Free Flute Sheet Music

Tune of the Day: Intermezzo

Premiered in 1890, Cavalleria rusticana (literally, “Rustic Chivalry”) is undoubtedly the best-known work by Italian composer Pietro Mascagni. This one-act opera is a concise, passionate tale of Sicilian peasants, with lashings of love, jealousy and tragic death.

A powerful orchestral intermezzo, simply known as “Intermezzo sinfonico”, divides the opera into two scenes. This famous Intermezzo recapitulates, in its 48 bars, what has gone before, and foreshadows the tragedy that is impending.

The piece has figured in the soundtrack of several films, most notably in the opening of Raging Bull and in The Godfather Part III, which featured a performance of Mascagni's opera as a key part of the film's climax.

Tune of the Day: Oh! Hag You Have Killed Me

This tune appears to be unique to Francis O'Neill's collection The Dance Music Of Ireland, published in Chicago in 1907. It is however related to an older Irish tune with an almost identical title, “Old Hag You Have Killed Me”.

Tune of the Day: Study in A minor by Köhler

This easy étude in A minor and F major is taken from the second book of Twenty Easy Melodic Progressive Studies by Italian composer Ernesto Köhler.

Tune of the Day: Gigue in D major

Everybody knows Pachelbel's Canon, but the Gigue that originally accompanied it never received the same amount of popularity, even though it is a lively and energetic dance. Just like the Canon, Pachelbel composed it near the end of the 17th century, but it remained forgotten for centuries and was rediscovered only in the 20th century.

Thanks to Jeffrey for suggesting this piece!

Tune of the Day: Notturno

Alexander Borodin wrote his String Quartet No. 2 very quickly during August 1881. The Russian composer dedicated it to his wife Ekaterina, and it was written as an evocation of when they met and fell in love 20 years earlier.

The main theme of the third movement of this quartet, the Nocturne, is often performed in string orchestra arrangements, and probably constitutes Borodin's most famous piece of music. In the original score, the theme is initially introduced by the cello (which represents the composer, an amateur player himself), and soon passes to the first violin (which portrays Ekaterina).

This long, tender melody also appears in the 1953 musical Kismet, with the title “And This is My Beloved”. The adaptation was done by Robert Wright and George Forrest, who really specialized in turning melodies from classical music into film scores and popular songs.

Tune of the Day: The Fairy Jig

This melody is found in the manuscripts of several 19th-century music collectors, including George Petrie, John Edward Pigot, and Henry Hudson. George Petrie noted it was “A Connemara tune”.

The tune was usually recorded as “An Púca”, or “The Pooca”, referring to a mythical creature of Celtic and English folklore, a shapeshifter considered to be bringer of both good and bad fortune. The title “The Fairy Jig” appears to be due to Chicago Police officer and music collector Francis O'Neill.

Tune of the Day: Study in E major by Andersen

Here is another étude by Danish flutist Joachim Andersen. This Andante sostenuto in E major is study No. 9 from his Twenty-Four Etudes for Flute, Op. 33.