This is a list of compositions by Samuel Barber sorted by genre, opus number, date of composition, and title.
| Genre | Opus | Date | Title | Scoring | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opera | 32 | 1956–1957, 1964 | Vanessa | for 7 character soloists, chorus, orchestra | 4 acts; revised 1964 to 3 acts; libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti | |
| Opera | 35 | 1959 | A Hand of Bridge | for 4 character soloists & chamber orchestra | 1 act; libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti | |
| Opera | 40 | 1966, 1975 | Antony and Cleopatra | for 31 character soloists, chorus, orchestra | 3 acts; original version libretto by Franco Zeffirelli using the text of the play by William Shakespeare; revised 1975 version libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti | |
| Ballet | 1946 | Serpent Heart | for dancers & ensemble: piccolo, flute, oboe, english horn, bassoon, clarinet, horn, piano, string quartet, double bass | original stage version for Martha Graham; revised as Cave of the Heart; later extracted as orchestral suite Medea, Op. 23 | ||
| Ballet | 1947 | Cave of the Heart | for dancers & 13-instrument ensemble | original stage version for Martha Graham; revised version of Serpent Heart; later extracted as orchestral suite Medea, Op. 23 | ||
| Ballet | 28 | 1955 | Souvenirs | for dancers & orchestra | orchestration and choreographing of Souvenirs piano suite | |
| Orchestral | 1 | 1944 | Serenade | for string orchestra | original for string quartet | |
| Orchestral | 5 | 1931 | Overture to "The School for Scandal" | for orchestra | ||
| Orchestral | 7 | 1933 | Music for a Scene from Shelley | for orchestra | Tone Picture after Prometheus Unbound by Percy Bysshe Shelley[1] | |
| Orchestral | 9 | 1935–1936, 1942–1943 | First Symphony (in One Movement) | for orchestra | ||
| Orchestral | 11a | 1936 | Adagio for Strings | for string orchestra | adaptation of the slow movement of the String Quartet, Op. 11 | |
| Orchestral | 12 | 1938 | (First) Essay for Orchestra | for orchestra | ||
| Orchestral | 17 | 1942 | Second Essay for Orchestra | for orchestra | ||
| Orchestral | 19 | 1944, 1947 | Symphony No. 2 | for orchestra | movement II revised 1947 to replace the electronic tone generator with an E-flat clarinet; work withdrawn and destroyed 1964, except for movement II published with minor revisions as Night Flight; complete score discovered 1984, republished 1990 | |
| Orchestral | 19a | 1964 | Night Flight, Tone Poem | for orchestra | revision of Symphony No. 2, Op. 19, movement II | |
| Orchestral | 1945 | Horizon | for chamber orchestra | |||
| Orchestral | 23 | 1947 | Medea, Suite | for orchestra | extracted and revised from ballet Serpent Heart/Cave of the Heart | |
| Orchestral | 23a | 1955 | Medea's Dance of Vengeance | for orchestra | originally titled Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance, changed c.1980; revised extract from the suite Medea, Op. 23 | |
| Orchestral | 1958 | Intermezzo | for orchestra | from the opera Vanessa, Op. 32 | ||
| Orchestral | 37 | 1960 | Die Natali, Chorale Preludes for Christmas | for orchestra | ||
| Orchestral | 44 | 1971 | A Fadograph of a Yestern Scene | for orchestra | Tone Picture after Finnegans Wake by James Joyce[2] | |
| Orchestral | 47 | 1978 | Third Essay for Orchestra | for orchestra | ||
| Concert band | 1943 | Commando March | for band | |||
| Concert band | 1943 | Funeral March | for band | |||
| Concertante | 14 | 1939–1940 | for violin and orchestra | |||
| Concertante | 21 | 1944 | Capricorn Concerto | for flute, oboe, trumpet and string orchestra | ||
| Concertante | 22 | 1945 | for cello and orchestra | |||
| Concertante | 36 | 1960 | Toccata Festiva | for organ and orchestra | Composed for the inauguration of the Academy of Music's new organ funded by Mary Louise Curtis, who also commissioned this piece. The premiere was given in September 1960 by Paul Callaway on organ, and Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra.[3] | |
| Concertante | 38 | 1961–1962 | for piano and orchestra | |||
| Concertante | 48 | 1977–1978 | Oboe Concerto | for oboe and orchestra | unfinished, only 2nd movement Canzonetta completed but not orchestrated; Canzonetta orchestrated for oboe and strings by Charles Turner and published in 1981 posthumously as "Opus 48" | |
| Chamber music | 1922 | Gypsy Dance from The Rose Tree | for violin and piano | |||
| Chamber music | 1 | 1928 | Serenade | for 2 violins, viola and cello | also arranged for string orchestra (1944) | |
