flute

Premier Solo pour La Flûte, Op. 20, by Henry Altès

Facsimile Edition by Noteworthy Sheet Music
with a Foreword by Peter H. Bloom

Flute Part and Piano Score, PDF $12.75

Henry Altès (1826-1899) is primarily remembered today as the author of a particularly useful Méthode Complète de Flûte (1906), yet his impact on fellow flutists for nearly a century-and-a-half can hardly be overestimated.  A student of the Boehm flute pioneer Louis Dorus, Altès succeeded Dorus as Professeur au Conservatoire de Parisupon upon the latter's retirement in 1869 and served in that capacity for a record twenty-eight years. Premier Solo pour La Flûte was dedicated to Louis Dorus, and was the first of ten Morceaux des Concours that Altès would write for the annual Paris Conservatory competition.  That this was the only one of the ten to have been required in two contests speaks to its endearing durability.  (excerpted from the foreword by P. H. Bloom) 

The NSM edition of the Premier Solo pour La Flûte avec Accompagnement de Piano by Henry Altès is an “enhanced” facsimile of the original print publication from Paris, chez S. Richault, Editeur, Boulevard Poissonniere, 26 au 1er, R4241. We used an image editing program to clean up digital scans of the original printed pages and make a few minor modifications and corrections, as noted in our publication. We have added a new cover page (paying tribute to Altès’ birthplace of Rouen with a painting by Gauguin) and a foreword by Mr. Bloom, but the music has not been re-notated and thus remains in the original style and format; please have a look at the free preview pages provided before ordering.

Piano and Flute score, 12 pages; Flute Part, 5 pages; Total, 22 pages.

Quartet No.1, by Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga

Violin 1 Transcribed for Flute by Peter H. Bloom

Flute Part, PDF $9.95

Peter H. Bloom wrote the following foreword (© 2014):

"Even among the most celebrated musical prodigies (Mozart, Mendelssohn, Pergolesi, and Varèse, for example), Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga's genius and technical mastery are exceptional. This D-minor quartet, one of three string quartets written in 1824, is a work of structural brilliance, rhetorical grace, and elegant intensity.

Adapting music originally written for violin to flute is often relatively straightforward. Occasional octave reassignment and re-interpretation of double stops are typical changes. But when a flute assumes the voice of the first violin in the context of a string quartet, further accommodations are usually necessary. Dynamic balance, sonority, clarity of phrasing and consistency of articulation among the ensemble require a reassessment of many interpretive indications that are native to the violin. In this arrangement we have, as a rule, eliminated Portato indications; they are useful for violinists but merely distracting to the flutist. Articulation and phrasing marks have occasionally been changed, or eliminated, in instances where violin-orientated directions might mislead the flutist.

A final thought: The flutist proposing to replace the first violin in a string quartet of this beauty and integrity may meet resistance from string-playing colleagues. After a fair reading, however, they'll share your enthusiasm for Arriaga's Quartet in D-minor for Flute and Strings."

We provide only the transcribed Flute part. The Violin 2, Viola, and Cello parts, as well as the original Violin 1 part, are in the public domain and available as free PDFs downloads from IMSLP.org.

Flute part, 9 pages; Total, 12 pages.

Adagio and Fugue from BWV 564, by J. S. Bach

Arranged for Flute Quartet by John W. Pratt

Score and Parts for Flute 1, Flute 2, Alto Flute, and Bass Flute, PDF $21.25

Among J. S. Bach's big organ works, the Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue, BWV 564 is atypical in ways that make it especially adaptable to transcription for winds, as we noted when transcribing it for woodwind quartet. The middle movement Adagio has an elaborate and gorgeous melody which lies comfortably for flute and can benefit greatly from the shaded, nuanced dynamics and articulations that a solo flutist can provide. The four-part Fugue is unusual, too—light and lighthearted, happily adaptable to woodwinds. The Adagio and Fugue are particularly well-suited to a flute quartet and these (but not the Toccata) are included in John Pratt’s arrangement of the piece for two flutes, alto flute and bass flute. Note that the score is presented with the alto flute line in concert pitch and the bass flute line shown in bass clef so as to easily see the range of all the flutes' notes; in the parts, of course, the alto flute is transposed and the bass flute is in treble clef.

