Composed by : Charles Gounod (1818 - 1893)
Play Length : 4:18
Considered one of Gounod's most popular pieces, you probably know this song as the theme for "Alfred Hitchcock Presents".
You're sitting in your pajamas, before you get sent to you room, you tune in to your favorite show. One of those shows that will make you lay in bed afterwards and think about it WAY too much. You watch the commercials for the Dick Van Dyke Show . . . . and then that eerie music starts and you know you're in for another thrill-ride before you head into the arms of Morpheus.
This is a light and short classical piece, with an eerie jaunty quality to it. Primarily a piano piece, I have also heard it with strings and auxiliary percussion (such as a xylophone) added in. The eerieness and Hitchcock association make it ever-present at most Halloween classical concerts. It is now also available as a ring for most cell phones. I haven't decided if I applaud that or not.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents was the last show my parents would let me watch before bed and it started my longtime fascination with science fiction and thrillers. And it all started with this strange Gounod piece. Even when I hear it now, I get a luscious anticipation that I got as a young'un.
For sheet music of this: http://www.cgsmusic.com/score%20samples/Funeral%20March%20of%20the%20Marionette%20(Gounod).htm