Music

Works which tell or allude to the Faust tale

(most links go to Wikipedia)

FAUST – Die Rockoper wird mit Live-Band, mit Sängern, Schauspielern und Tänzern als vergnügliches Rock-Schauspiel aufgeführt.

Ballets

• Faust by Jules Perrot (1848)

Classical

• Ludwig van Beethoven‘s Opus 75 no 3 (1809) Song — Aus Goethes Faust: “Es war einmal ein König”
• Franz Schubert‘s Gretchen am Spinnrade (1814)
• Richard Wagner‘s Faust Overture (1840)
• Felix Mendelssohn‘s Die erste Walpurgisnacht (1843)
• Hector Berlioz‘s The Damnation of Faust (1845–46) (sometimes performed in staged opera versions)
• Charles-Valentin Alkan‘s Grande sonate ‘Les quatre âges’, Op.33: 2nd Movement “Quasi-Faust” (1847)
• Robert Schumann‘s Scenes from Goethe’s Faust (completed 1853)
• Franz Liszt‘s Faust Symphony (1854–57) and Mephisto Waltzes
• Henryk Wieniawski‘s Fantaise brillante on themes from Gounod’s Faust, Op.20. (1865)
• Jean-Delphin Alard‘s Fantaisie de concert sur Faust, Op. 47 (c. 1868)
• Henri Vieuxtemps‘s Fantasie sur “Faust” de Ch. Gounod (p.1869)
• Pablo de Sarasate‘s “Nouvelle fantaisie sur ‘Faust’“, Op. 13 (1874)
• Modest Mussorgsky: “Mephistopheles’ song of the flea” (1879) is a version of the song that Mephistopheles sings in the tavern scene of Goethe’s Faust, pt. 1.
• Jean Roger-Ducasse‘s Au jardin de Marguerite, symphonic poem with chorus (1905)
• Gustav Mahler‘s Part II of Symphony No. 8 (1906–07)
• Lili Boulanger‘s Faust et Hélène (1913)
• Havergal Brian‘s Gothic Symphony (1919–27)
• Julius Röntgen‘s Aus Goethes Faust (1931)
• Hans Werner Henze‘s Chor gefangener Trojer (1948)
• Alexander Lokshin‘s Three Scenes from Goethe’s Faust (for soprano and orchestra) (1980)
• Alfred Schnittke‘s Faust Cantata (1982–83)

Contemporary music

• Faun‘s song König von Thule is a cover of Gretchen’s song in the first part of Goethe’s Faust (lines 2759-82). Goethe wrote this particular song in 1774.
• Blues guitarist Robert Johnson, fancifully said to have acquired his playing skill from the devil at a deserted crossroads
• Randy Newman‘s “Faust”
• Kamelot‘s Epica Saga (Epica and The Black Halo)
• The Trans-Siberian Orchestra‘s Beethoven’s Last Night
• Switchfoot‘s “Faust, Midas and Myself” (2006)
• Cradle of Filth‘s “Absinthe with Faust” song (from the album Nymphetamine)
• Little Tragedies‘ New Faust (2003).
• Akercocke (certain songs)
• Enigma “Dancing With Mephisto” (from the album A Posteriori)
• Radiohead‘s “Faust Arp” and “Videotape” (from the album In Rainbows)
• Tenacious D‘s “The Pick of Destiny“
• Muse‘s “The Small Print” (from the album Absolution, originally titled “Action Faust”)
• Current 93‘s album Faust, based on a story by Count Eric Stenbock.
• Frank Zappa‘s “Titties & Beer” (from the album Zappa in New York)
• Tom Waits‘s “Lucinda” (from the album Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards)
• The Band‘s “Daniel and the Sacred Harp” (from the album Stage Fright)
• Sabbat‘s “A Cautionary Tale” (from the album History of a Time to Come)
• The Charlie Daniels Band‘s “The Devil Went Down to Georgia“.
• Streetlight Manifesto‘s “Down, Down, Down to Mephisto’s Cafe” (from the album Somewhere in the Between)
• Dark Moor‘s “Faustus” (from the album Autumnal)
• The Police‘s “Wrapped Around Your Finger” single (from the album Synchroncity) refers to Mephistopheles by way of analogy
• Gorillaz‘ “Faust” (from the album G-Sides)
• Konrad Boehmer Apocalipsis cum figuris (electronic, instrumental, vocal, 1984)
• Konrad Boehmer Doktor Fausti Höllenfahrt (orchestra, 2006)
• Queen‘s “Bohemian Rhapsody“
• Moonspell‘s “Mephisto” (from the album Irreligious)
• Septic Flesh‘s “Faust” from the album Sumerian Daemons
• Faust, a German Krautrock band. See our page Faust (Band).
• The Fall‘s “Dktr Faustus” (from the album Bend Sinister)
• Poet JB Goodenough’s “Children of Michael” which tells the story of a man named Michael who makes a deal with the year (the devil or fate), to have many children but the year has to “choose one for himself”. The story features a chorus throughout, and was recorded by Irish folk singer Tommy Makem on his album Ancient Pulsing.
• Agalloch‘s “Faustian Echoes”
• The Human Abstract‘s “Faust” (2011)
• SicKtanicK’s “Faust” (from the album “Chapter 3: Awake (The Ministry of Hate))
• Marilyn Manson‘s “The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles” (from the album The Pale Emperor)
• Blue Öyster Cult‘s “Burnin’ for you”
• Ihsahn‘s “Alchemist” (from the album angL, 2008) quotes two passages from Goethe’s Faust. The songs “Malediction” and “Elevator” likewise allude to Faustian themes.

