1013 RADIO: Classical Music

In the latest 1013 Radio, Carl Sweeney looks at the instances of classical music in The X-Files...

I don’t know about you, dear reader, but there’s nothing I like more than to sup from a glass of wine while listening to Beethoven (well, actually, I’m more likely to be drinking a can of Coors Light while playing a Bruce Springsteen album, but there’s no point splitting hairs). This week on 1013 Radio, let’s look back at three times when The X-Files memorably used classical music.

Little Green Men – “I live for Bach”

Senator Richard Matheson has summoned Mulder to his office, where he’s playing Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2. Mulder holds his own in a brief conversation about Bach (he is Oxford-educated, after all), but doesn’t immediately recall that this was the music sent into space with the Voyager probe. Matheson, fearful of being bugged, uses the volume of the music to disguise the real reason he wants to talk to Mulder: to notify him of possible alien contact in Puerto Rico.

Chinga – Scully takes a bath

After five years assigned to The X-Files, who can begrudge Agent Scully a nice holiday in Maine? It’s just a shame she ended up getting embroiled in an investigation involving a murderous talking doll. Still, at least she found time for a relaxing bath while listening to Hummel’s Piano Concerto No. 3.

Trust No 1 – A mother’s lament

In an impressive pre-credits sequence, we see images from past episodes refashioned as surveillance footage, while Scully narrates a message to William. On the soundtrack we hear a version of Tchaikovsky’s Barcarolle, one of the 12 piano pieces that make up The Seasons. It’s an effective montage, and the melodic music works well in this context.

That’s all for now. Join me next time on 1013 Radio for another journey into the musical world of The X-Files.

You can follow Carl on Twitter @csweeney758.