Description

Funeral March Of A Marionette by Charles Gounod from the 1960s TV Show Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Now available as a stunning arrangement for String Quartet.

A Piece of Cinematic History

This adaptation of Funeral March Of A Marionette takes Charles Gounod’s haunting 1872 piano original and transforms it into a dynamic piece for strings. While Gounod originally wrote the piece as a tongue-in-cheek parody (the storyline includes the funeral procession pausing for the mourners to grab refreshments!), it was fate that tied it to the Master of Suspense.

Fun Fact: Alfred Hitchcock first heard the music in the 1927 silent film Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. When choosing the theme music for his television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1955, he remembered the piece’s chilling and sardonic effect. He personally selected it, leading to the music gaining its widest audience and becoming forever synonymous with his iconic silhouette.

Details of the Arrangement

Arranged by Peyber A. Medina H., this sheet music is perfect for intermediate to advanced string ensembles:

• Instrumentation: Full Score and separate parts for Violin I, Violin II, Viola, and Cello.
• Performance Ready: Optimised for balance and playability across all four string voices.
• Professional Quality: Features professional engraving and a crystal-clear layout for perfect readability.

Bring a true classic—steeped in history and suspense—to your next performance!

Funeral March of a Marionette (Wikipedia)

Funeral March of a Marionette (French: Marche funèbre d’une marionnette) is a short piece by Charles Gounod. It was originally written for solo piano in 1872 and orchestrated in 1879. It is perhaps best known as the theme music for the television program Alfred Hitchcock Presents.^[1]

While residing in London, England, between 1871 and 1872, Gounod started to write a suite for piano called Suite burlesque. After completing this piece, Gounod abandoned the rest of the suite.^[2] The piece was dedicated to Madame Viguier, a pianist and the wife of Alfred Viguier, the first violin in the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire. In 1879, he orchestrated the piece with piccolo, flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in A, 2 bassoons, 2 horns in D, 2 trumpets in A, 3 trombones, ophicleide, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, and strings.^[3] The work is in the key of D minor with a central section in D major; the time signature is 6/8.^[3]