Sheet Music: Marche Militaire

TitleMarche Militaire
from Three Marches militaires
Opus numberD.733, Op. 51, No. 1
ComposerFranz Schubert (1797–1828)
InstrumentationFlute and Piano
KeyD major
RangeF#4–A6
Time signature2/4
Tempo112 BPM
Performance time4:50
Difficulty levelintermediate
Download printable scorePDF Sheet Music (154 kB) (preview)
Download audio tracksMIDI (change tempo/key) MP3 (4.1 MB)
Play-along accompanimentMIDI (change tempo/key) MP3 (4.1 MB)
Date added2010-05-29
Last updated2010-05-29
Download popularity index☆☆☆☆☆ 1.6 (above average)
Categories
Marches, Military music, Romantic

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Saturday 29 May 2010

Tune of the Day: Marche Militaire

by Franz Schubert

Franz Schubert's Trois marches militaires (“Three Military Marches”) are among the many works for piano four-hands that the composer produced during his lifetime. The three pieces, all in ternary (ABA) form, with a central trio leading to a reprise of the main march, were published in Vienna in 1826.

The first of these three marches is far more famous than the others; in fact, it is one of Schubert's most famous compositions, and it is often simply referred to as “Schubert's Marche militaire”. The piece is marked “Allegro vivace”, and is cast in the key of D major. An unharmonized fanfare begins the affair, paving the way for a lively, pompous main theme.

There have been numerous arrangements of this march, and even Liszt wrote a masterful paraphrase of it (the Grand paraphrase de concert for solo piano); perhaps less flattering to its original conception is its appearance in Stravinsky's Circus Polka, a ballet... for elephants!