Score, 10 pages; Flute 1 part, 4 pages; Flute 2 part, 3 pages; Alto Flute part, 3 pages; Bass Flute part, 2 pages; Total, 30 pages.

Chaconne, BWV 1004, by J. S. Bach

Transcribed for Flute or Alto Flute by Peter H. Bloom, PDF $9.98

The Chaconne BWV 1004, originally from Johann Sebastian's Suite in D minor for unaccompanied violin, is among the most challenging, controversial, enigmatic, and magnificent works known. This transcription by Peter H. Bloom was created for unaccompanied alto flute in G or concert flute in C. Mr. Bloom is motivated by an interest in historical performance practice, devotion to the art of improvisation, fascination with the technique of the flute and alto flute, and an abiding love of this masterpiece of Bach's. As well as transposing and digitally engraving the original version of the Chaconne, Mr. Bloom provides practical, effective, and cogent performer's solutions to the many interpretive challenges that occur throughout this work.  

Flute or Alto Flute part, 10 pages; Total, 12 pages.

Prelude and Fugue, WTC Book I, No.22, by J.S.Bach

Transcribed for Woodwind Quintet by John W. Pratt, PDF $16.00

Score, 6 pages; Parts, 2 pages each for Flute, Oboe (plus alternate Alto Flute), Clarinet, Horn, and Bassoon; Total, 20 pages.

Prelude and Fugue, BWV 532, by J. S. Bach

Arranged for Woodwind Quartet by John W. Pratt

Score and Parts, PDF $15.97

Score, 16 pages; Flute part, 5 pages; Oboe part, 6 pages; Bb Clarinet part, 6 pages; Bassoon part, 5 pages;Total, 46 pages.

Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue in C major, BWV 564, by J. S. Bach

Arranged for Woodwind Quartet by John W. Pratt

Score and Parts for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, & Bassoon, PDF $21.25

excerpted from JWP’s © foreword to the edition:
Among J. S. Bach's big organ works, the Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue, BWV 564 is atypical in ways that make it unusually well suited to transcription for woodwind quartet.  Unlike most, it has a middle movement, an Adagio with an elaborate and gorgeous melody which lies comfortably for flute and can benefit greatly from the shaded, nuanced dynamics and articulations that a solo flutist can provide.  The other winds bring out Bach's beautiful voice-leading in the Adagio's two inner parts and its marching but not martial bass.  The four-part Fugue is unusual, too—light and lighthearted, happily adaptable to woodwinds, with no call for great power and, rather than a climactic ending, a fading coda that defies convincing treatment on the organ. The exuberant Toccata starts with an extended manual solo passage ... mostly in 32nd notes, which ... I felt it would be more effective as a game of frequent handoffs between instruments than as a series of longer individual études. The pedal solo, mostly 16ths, calls for the extra weight of doubling.

Click to listen to a computer-generated audio sample from the end of the Toccata into the beginning of the Adagio.

Score, 17 pages; Flute part, 6 pages; Oboe part, 5 pages; Bb Clarinet part, 5 pages; Bassoon part, 4 pages; Total, 46 pages.

For Children, by Béla Bartók
piano pieces based on Hungarian and Slovakian folksongs

Selected pieces arranged as woodwind duos, trios, or quartets by John W. Pratt and presented in multiple editions, organized by instrumentation and nationality.

Béla Bartók was not only a major composer in a post-Romantic extended tonal style, but he was also a superb pianist with a precise technique, a scholarly explorer of folk music, and a serious pedagog. Folk melodies and harmonies strongly influenced his music, both indirectly and often directly, including many of his orchestral and chamber works, as well as solo piano pieces ranging in difficulty from easy to virtuosic. His For Children (Gyermekeknek, 1908-1909, Sz. 42) was written for solo piano, and the original Books 1 and 2 contained 42 pieces after Hungarian folksongs and 43 pieces after Slovakian folksongs, respectively. Besides the usual purposes of music written for children, Bartók sought to broaden their musical experience with, for instance, modal and other scales, and harmonies outside the traditional western canon. For Children  is by no means pablum; though the notes may be easy to play, these pieces have a lot else to offer. They were written when Bartók’s folksong research was well under way and his notational efforts at their peak. Students, teachers, and every-day players can make as much of them as they like ... as simple tunes for beginners content to learn basic notes and rhythms, or as more advanced studies on articulation, musicality, etc.        —extracted from the preface by JWP

