First Suite in E-flat for Military Band, Op. 28 No. 1 / H. 105

A chaconne is a set of variations over a repeating bass line, here an eight-bar theme given first to the low brass. It returns in a new guise every eight bars: Var. 1, Var. 2, and so on. In the middle the theme is turned upside down (Var. 9 and Var. 10) and the music turns quiet and sombre (Var. 11). A crescendo leads to the loud final variations, the last of them (Var. 15) a fifth higher, and a bright chord ends the movement.

1. 0:00Theme
2. 0:17Var. 1
3. 0:34Var. 2
4. 0:51Var. 3
5. 1:07Var. 4
6. 1:23Var. 5
7. 1:39Var. 6
8. 1:54Var. 7
9. 2:10Var. 8
10. 2:26Var. 9
11. 2:43Var. 10
12. 2:59Var. 11
13. 3:16Var. 12
14. 3:33Var. 13
15. 3:52Var. 14
16. 4:12Var. 15

A light, brisk movement in C minor, with abrupt starts and stops and solos for oboe, clarinet and cornet. The first idea is followed by a second, and then the first returns. The lyrical section (C) is a mournful clarinet melody in 4/4, later taken up by much of the band. The two main ideas come back together, and the coda weaves all the material into a brighter C major before the music fades away.

1. 4:46A / Motif 1
2. 5:06B / Motif 2
3. 5:22A′ / Motif 1 return
4. 5:42C / lyrical section
5. 6:41B–A / thematic return and redistribution
6. 7:02Coda / combined A+B+C material

The March begins suddenly. Its opening chords turn the motto of the Chaconne upside down, and the first strain is a marching tune for brass and percussion. The second theme (the Trio) is a long, lyrical line in the woodwinds that recalls the Chaconne melody. The march then returns, and the development combines the themes and builds toward a climax. A slower passage (Meno mosso) leads to the coda, which briefly recalls material from the first two movements.

1. 7:39Introduction / opening march material
2. 7:42A / march strain
3. 8:14Transition
4. 8:18B / Trio
5. 9:07A′ / march return
6. 9:27Development
7. 10:22Meno mosso
8. 10:31Coda