Eroica: 2nd movement (funeral march)

Form scheme 2nd movement

The second movement is in ternary form. Part A presents two themes.

bars 0-8

The first violins start a gloomy song above the rolling bass - the second movement is a confrontation with death and with life beyond.

bars 8-16

The second theme in E-flat major sounds more comforting.

bars 16-30

The "Maggiore" (centrepiece of the movement) contrasts the sounds of pain with a consoling theme, taken from the C-major chord.

bars 69-79

The Minore part in C minor is mainly based on a "triple fugato". This means a small fugue in which 3 themes are linked and always occur simultaneously.

bars 80-89

The second theme of part A 1 has been changed by using B flat instead of A flat.

bars 89-104

Pain and lamenting begin to dissolve in the Coda. The first theme is fragmented. The lamentation dies off in the rolling bass of the first bars of the movement.

Turn over to 3rd movement