Musicals

• Randy Newman’s Faust.
• The Little Shop of Horrors, and the stage version Little Shop of Horrors, as well as the movie version of the stage version, Little Shop of Horrors.
• Damn Yankees.
• The Devil Went Down to Georgia.
• Brian De Palma’s Phantom of the Paradise has songs that allude to the tale of Faust, such as Faust and Beauty and the Beast.
• Disco Inferno by Jai Sepple.

Opera

• Louis Spohr‘s Faust (1816)
• Hector Berlioz‘s La Damnation de Faust (1846)
• Charles Gounod‘s Faust (1859)
• Arrigo Boito‘s Mefistofele (1868)
• Meyer Lutz‘s romantic opera Faust and Marguerite and his burlesque Faust up to date (1888)
• Ferruccio Busoni‘s Doktor Faust (1916–25)
• Sergei Prokofiev‘s The Fiery Angel (1927; first performed 1954)
• Hermann Reutter‘s
  • Doktor Johannes Faust, Op. 47 (1936, revised 1955)
  • Don Juan und Faust, Op. 75 (1950)
• Gertrude Stein‘s Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights (1938 libretto)
• Igor Stravinsky‘s The Rake’s Progress (1951)
• Hanns Eisler‘s Johann Faustus (1952 libretto)
• Havergal Brian‘s Faust (1955–56)
• Henri Pousseur (music) and Michel Butor (libretto), Votre Faust (1960–68), and related “satellite” works
• Konrad Boehmer‘s Doktor Faustus (1983), libretto by Hugo Claus
• Alfred Schnittke‘s Historia von D. Johann Fausten (1994)
• John Coolidge Adams‘ Doctor Atomic (2005)
• Pascal Dusapin‘s Faustus, the Last Night (2006)

More music notes and addenda

• Sarasate’s “Faust Fantasy” is a showpiece for violin and piano based on the Faust story.
• Frank Zappa’s “Titties & Beer”, from the album “Zappa in New York” and others, has the Devil stealing the protagonist’s large-breasted girlfriend and their beer, and demands he make a deal to get them back.
• Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s album Beethoven’s Last Night includes Faustian references; Beethoven in a deal with Mephistopheles must choose between his, possibly fictional, tenth symphony or his soul.
• Charles Gounod’s Ballet music from his opera Faust (1859). The ballet occurs as an interlude in the Fourth Act during the Walpurgis Night scene familiar from Goethe’s Faust Part 1. The ballet or ballet music is often performed independent of the opera.
• Franz Liszt was fascinated by the Faust legend, particularly with the character of Mephistopheles. He wrote several musical works on this idea, including:
  • o Faust Symphony (1854-57).
  • o “Two Episodes based on Lenau’s Faust,” the second of which is the famous “Mephisto Waltz No. 1.”
  • o “Mephisto Waltzes.”
• Gothic rock band Mephisto Waltz, probably based on Liszt’s Mephisto Waltzes.
• Murdoc Niccals, bassist of the British animated band Gorillaz, claims he had sold his soul to the devil so that the album Demon Days would succeed, and that his middle name was Faust.
• Igor Stravinsky’s Histoire du Soldat (1918) tells the story of a soldier who trades his fiddle to the devil for a book that predicts the future of the economy.
• Richard Wagner’s Faust overture (1840, originally intended as the first movement of a Faust symphony).
• Art Zoyd’s song Faust.
• The Fall’s song Dktr Faustus (1986), also known as Faust Banana.
• The Charlie Daniels Band’s 1979 hit “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.”
• Avant-garde/progressive black metal band Arcturus’s album, La Masquerade Infernale (1997) alludes to the tale and is dedicated to the “Faustian spirit”.
• American/Norwegian melodic power metal band Kamelot’s albums, Epica (2003) and The Black Halo (2005) are a two-part adaptation of the Faust legend.
• Brian DePalma’s Phantom of the Paradise (both the plot of the movie and a musical incorporated into the movie, titled “Foster”, are based on the legend of Faust).
• British Rock band Muse’s song ‘The Small Print’, from the album Absolution, describing the plight of Faust from the viewpoint of the Devil. The song’s working title was “Action Faust”.
• John Adams’ opera Doctor Atomic was originally commissioned as an American Faust telling, and the composer admits that the opera still retains Faustian elements. Its subject matter is Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project.
• English Band Dr. Faustus.
• Brazilian death metal band Mystifier released a song on their album Wicca/Göetia entitled “The True Story about Doctor Faust’s Pact with Mephistopheles”.
• Norwegian Black Metal act “Emperor” briefly contained a member who used the pseudonym Faust, he was imprisoned for murder in 1993 and has since been released.
• In 2006 the German composer Ernst Heckel and the English writer Richard Bunting published a modern rock musical titled “Faust”.
• The texts of the Dutch composer Alexander Comitas’ Walpurgisnacht, a piece for fanfare band and choir, come from Goethe’s Faust.
• Faust is a B-side on the Gorillaz album G-Sides.
• Faust Flag is the pseudonym for the drummer of The Pop Culture Suicides, which features ex-Marilyn Manson guitarist Zim Zum.