Pièces mélodiques Op. 149 n°07

About this work

This C-major Marcia is not confined to square chords. In 4/4 it alternates forte calls, piano replies and dolce passages in which triplets suddenly soften the tread. Primo carries several rising and falling figures, while Secondo maintains the rhythmic foundation and later takes a melodic role as well. The contrasts are strong enough to suggest a small scene rather than a mere marching exercise.

The main section is followed by a Trio in C minor. Primo keeps the melody, whose opening quavers alternate with rests; Secondo continues to accompany with bass notes, chords and repeated notes. Da Capo al fine then returns to the Marcia and stops at the marked point. Keep the opening pulse in mind throughout the Trio so that the first beat of the march returns without hesitation.

Practise dotted rhythms and triplets separately, then check their length against a shared pulse. March accents should remain vertical without stiffening the wrists. In dolce passages, lighten the attack rather than slowing down. Prepare the Da Capo as a real transition: allow the Trio’s final harmony to finish, breathe together, and recover the opening character on the first beat. Secondo should lead this return through the bass instead of waiting for Primo.

What the document containsScore: The 4-page PDF presents the Secondo and Primo parts separately for piano duet. It retains the fingering, dynamics and repeats. A MIDI file lets you hear both players together.Alberto Simões’s LilyPond engraving comes from the Mutopia Project. It is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 licence, which requires attribution and sharing under the same terms. The PDF includes a link to LesPartitions.info.