Funeral march
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A funeral march or dead march is a march composed, usually in a minor key, in a slow "simple duple" metre, imitating the solemn pace of a funeral procession. Such marches are often considered appropriate for use during funerals and other sombre occasions, though it can also be seen as inappropriate as it is commonly featured in forms of entertainment and perceieved as not to be meant for an actual death.
[edit] Examples in western classical music
- The Dead March from Saul by George Frideric Handel
- The second movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 (Eroica)
- The third movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 12 (Beethoven) (written in the key of A-flat minor with a middle section in the major).
- The funeral march for piano written by Frédéric Chopin in 1837, which became the 3rd movement of his Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, op. 35 and the theme for his Marche funèbre in C minor, Op. 72 No. 2. (This is probably the most well known and famous funeral march with many appearances in popular culture, such as cartoons and/or computer games). [1]
- The Funeral March for the Final Scene of Hamlet by Hector Berlioz
- The Marche funèbre second movement of Charles-Valentin Alkan's Symphony for solo piano, Op. 39 No. 5
- Siegfried's Funeral March from Götterdämmerung by Richard Wagner
- The Trauermarsch opening movement of Mahler's Symphony No. 5.
- The ninth variation from Benjamin Britten's Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10
- The third movement of Mahler's first symphony, based on the children's song Frère Jacques.
- The 2nd movement of Brahms' Deutsches Requiem has the characteristics of a Funeral March but is in a slow triple metre.
- The "Funeral March": Adagio Molto from Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 15
[edit] External links
- Easybyte - free easy piano arrangements that include many funeral marches
