Tchaikovsky's twelve short 'character pieces' representing each month of the year were originally composed for solo piano. They were published as "The Seasons" and each had subtitles and poetic epigraphs. 'March' was subtitled "Song of the Lark" and its epitaph reads: "The field shimmering with flowers, the stars swirling in the heavens, the song of the lark fills the blue abyss."

The work has been orchestrated several times and the 'month'' heard here comes from the complete arrangement of "The Seasons" by British composer David Matthews. It is played by the Norddeutsche Rundfunk Orchestra, conductor Carl Davis, and is taken from a 1991 radio broadcast of the work's first performance.