John Pratt has arranged selected pieces from the For Children books as various duos, trios, and quartets for wind instruments.  As presented originally by Bartók, many of the folksongs are entirely or mostly in two voices, like Bach’s two-part inventions in style if not structure or harmony, and thus convenient for wind duo and no more childish for Bartók than Bach.  Many others are also adaptable to duos of flute or oboe and clarinet or bassoon, mostly by spreading the left-hand chords in time.  Still others of the For Children pieces are more suitable for a wind trio of flute (or oboe), B-flat clarinet, and bassoon, or a quartet of flute, oboe, B-flat clarinet, and bassoon.  To compare the specific songs included in our editions with the complete set arranged for piano available in Bartók’s publications, visit the For Children listing on imslp.org.

All of the NSM editions described below are available as downloadable PDFs.  We provide scores, but not separate parts, as all players can easily play off copies of the scores, which are organized for convenient page turns when the PDFs are printed two-sided in their entirety.  Click the Preview button to view a page of the score from each edition. To order, in the table at the bottom of this webpage, check the box for the edition you would like to purchase, click Add to Cart, then click Checkout.

► Bartók - For Children, Book 1 - selected pieces arr. as Duets for Flute (or Oboe) and Clarinet 
This edition includes 25 pieces from Book 1 arranged as duets; all of them can be played by B-flat clarinet and either flute or oboe, but for six of the pieces we also include alternative versions with octave changes that are better suited to oboe.  The pieces included are Nos. 1-15, 22-26, 29, 31, 21, 40, and 42. Click to listen to computer-generated audio samples from the score; audio clips of #11 "Me and the Rain" with flute and clarinet and #32 "Wedding Day and Night" with oboe and clarinet are separated by a brief pause. 

Score, 26 pages; Total, 30 pages.
Preview: Book 1, Flute (or Oboe) and Clarinet

► Bartók - For Children, Book 1 - selected pieces arr. as Duets for Oboe (or Flute) and Bassoon 

Our oboe (or flute) and bassoon edition includes the same 25 pieces from Book 1 as our flute and clarinet edition described above, except here they are arranged and optimized as duets for oboe and bassoon, with alternative versions better suited for flute and bassoon provided for two of the folksongs.

► Bartók - For Children, Book 2 - selected pieces arr. as Duets for Flute (or Oboe) and Clarinet 

Our Book 2 edition of arrangements for flute (or oboe) and clarinet duo includes 23 pieces: Nos. 1-6, 8, 10-13, 16-20, 22, 25, 26, 29, 31, 35, and 36.  All of these pieces can be played by B-flat clarinet and either flute or oboe, but we also include alternative versions that are more suitable for oboe for three of the pieces. 

► Bartók - For Children, Book 2 - selected pieces arranged as Duets for Oboe (or Flute) and Bassoon 

The oboe (or flute) and bassoon edition includes the same 23 pieces from Book 2 described above for flute and clarinet, here arranged and optimized as duets for oboe and bassoon, with an alternative version better suited for flute for one of the pieces.

► Bartók - For Children, Book 1 - selected pieces arranged as Trios for Flute (or Oboe), Clarinet, and Bassoon 

In this trio edition, we present 20 songs from Book 1, including 14 that are also available as duo arrangements in the editions listed above and 6 that are only offered in our trio edition. The pieces are Nos. 1-9, 11, 13-15, 19, 20, 30, 35, 39, 41, and 42.  The trios are arranged for flute or oboe, B-flat clarinet, and bassoon.  Click to listen to a computer-generated audio sample from #39 "Insect Wedding".

Score, 21 pages; Total, 24 pages.
Preview: Book 1, Flute (or Oboe), Clarinet, and Bassoon Trio

► Bartók - For Children, Book 2 - selected pieces arranged as Trios for Flute (or Oboe), Clarinet, and Bassoon 

Here Mr. Pratt offers eighteen of Bartók’s Book 2 Slovakian folksongs in arrangements for a woodwind trio of flute or oboe, B-flat clarinet, and bassoon; the pieces included are Nos. 2, 3, 7, 9, 11-14, 16, 17, 21, 25, 26, 28, 29, 32, 33, and 42.  Ten of these songs are also included in our duo arrangement publications.

