Description
Berlioz claimed to have written March to the Scaffold in a single night, reconstructing music from an unfinished project – the opera Les francs-juges. The movement begins with timpani sextuplets in thirds. The movement proceeds as a march filled with blaring horns and rushing passages, and scurrying figures. Before the musical depiction of his execution, there is a brief, nostalgic recollection of the idée fixe in a solo clarinet. Immediately following this is a single, short fortissimo G minor chord – the fatal blow of the guillotine blade. After his death, the final nine bars of the movement contain a victorious series of G major brass chords, along with rolls of the snare drums within the entire orchestra, seemingly intended to convey the cheering of the on looking throng.
Here we have March to the Scaffold adapted for piano duet, a fantastic piece of music that tells a story as you play. The perfect addition to any pianist’s library!
