Free Flute Sheet Music

Tune of the Day: Chanson triste

Tchaikovsky composed “Chanson triste” (French for “Sad Song”) in 1878, a turbulent year, marked by his struggle to distance himself from his estranged wife Antonina. In the midst of his emotional turmoil, the composer managed to find some peace at Kamenka, near Kiev in Ukraine, where he had use of a cottage. There, while working on his Piano Sonata in G major and the Album for Children, Tchaikovsky composed the Twelve Pieces from which the “Chanson triste” is taken.

Many of these Romantic miniatures for amateur pianists seem to display a certain sadness, and it's easy to believe that Tchaikovsky may have expressed his own feelings in these works. “Chanson Triste” is a perfect example of this mood. Despite its simplicity, the piece nevertheless captivates the listener with its disarming sincerity and touching intensity.

Tune of the Day: Johnny the Jumper

This jig is taken from Francis O'Neill's celebrated collection Music of Ireland, published in Chicago in 1903. The source for this tune was Police Sergeant James O'Neill (no relation), a fiddler originally from County Down, Northern Ireland.

Tune of the Day: Study in D-flat major by Berbiguier

This is the eleventh étude from 18 exercices pour la flûte traversière by French Romantic composer Benoit Tranquille Berbiguier.

Tune of the Day: De plus en plus se renouvelle

Gilles Binchois' chanson “De plus en plus se renouvelle” is one of the Renaissance composer's most famous compositions, even if it is found in only two manuscripts (his other chansons make up to nine appearances in 15th-century manuscripts). Some of the melodic material from this piece was later used by Johannes Ockeghem for a mass, the “Missa De plus en plus”.

Tune of the Day: Pezzo in forma di sonatina

“Pezzo in forma di sonatina” is the name Tchaikovsky gave to the first movement of his Serenade for Strings in C major, Op. 48. Premiered in 1880, this work remains one of the late Romantic era's most definitive compositions.

Tchaikovsky intended the first movement to be an imitation of Mozart's style, and he based it on the form of the classical sonatina, starting with a slow introductory section. This stirring “Andante non troppo” introduction, which bears the indication "sempre marcatissimo" (“always very marked”), is restated at the end of the movement, and also reappears, transformed, in the coda of the last movement, thus tying the entire work together.

Tune of the Day: Barney O'Neill

The earliest appearance of this tune, under the title “Brian O'Niel”, is found in the 1838 music copybook of Lake District (northwest England) musician William Irwin. Flute player William Killey of Jurby, Isle of Man, entered the tune in his mid-19th-century music copybook as “Patrick O'Neal”, while the contemporary manuscripts of James Goodman (County Cork, Ireland) have it under the title "Doctor O'Neill".

The jig is a member of the “Young Tim Murphy” tune family.

Tune of the Day: Study in C major by Andersen

Today we propose the first étude from Joachim Andersen's Twenty-Four Etudes for Flute, Op. 33. This is basically a never-ending run of sixteenth notes, but don't be afraid to breathe!