► Bartók - For Children, Book 1 - selected pieces arranged for Wind Quartet (Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon)

This edition includes eleven of Bartók’s Hungarian folksongs in arrangements for a woodwind quartet of flute, oboe, B-flat clarinet, and bassoon.  Two of these songs, Nos. 19 and 20, are also included in our trio arrangement publication, but none are replicated in the duo arrangement editions; the quartet publication includes Book 1 Nos. 16-21, 27, 28, and 36-38.

Score, 11 pages; Total, 14 pages.
Preview: Book 1, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon Quartet

► Bartók - For Children, Book 2 - selected pieces arranged for Wind Quartet (Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon)

This edition presents seventeen of Bartók’s Book 2 Slovakian folksongs in arrangements for woodwind quartet (flute, oboe, B-flat clarinet, and bassoon).  Four of these songs, Nos. 11, 14, 25 and 28, are also included in our trio arrangement publication, and several are included in the duo arrangement editions. The Book 2 songs arranged here as quartets are Nos. 5, 8, 11, 14, 15, 18, 23- 25, 27, 28, 30, 31, 34, 37, 38, and 43. Click to listen to a computer-generated audio sample that consists of ~32” of song #5 Bird in Flight (Theme & part of Var.1, through m34), followed immediately by #18 Former Flame in its entirety.

3 Compositions, Op.40, by Amy Beach

Transcribed for Alto Flute and Piano by C.A.Vater

Piano Score and Alto Flute Part, PDF $10.50

Amy Marcy Cheney was born in Henniker, New Hampshire in 1867 and began composing music at the age of four.  Initially home-schooled as a pianist, she continued her music studies in Boston and made her professional debut as a pianist at age 16.   She later became a soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.  At 18, she married the prominent Boston physician Dr. Henry Harris Aubrey Beach and began using "Mrs. H. H. A. Beach" as her professional name.  She continued to perform occasionally as a pianist, but for many years she focused her musical skills primarily on composing.   After her husband's death in 1910, Mrs. Beach resumed her performing career, beginning with a three year tour of Europe, while also continuing to write music.   Her works were received with great acclaim, and Amy Beach became one of America's leading composers and the first American woman composer to achieve widespread recognition in the United States and abroad.   During her lifetime, she wrote more than 150 numbered works, spanning a variety of genres that included piano pieces, chamber music, orchestral works, sacred choral music, and a great many songs.

Amy Beach's 3 Compositions for Violin and Piano, Op.40, were first published in 1898.   Written in the romantic style, the three pieces are (1) the beautiful but sombre La Captive, (2) a lovely, lyrical Berceuse, and (3) a lively but still tender Mazurka.  In addition to alto flute transcriptions of all three pieces, we include in our edition a version of the Mazurka transcribed for flute and piano (score and part), for those wishing to give this option a try as well.

Alto Flute part, 4 pages; Piano/Alto Flute Score, 10 pages; Alternate "Mazurka" Flute part, 2 pages; "Mazurka" Piano/Flute Score, 5 pages; Total, 29 pages.

Adelaide, by Ludwig van Beethoven

Anonymous Arrangement for Flute, each edition with a Foreword by P. H. Bloom

New Edition, Flute Part and Piano Score (flute part in small staff) – PDF $10.50

Facsimile Edition, Flute Part and Piano Score (original with clarinet part in small staff) – PDF $8.25 

Beethoven completed his musical setting for Friedrich von Matthison's poem Adelaide in 1796.  The song quickly became a favorite interpretive vehicle for instrumentalists as well as singers.  Clarinetist Iwan Müller's "bel canto" treatment, essentially the original melody with added ornaments, cadenzas, and interpretive notations, remained a favorite among concertizing clarinetists for more than a century.  It's likely that Müller's work informs the anonymous arrangement for flute, published by Diabelli in the second quarter of the 19th century, that we present here ....  This anonymous paraphrase of Adelaide is a masterful study of the subtle nuance and passionate restraint of "bel canto" instrumental praxis.  (excerpted from the foreword © by P. H. Bloom)

After offering our facsimile edition of Adelaide for some time, we decided to create a newly-notated modern edition as well.  We love (and perform) this piece so much, that we didn't want anyone to forgo an opportunity to acquaint themselves with it merely due to the 19th century presentation of the facsimile.  Now, there is a choice between the facsimile edition and a modern edition, the latter of course having the flute part in small staff in the score.