We are made of absent loves and this Day of the Dead 2025 is the perfect time to remember them.
The offerings are magical spaces that are detached from time.
Our dead inhabit them through objects that were theirs and have come into our hands as testimonies of the beautiful journey that was their life.
But what would a Day of the Dead be without music?
Something as empty as a party without mezcal.
Music is that mystical vibration that unites the world of the dead with the world of the living.
Music has the power to unite people and transform realities.
The Mining Symphony presents:
Day of the Dead 2025: music for offering absent loves:
A definitive musical guide so you never forget this day.
20 musical pieces to accompany your offering of the dead
Music brings us closer to the inexplicable. That is why we listen to it to honor our dead. Sound is both memory and mystery. In music, time collapses. While it sounds, the deceased person exists in the intimacy of his or her relatives. But also in that intimacy exists the afterlife.
To honor our dead, at the Sinfónica de Minería we offer you this playlist to honor our dead.
Playlist of the Sinfónica de Minería to honor the dead
- Funeral Marchfrom the Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridgeby Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976).
- The Last Sleep (1856), piano music by Louise Farrenc (1804 - 1875)
- Trauergesang*, funeral dirge, by Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847)
- Der Tod und das Mädchen (1897), by Ethel Smyth (1858 - 1944)
- A Mexican requiem (2010), by Marcela Rodriguez (1951)
- The Death of Asesecond movement of the Suite No. 1 from Peer Gynt by Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907).
- Requiem (1963) - Imogen Holst (1907-1984) A choral work that follows the traditional structure of the Catholic requiem.
- Valse tristefrom the incidental music for the theater play Kuolema by Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957).
- Songs of Mortality (1975) - Elizabeth Lutyens (1906-1983) Song cycle reflecting on the finiteness of life.
- Ah, if by the side of this dismal urn*, from the opera Orpheus and Eurydice by Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714 - 1787).
- Death Notices (1981) - Thea Musgrave (1928) An orchestral work inspired by newspaper obituaries.
- Danse macabresymphonic poem, by Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921)
- The Dance of Death (1994) - Sofia Gubaidulina (1931) Piece for orchestra representing the medieval dance of death.
- The white and sweet swan sings and dies*madrigal by Jacob Arcadelt (1507 - 1568).
- Songs of Remembrance (2001) - Kaija Saariaho (1952-2023) Vocal cycle exploring themes of loss and memory.
- Death and the Maiden*, lied (short lyric song) by Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828)
- In Memoriam (2012) - Jennifer Higdon (1962). Orchestral work that pays tribute to the deceased.
- Traditional Oaxacan music: La Martiniana*son istmeño with text by Andrés Henestrosa
- Tzam (2022) by Gabriela Ortiz (1964).
- God never dies*oaxacan waltz by Macedonio Alcalá (1831 - 1869)
Music of the world (non-western) for your offering
Broaden your listening. Memory also speaks other sound languages.
- Gamelan beleganjur (Bali, Indonesia). Percussion for the cremation ngaben. Its pulse protects and guides the soul. Use it when lighting candles or at the beginning of the wake.
- Jongmyo Jeryeak (Korea). Court music of the Confucian rite to the ancestors. Sounds solemn and restrained. Include it when the family calls the roll of names.
- Shōmyō (Japan). Liturgical Buddhist chant. The Hannya Shingyō (Heart Sutra) supports silence and contemplation. Use it in moments of prayer.
- "Zari" (Georgia). Polyphonic lamentations in several voices. Rough and close timbres. Gives an intimate closure to the offering.
- Gnawa (Morocco). Sufi musical prayer. Invokes ancestors and spirits in rituals. lila. Brings soft trance and gravity. Place it in the center of the night.
- Qawwali (Pakistan/India). Sufi devotion to open the heart. Leading voice, clapping and harmonies. Use it when the family shares memories.
Curatorial suggestion. Always cite the source. Prefer archival recordings and labels that work with communities. Smithsonian Folkways offers carefully curated editions..