| Chamber music | 4 | 1928 | Violin Sonata in F minor | for violin and piano | lost/destroyed, movement III (Allegro agitato) discovered 2006; won the 1929 Joseph H. Bearns Prize in Music at Columbia University | |
| Chamber music | 6 | 1932 | for cello and piano | |||
| Chamber music | 11 | 1936 | for 2 violins, viola and cello | slow movement arranged for string orchestra as Adagio for Strings (1936) | ||
| Chamber music | 1941 | Commemorative March | for violin, cello and piano | |||
| Chamber music | 1947 | String Quartet in E major, second mvt. only | for 2 violins, viola and cello | commission from Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge; 17 extant manuscript pages of movement II.[4] | ||
| Chamber music | 1954 | Adventure | for flute, clarinet, horn, African and oriental percussion instruments (2 players) and harp | |||
| Chamber music | 31 | 1956 | Summer Music for Wind Quintet | for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon | ||
| Chamber music | 1960s | Chorale for Washington Cathedral | for brass and timpani | |||
| Chamber music | 38a | 1961 | Canzone | for flute or violin, and piano | composer's arrangement of the Piano Concerto, Op. 38, movement II | |
| Chamber music | 1967 | Mutations from Bach | for brass and tympani | |||
| Carillon | 1931 | Suite | ||||
| Organ | 1925 | To Longwood Gardens | for organ | |||
| Organ | 1927 | Prelude and Fugue in B minor | for organ | |||
| Organ | 1936 | Chorale for a New Organ | for organ | |||
| Organ | 34 | 1959 | "Wondrous Love", Variations on a Shape-Note Hymn | for organ | ||
| Organ | 37 | 1960 | Chorale Prelude on "Silent Night" from Die Natali | for organ | ||
| Piano | 1917 | Melody in F | for piano | |||
| Piano | 1917 | Sadness | for piano | |||
| Piano | 1918 | Largo | for piano | |||
| Piano | 1918 | War Song | for piano | |||
| Piano | 1919 | At Twilight | for piano | |||
| Piano | 1919 | Lullaby | for piano | |||
| Piano | 1923–1924 | 3 Sketches | for piano | |||
| Piano | 1924 | Fantasie (written in the style of Joseph Haydn) | for 2 pianos | |||
| Piano | 1925 | Prelude to a Tragic Drama | for piano | |||
| Piano | 1925–1926 | Fresh from West Chester (Some Jazzing) | for piano | |||
| Piano | 1926 | Essay III | for piano | |||
| Piano | 1931 | Interlude No. 1 (Adagio for Jeanne) | for piano | |||
| Piano | 1932 | Interlude No. 2 | for piano | |||
| Piano | 20 | 1944 | Excursions | for piano | ||
| Piano | 26 | 1948 | for piano | |||
| Piano | 28 | 1952 | Souvenirs, Suite | for piano 4-hands | also arranged for piano solo; orchestrated and choreographed as ballet Souvenirs | |
| Piano | 28 | 1954 | Souvenirs, Suite | for piano | arrangement of piano 4-hands suite | |
| Piano | 33 | 1959 | Nocturne (Homage to John Field) | for piano | ||
| Piano | 1960s | After the Concert | for piano | |||
| Piano | 46 | 1977 | Ballade | for piano | ||
| Choral | 1930 | Motetto on Words from the Book of Job | for (double) mixed chorus a cappella | biblical text from the Book of Job | ||
| Choral | 8 | 1935–1936 1936 | 2 Choruses | 1. for female chorus a cappella 2. for mixed chorus a cappella | 1. words by Helen Waddell 2. words by Emily Dickinson | |
| Choral | 1937 | Heaven-Haven | choral adaptation of A Nun Takes the Veil from Op. 13; words by Gerard Manley Hopkins | |||
| Choral | 1938 | Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) | for chorus and organ or piano ad libitum | vocal adaptation of Adagio for Strings, Op. 11a | ||
| Choral | 1938 | God's Grandeur | for double mixed chorus a cappella | text by Gerard Manley Hopkins | ||
| Choral | 1938 | Sure on This Shining Night | for mixed chorus and piano | choral adaptation the song from Op. 13; words by James Agee | ||
| Choral | 15 | 1940 | A Stopwatch and an Ordnance Map | for male chorus, kettledrums and brass | words by Stephen Spender | |
| Choral | 43 | 1971 | The Lovers | for baritone, chorus and orchestra | based on Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair by Pablo Neruda | |
| Choral | 16 | 1939–1940 | Reincarnations | for mixed chorus | words by Antoine Ó Raifteiri in translation by James Stephens | |
| Choral | 1953 | The Monk and His Cat | choral adaptation from Hermit Songs, Op. 29 | |||
| Choral | 30 | 1954 | Prayers of Kierkegaard | for soprano, chorus and orchestra | words by Søren Kierkegaard | |
| Choral | 1957–1958 | Under the Willow Tree | for mixed chorus and piano | choral adaptation from the opera Vanessa, Op. 32 | ||
