Funeral March Cover Image

Funeral March: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

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Funeral March Cover Image

Funeral March: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

By Edvard Grieg / arr. Jan Erickson, Fennell Frederick

Grade: 4

Item: 36-10100264

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Description
Written in 1866 the day he heard his good friend and Norwegian nationalist Rikard Nordraak died, the original monument to the memory of his dear friend was composed by Edvard Grieg for piano.  One year later, Grieg arranged the work for military band, transposing it to g minor, and he so treasured this music that he carried it with him on all journeys, and the orchestra setting was played at his interment.  This transcription for the contemporary wind ensemble was made, appropriately, by the Norwegian band enthusiast and authority Jan Ericksen and edited by famed band master Frederick Fennell.

Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, Funeral March: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts comes alive with professional accompaniment, adjustable tempo, and built-in practice tools that turn solo practice into real progress.

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Additional Details
Series: Fennell Editions - LudwigMasters
Publisher: Keiser Productions, Inc.
UPC: 753625391946
SKU: 36-10100264
Instrumentation: Symphonic Band

More about this title

About the Composer: Edvard Grieg

Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) stands as Norway's most celebrated composer, a figure who shaped the sound of nationalist music across Europe. His gift for melody and harmonic color emerged early in his career, and his willingness to champion Norwegian folk traditions and honor his country's cultural identity set him apart from his contemporaries. The *Funeral March* exemplifies his capacity to distill profound emotion into music of lasting power; composed in a single day upon learning of his friend Rikard Nordraak's death, it became one of Grieg's most performed works and remained personally vital to him throughout his life.

Why we love this

This arrangement gives concert bands access to one of the 19th century's most moving elegies without requiring orchestral forces. Frederick Fennell and Jan Ericksen have shaped the piece for contemporary wind ensemble with meticulous attention to Grieg's harmonic language and the proportions that made the original so compelling. The Grade 4 scoring balances accessibility with genuine emotional weight, making it equally valuable for festival programming and memorial occasions.

What to expect

The piece unfolds with deliberate solemnity, moving through a landscape shaped by minor key tonality and Grieg's gift for poignant harmonic color. The march procession feels both personal and ceremonial, carrying the weight of remembrance without sentimentality. Throughout, there is an underlying dignity that speaks to loss handled with grace.

Who it's for

Concert bands at Grade 4 level seeking repertoire with genuine artistic substance and emotional depth. Directors programming festival contests, memorial services, or concerts requiring a work of dignity and reflection will find this arrangement offers students the experience of performing a masterwork without requiring advanced technical facility.

How to get the most out of it

  • Maintain a steady, unhurried tempo; the march's power comes from its processional gravity, not forward momentum. Allow space for the harmonic shifts to register.
  • Balance the melodic voice across the ensemble carefully. The primary line often transfers between instrumental choirs, and clarity of voice leading determines whether the architecture remains audible.
  • Shape the dynamic arch over longer phrases rather than reacting to bar-by-bar markings. This piece asks for restraint and continuity of line.
  • Attend closely to the minor key coloration and the moments of harmonic shift. Grieg's chromatic moves are subtle but essential to the piece's emotional trajectory.

How to use it

Consider this for a concert devoted to music of remembrance, as a centerpiece for a program honoring a figure in your school or community, or as a closing work in a festival concert where its measured pace offers a natural transition from more energetic repertoire. The piece also serves well as a teaching tool for studying how arrangement can preserve compositional intent across instrumental media.

Skills your students will build

  • sustaining legit tone and phrasing across longer melodic lines in a minor key
  • balance and blend when the primary melody transfers between instrumental sections
  • sensitivity to harmonic color and chromatic movement within a diatonic framework
  • ensemble precision in march-time meter while avoiding mechanical or rigid articulation
  • reading and responding to dynamic shaping that unfolds over phrase length rather than measure-to-measure

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