantastical setting.
- Read: 5 pieces of classical music inspired by paintings
- Read: Profile of Johannes Bergmark | a surrealist inventor-performer-artist-composer who specialises in dreamscapes
3. Assemble and Anil Seth: Dreamachine
This immersive experience from the Turner-prizewinning architecture and design collective Assemble and the neuroscientist Anil Seth, that toured the UK in 2022, combines flickering light and 360-degree spatial sound to generate vivid internal imagery behind closed eyes. The interdisciplinary collaboration between artists, scientists, and philosophers explores the inner worlds of perception and consciousness, drawing inspiration from dream-like states.
- Read: Scariest pieces of classical music | 5 of the most dangerous pieces
- Read: Interview with Bill Fontana | a sound artist unlocking Suffolk’s sonic secrets
To keep up to date with our latest news, interviews and reviews, sign up to our newsletter
To follow us on YouTube, click here
4. George Crumb: ‘Dream Sequence (Images II)’
The avant-garde American composer George Crumb‘s work for piano trio, percussion, and glass harmonica creates otherworldly soundscapes reminiscent of dream states.The result is hypnotic. As one reviewer remarked: ‘you can’t take your ears off it.’
- Read: 5 pieces of music inspired by novels
- Watch: Interview with psychoanalyst Roger Kennedy about psychoanalysis and music
5. Marina Abramović: ‘Dream House’
In 2012, the Serbian conceptual artist Marina Abramović created an immersive installation called ‘Dream House’, which blurred the lines between waking and dreaming, art and audience participation. Visitors were invited to don white lab coats and lie on beds, experiencing a combination of light, sound, and vibration designed to induce a dreamlike state. And so concludes our list of music inspired by dreams.