| Choral | 1965 | Chorale for Ascension Day (Easter Chorale) | for mixed chorus, brass, timpani and organ (ad libitum) | Op. 40 [sic]; words by Pack Browning | ||
| Choral | 1966 | 2 Choruses from "Antony and Cleopatra" | 1. for female chorus and piano 2. for mixed chorus and piano | choral extracts from the opera Antony and Cleopatra | ||
| Choral | 42 | 1968 | 2 Pieces | for mixed chorus a cappella | dedicated to Florence Kimball[5] 1. words by Laurie Lee 2. words by Louise Bogan | |
| Vocal | 1917 | Sometime | for voice and piano | words by Eugene Field | ||
| Vocal | 1918 | In the Firelight | for voice and piano | |||
| Vocal | 1919 | Isabel | for voice and piano | words by John Greenleaf Whittier | ||
| Vocal | 1920? | October-Weather | for voice and piano | |||
| Vocal | 1924 | My Fairlyland | for voice and piano | words by Robert Thomas Kerlin | ||
| Vocal | 1924 | 2 Poems of the Wind | for voice and piano | words by Fiona Macleod | ||
| Vocal | 1925 | A Slumber Song of the Madonna | for voice and piano | words by Alfred Noyes | ||
| Vocal | 1925 | Fantasy in Purple | for voice and piano | words by Langston Hughes | ||
| Vocal | 1925 | 2 Songs of Youth | for voice and piano | 1. words by Laurence Binyon 2. words by Jessie B. Rittenhouse | ||
| Vocal | 1926 | Ask Me To Rest | for voice and piano | words by Edward Hicks Streeter Terry | ||
| Vocal | 1926 | Man | for voice and piano | words by Humbert Wolfe | ||
| Vocal | 1926 | Watchers | for voice and piano | words by Dean Cornwell (or Edgar Daniel Kramer) | ||
| Vocal | 1926? | Music, When Soft Voices Die | for voice and piano | words by Percy Bysshe Shelley | ||
| Vocal | 1927 | Mother, I Can Not Mind My Wheel | for voice and piano | words by Walter Savage Landor | ||
| Vocal | 1927 | Thy Love | for voice and piano | words by Elizabeth Barrett Browning | ||
| Vocal | 1927 | There's Nae Lark | for voice and piano | words by Algernon Charles Swinburne | ||
| Vocal | 2 | 1927 1928 1934 | 3 Songs | for voice and piano | 1. words by James Stephens 2. words by A. E. Housman 3. words by James Stephens | |
| Vocal | 3 | 1931 | Dover Beach | for baritone and string quartet | words by Matthew Arnold | |
| Vocal | 1934 | Love at the Door | for voice and piano | words by John Addington Symonds | ||
| Vocal | 1934 | Serenader | for voice and piano | words by George Dillon | ||
| Vocal | 1935 | Love's Caution | for voice and piano | words by W. H. Davies | ||
| Vocal | 1935 | Night Wanderers | for voice and piano | words by W. H. Davies | ||
| Vocal | 1935 | Of That So Sweet Imprisonment | for voice and piano | words by James Joyce | ||
| Vocal | 1935 | Strings in the Earth and Air | for voice and piano | words by James Joyce | ||
| Vocal | 1936 | Beggar's Song | for voice and piano | words by W. H. Davies | ||
| Vocal | 10 | 1936 | 3 Songs | for voice and piano | words by James Joyce 3. also orchestrated | |
| Vocal | 1937 | In the Dark Pinewood | for voice and piano | words by James Joyce | ||
| Vocal | 13 | 1937–1940 1937 1938 1938 1940 | 4 Songs | for voice and piano | 1. words by Gerard Manley Hopkins 2. words by W. B. Yeats 3. words by James Agee; also orchestrated 4. words by Frederic Prokosch; also orchestrated | |
| Vocal | 1940 | Song for a New House | for voice, piano, and flute with ad libitum cadenza | composed for Mary Louise Curtis; text from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act V, scene i.[6] | ||
| Vocal | 18 | 1942 1943 | 2 Songs | for voice and piano | 1. words by Robert Horan 2. words by Jose Garcia Villa | |
| Vocal | 24 | 1947 | for soprano and orchestra | words by James Agee | ||
| Vocal | 25 | 1947 | Nuvoletta | for voice and piano | words by James Joyce | |
| Vocal | 27 | 1950–1951 | Mélodies passagères | for voice and piano | words by Rainer Maria Rilke | |
| Vocal | 29 | 1953 | Hermit Songs | for voice and piano | poems translated from anonymous Irish texts of the 8th to 13th centuries | |
| Vocal | 39 | 1962 | Andromache's Farewell | for soprano and orchestra | text from The Trojan Women by Euripides, translated by John Patrick Creagh | |
| Vocal | 41 | 1968–1969 | Despite and Still | for voice and piano | 1. words by Robert Graves 2. words by Theodore Roethke 3. words by Robert Graves 4. words by James Joyce 5. words by Robert Graves | |
| Vocal | 45 | 1972 | 3 Songs | for voice and piano | 1. words by James Joyce, translation of a poem by Gottfried Keller 2. words by Czesław Miłosz 3. words by Christopher Middleton |