Funeral Repertoire

[allchopin]

I'm requesting advice on some funeral-appropriate pieces that could be learned in a minumum of 3 months.  Please no Moonlight Sonata, Traumereie, or Fur Elise- I have already considered these.
Thanks-

[NetherMagic]

AllChopin you're missing one of Chopin's greatest pieces (well I'm not sure about that)...

Chopin's Funeral March!  It was played on his funeral too.  So I think this is a must for a funeral.

[allchopin]

Haha, you underestimate me  
Yes actually I have considered this piece, but I find that It's not quite as lyrical as many other pieces.  It is extremely sorrowful, but perhaps too much so.  I would just prefer something else (such as his Prelude #9- its killer)
Thanks tho

[piani0player]

allchopin
       i think the sonata in A flat major Op 26 (3rd movement ) by Beethoven is a funeral-appropriate piece which i played before.

[la_carrenio2003]

Ravel: Pavane pour une enfant difunte -I pray to God this is the way it has to be written in French...-

Bach: From the WTC Book I Prelude & fugue no. 22, in  B-flat minor. Also the second movement of Bach's transcription of Benedetto Marcello's oboe concerto.

Chopin: Nocturne op. 37 no. 1 g minor

Cesar Franck: The choral from the Prelude, Choral and fugue

[trunks]

While most people would opt for Chopin's Funeral March (slow movement of Sonata in Bb minor, Op.35), I would go for its exact counterpart in the later Sonata in B minor, Op.58. The slow movement has an appropriate mood for funeral. I have actually played that movement in the funeral of the father of my very first piano teacher (the deceased man was at ripe age of over 80). And the mood proved to be effective!

Two other good pieces for funeral would be Liszt's Il Penseroso, second piece from Annees de pelerinage II - Italie, and of course the Funerailles. The former is quite easy technically, and even the Funerailles is not incredibly hard. But note that the rolling LH octave figures in a middle section is way more taxing than that in Chopin's Ab Polonaise Op.53. Liszt's octaves were written in groups of 3 and that poses a lot more strain on the LH than Chopin's groups of 4.

[Legato]

One of the most soothing pieces I ever heard at a funeral was a very simple but moving litany of the saints (male and female vocal with piano accompaniment).  They often sing it at local Franciscan church and it was one of my mom's favorites.  We played it for her at her funeral. Truly stunning!  I can try to get the sheet from the music director if you would like.

Is this for someone you know who is dying?  I think the music at a funeral, religious or otherwise, should reflect the personality of the person whose life people are gathering to celebrate.

Rob

[tosca1]

Very recently a close friend played a beautiful musical tribute on the piano at my mother's funeral.  Apart from accompanying two hymns, "Praise my soul the King of Heaven" and "For all the Saints" this personal,  musical tribute included a tastefully woven medley of music that had been part of my mother's life and reflected her background and heritage.  She was not a musician but loved the music of her homeland, Scotland and she was a religious woman.  

I completely agree with Rob that funeral music should reflect the life of the person that the people have come to celebrate. At my mother's funeral I wanted to avoid  musical pretentiousness and let the music express something of the kind of person that my mother was.

Kind regards,
Robert.

[faulty_damper]

Are you planning on someone's funeral in 3 months, AllChopin?

What about Alkan's Funeral march from his Op.39 Etudes?  That has to be one of the best funeral marches I've heard - unconventional form, very lyric sections, powerful...

So who's gonna die in 3 months?

[ayahav]

Just a note: Pavane pour UN enfant DEFUNTE.....

There is also a very nice funeral march in Mendelssohn's songs without words.

[nad]

Just a note: Pavane pour UN enfant DEFUNTE.....

Sorry but it is: Pavane pour une enfante defunte.
He wrote it for his little niece that died, if i remember correctly.

[Goldberg]

I'll second the Alkan op. 39 Funeral March, and add a Schubert-Liszt transcription. I can't remember the exact name of it but it is the first of three March transcriptions in a set Liszt did from Schubert (and they appear on a CD where Marc-Andre Hamelin plays the Paganini etudes). Well, the first one is a beautiful funeral march, and probably not too well known. Also, try some parts of the Goldberg Variations. Play them slowly and thoughtfully, and you'll find you can really get quite an effect. There is also the Op. 2 Scriabin etude in C# minor, or that other one Horowitz used to play in....Bflat minor I believe with the unconventional rythms. It is, I believe, op. 8 no. 9, but don't quote me. It's quite a good, thoughtful piece.
And, as opposed I am to playing conventional pieces (or at least, playing those pieces that are TOO conventional), I still think the second movement to the Pathetique--or even Appasionata--would have quite an effect.

[allchopin]

It is a very close relative who is expected to have about three months, but this post originated several months ago- so, it may be a bit later than once thought.

Goldberg:
Is the transcription Schwanengesang? Or possibly a Vienese waltz?

ayahav:
Which song number?

tosca: Are these hymns public domain and available to me?

I will try to look into the suggestions, including the etudes (somewhat unconventional, I might add)

[Goldberg]

allchopin, here it is--The march is from, erm, "Marche fur das Pianoforte Ubertragen S426", and is called "Trauermarsch-Grande Marche Funebre". It is, actually, in the sheetmusicarchives site if you search for it a bit. It's worthwhile! Btw, it does last about 10 minutes so you might want to shorten it a bit (or maybe there are repeats? I'm not sure). I don't know how long you expect to be at the piano.

[allchopin]

Where?  I have looked around, but there is actually no subtitle for Alkan.

[Goldberg]

Oh--I apologize for the misunderstanding, the march I was referring to was the Schubert-Liszt transcription of the Trauermarsch, which can be found in Liszt's section of the sheetmusicarchives site under "three marches of Schubert" or something along those lines. It is a very beautiful piece, and I think it's only 8 pages long. It looked a little bit challenging in one or two places but nothing unamanageable.
As for the Alkan, there is a great book by Dover that includes his Symphony and Concerto for solo piano as well as Le Festin d'Esope and a few smaller pieces; the funeral march is the second movement of the Symphony for Solo piano. If you can't get the book, you can find the music at this site for free, but you evidentally can't print for some reason (though I'm sure there's a way to): https://piano.francais.free.fr/alkan/04_partitions_en.html

[pytheamateur]

Sorry but it is: Pavane pour une enfante defunte.
He wrote it for his little niece that died, if i remember correctly.

No, it is: Pavane pour une infante défunte.

[brogers70]

William Byrd, "The Burial of the Dead." Very soothing, almost minimalist.

[precipitato]

liszt Funerailles from harmonies poetiques et religeuses, la lugubre gondolas
dont underestimate the fellar, it's really difficult despite seeming easy. frsm piece

[49410enrique]

Vladimir Ashkenazy plays Scriabin sonata no. 1 Funebre

[scott13]

How about the first movement from Beethoven's Piano sonata in A Op 101?

By far Beethoven's most tender composition and has a very powerful effect if played correctly. I would also recommend the second movement from Chopin's B minor Sonata.

Other possibilities could be the Andante from Brahms Piano Sonata #3, or Liszt's Etude in F major, from the Transcendental etudes.

On second thoughts, depending on how well you knew the person, the Andante from Brahms sonata could be ideal. In my opinion one of Brahms most heartfelt and powerful compositions.

There is alos a huge volume of other possible pieces, these suggestions are more on the harder side, so depending on where your technique is, they may or may not be possible.

Best wishes