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The short answer
A funeral march with a teaching-room joke. Marche funebre KV 453a is a march by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from the Classical era. PlayPiano puts it at Level 3, an estimate.
- march
- Classical
- gentle
History
This march belonged to Barbara Ployer's album. Henle's editor interprets its reference to Maestro Contrapunto as an ironic allusion to Mozart and Ployer's counterpoint lessons. The catalogue retains a Vienna dating range of 1784 to 1786, while the editor considers 1784 probable. The interpretation and the broad date remain qualified.
Sources
What to listen for
Dotted chords sound above low steps
The dotted upper rhythm sits over lower octave movement. Hear the march-like gesture as a connected phrase.
Chromatic support changes the response
Moving lower octaves accompany held and chordal replies. Listen to the changing foundation beneath the cadence.
A singing line overlaps held inner voices
The upper song overlaps an inner held note and dotted accompaniment. Hear the simultaneous layers, not successive phrases.
A broad recall leads to a low close
The chordal opening idea returns before a higher descending response. Hear the exchange settle into the low ending.
How to practise it
Keep the dotted chord rhythm deliberate against the simpler octave pulse.
- Practise the first chord rhythm alone, counting the short note precisely.
- Play the lower quarters steadily, then add the upper dotted pair without changing them.
How hard is it
Measured chordal gestures require balanced attacks, clean releases and deliberate phrasing rather than speed.
About this piece
- Licence
- Public Domain
- Source
- mutopiaproject.org
More by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Menuetto in F for clavier, K. 1dLevel 2, estimatedWith Maestro
- Rondo alla Turca, K. 331, IIILevel 7, estimatedWith Maestro
- Piano Sonata in C Minor - KV. 457 (3rd Movement)Level 8, estimatedWith Maestro
