Meaning & Performance
The Todten Marsch (alt: Todten Marche) was beaten as a funeral march.
How to Beat
The musicians assigned to funeral duty stood at the head of the column.
- When the body is brought out, the soldiers present arms. [No mention of a musical salute.]
- The body is put into the funeral wagon and then soldiers club arms.
- Column steps off. Drummers beat the Todten Marsch, while Hautbois or Fifers play.
- Following the burial, the Musicians beat the Troop to return the column back to camp.
Regulations stipulate that drums should be muffled, which is echoed by Winters. Muffling drums was a common process and explained in many British resources as placing a cloth between the snare head and snares to mute or muffle the snap of the snares.
Hessian Regulations, 1767, p. 594
Drum Beatings
Winters provides a simple 3/4 beating, which he notes should be played softly and on muted drums.
The beating is simple enough that it could easily pair with a tune in 2/4, and reasonably well to Common Time.
Fife Tunes
The Darmstadt MSs do not include any tunes labelled as a Dead March, despite clear references to Hautbois and/or Fifers in regulations. It’s likely they used popular Airs chosen at the Drum Major’s discretion, much like the British might play Roslin Castle or something similar.
The Austrian regulations (1807) note that the Dead March is like a Grenadier or Fusilier March, but without embellishment. The regulations mean this for both the drum and fife part, so this may not have been the Prussian tradition, but it is a reasonable alternative.
Prussian Todten Marsch
Interpretation for Hessian Use
Drum beating is ‘Todten Marsch’ from Winters (1777).
For a fife part, optionally use a Grenadier March or other popular air.
To learn how to play the other major Prussian duty calls, check out:
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