Discover Day of the Dead, hypnotic Mexican ballet-jazz
In the blog of Minería we are committed to the dissemination of Mexican music, especially the little explored. That's why, in addition to this playlist, we propose that you discovers Day of the Dead by Eugenio Toussaint (1954-2011), which he wrote for the ballet of the same name in two acts. It premiered on November 1, 1997 in Phoenix by the Arizona Ballet.
The work tells the story of the Arteaga family's journey from Mexico (where the first act takes place) to the United States (where the second act takes place). Like all of Eugenio Toussaint's music, Day of the Dead is crossed by jazz. And by jazz, in his case, we must always understand freedom.
Despite being part of a linear narrative scheme, the 15 sections that make up the music for the ballet propose independent internal poetics. This expressive autonomy around a common literary program allows the parts to be extracted from their original meaning within the plot of the ballet and, following a jazz spirit, to be re-signified.
That is what Michigan State University did, for example. On April 18, 2014, it presented a transcription for brass orchestra with six sections of the original ballet.
Based on this fragmentary version, we offer this brief introduction to Day of the Dead by Eugenio Toussaint, a little explored masterpiece of Mexican music.
1.Bathtub in the river
Tina must cook the corn in lime water. But after a while. Now she plays at running a rooster through the wet grass of Xochiltepec until she reaches the river. The game and the water for the moment allow her to forget her tiredness.
2. Farewell or last supper
The family dinner is frugal. The land is dry and the little produce it yields sells poorly. Cayetano, the father, announces that the family will migrate to a small town in the United States called Avongate.
3. Procession
On the first day of their journey, the Arteaga family encounters a funeral procession. They understand that in a way it is a symbol of their destiny. Something has been lost and they are on their way to a new birth.
4. The trip
The family moves north through Mexico. They are overcome with the feeling of heading into the unknown. They feel equal parts fear and illusion. They inhabit the mystery. They are afraid, but they are also excited.
5. Leaving home
Once in the United States, Tina discovers that Avongate is similar to Xochitepec in the sense that there is a lot of work to do and little time to play. She also discovers that they are very different towns: in Avongate it has started to snow. Tina must wear a coat, which she never needed in her homeland.
6.The city
Tina visits a gringo town. She tries to stay calm, but the cold and frenetic crowds stress her out. Above all, she is disturbed by the policemen on the streets and sidewalks shouting words that are incomprehensible to her. Tina closes her eyes. She breathes.
Day of the Dead 2025: frequently asked questions
Questions and answers
Why add non-Western music to a Mexican ofrenda?
Because mourning is universal. Listening opens bridges without erasing one's own.
How do I avoid cultural appropriation?
Cite sources. Name tradition and region. Support artists from those communities. Avoid parodies. Ask for advice if you invite live rituals.
In what order do I place these pieces?
Start with serene courtship (Jongmyo or Shōmyō). Continue with gentle trance (Gnawa or beleganjur). Close with intimate lament (Zari). Leave pauses of silence.
At what volume?
Low. The word of the family rules. The music accompanies. It does not compete.
Where do I get reliable recordings?
Archives and cultural mission labels are good routes. Check Smithsonian Folkways and UNESCO's intangible heritage catalogs.
Is it okay to dance in front of the ofrenda?
Yes, if your family practices it. Name the deceased. Explain the gesture. Avoid out-of-context choreography.
How do I present this music on the Symphony's blog?
Include full credits. Explain in two lines the ritual meaning. Add legal listening links. Point out the intention: memory and respect.
You'll never forget Day of the Dead 2025 with this music guide
We are made of absent loves and this Day of the Dead 2025 is the perfect time to remember them.
Music is that mystical vibration that unites the world of the dead with the world of the living.
Music unites, inspires and transforms lives.
With this definitive musical guide, we at the Sinfónica de Minería hope you never forget this day.
