Funeral March (arr Fennell)

From Wind Repertory Project
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Edvard Grieg

Edvard Grieg (arr. Frederick Fennell; tr. Jan Ericksen)


General Info

Year: 1866 / 1989
Duration: c. 7:50
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Piano
Publisher: Ludwig Masters, through Alfred Music
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $65.00   |   Score Only (print) - $10.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
Percussion I-II, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Cymbals
  • Snare Drum


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Edvard Grieg met Richard Nordraak, a fellow Norwegian, in 1863. Together they championed nationalism in their musical activities, a cause which had lain dormant in Grieg's thoughts up until this time. Nordraak already had the Norwegian National Anthem to his credit, composed four years earlier when he was seventeen. From the time of their meeting the two young composers worked closely together until Nordraak's health begain to fail three years later. In October of 1865, Nordraak suffered a "violent attack of inflammation of the lungs which developed into galloping consumption". Because Grieg was on his way to Rome, Nordraak did not have the solace of his friend's company during the lonely months of his illness. He died on March 26, 1866, in Berlin. Grieg, then in Rome, was ignorant of his death. The very day he heard of it, April 6, 1866, he wrote The Funeral March in A minor for Richard Nordraak for piano, as a monument to the memory of his dear friend.

One year later, Grieg arranged the work for military band, transposing it to g minor. He included the piece in a Philarmonic Society concert in Christiania (Oslo) later that year. In 1878, Grieg made yet another version of the work, this time for brass choir. The existence of this third score went unnoticed until Geoffrey Emerson obtained a microfilm of it from Oslo University.

- Program Note from score


Commercial Discography


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Appalachian State University (Boone, N.C.) Wind Ensemble (John Stanley Ross, conductor) - 27 April 2023
  • Stephen F. Austin University (Nacogdoches, Tx.) Symphonic Band (Chris Kaatz, conductor) - 2 March 2021
  • Colorado State University (Fort Collins) Symphonic Band (T. André Feagin, conductor) - 25 February 2020
  • University of Texas (Austin) Wind Symphony (Scott Hanna, conductor) – 4 December 2019
  • University of Colorado Boulder Symphonic Band (Michael Roeder, conductor) – 22 February 2019
  • University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA) Wind Ensemble (Travis J. Cross, conductor) – 8 March 2017
  • Gold Coast Wind Ensemble (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) (Clinton H. Dawley, conductor) – 20 November 2016
  • Boston (Mass.) Conservatory Wind Ensemble (Eric Hewitt, conductor) – 16 September 2016
  • Queen's University (Kingston, Ont., Can.) Wind Ensemble (Dan Tremblay, conductor) – 31 March 2016
  • Penn State University (University Park) Symphonic Band (Brett Penshorn, conductor) - 29 February 2016
  • Baldwin-Wallace College (Berea, Ohio) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (not conducted) – 19 February 2016
  • University of Hawaii Wind Ensemble (Jeffrey Gershman, conductor) – 18 October 2015


Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


All Wind Works


Resources

  • Grieg E.; Nordraak, R.; Eriksen, J.; Fennell, F. (1989). Funeral March : Sørgemarsj over Rikard Nordraak [score]. Ludwig: Cleveland, Ohio.
  • Hilfiger, John Jay. "Edvard Grieg’s Funeral March in Memory of Rikard Nordraak for Military Band." Journal of Band Research vol. 24, no. 2, Spring 1989, pp. 12-16.