Free Christmas Sheet Music
He is Born (Il est né)

Free Christmas sheet music for "He is Born," the English version of "Il est né," a charming French Christmas song.

Lead sheets & piano solos in several keys!  Each of the free music-to-print sheets includes the English and French Christmas song lyrics.

Please scroll down the page to find the links to the printable PDFs.

Notice that the verse section has a harmony made of parallel thirds, if you wish to turn the song into a Christmas duet.

For those of you interested in knowing how to pronounce the French in Il est né, have a listen to the clearly articulated words in this swingy version below:

As for chords, the harmony is mainly the I chord with just a couple passing references to the IV chord, and a few solid V chords.

You will, however, sound just fine using the I chord throughout this whole piece!

Below is a "Middle C" version of this free Christmas sheet music for beginning piano.

Though there are no black keys to worry about, there are still some eighth notes. These single 8th notes with their flags may be entirely unfamiliar to your younger students. Even young kids who play fiddle music usually see the eighth notes in groups of 2 or 4, with bars. So don't make any assumptions about your students' ability to count or even understand these notes.

Thumbs do NOT go together on Middle C, but are side-by-side, with LEFT HAND thumb on C and RIGHT HAND thumb on D, so that the 5 finger can reach an A.

This free Christmas sheet music makes a fine duet using just one chord throughout the song for accompaniment, blocked or broken.

For the key of C (what we have in this simple version), that will be a C chord!

If you want to make a duet Secondo, try a "broken chord stretch" such as I show at the bottom of the page Mary Had a Little Lamb.

Now we come to the piano solo versions. The first one has an easy right hand:

Yes, the left hand chord pattern is ALL THE SAME. Don't think, "How monotonous!"  Think, instead, of the pattern as a nice flowing foundation for the right hand moving harmonies. 

This kind of left hand accompaniment is what makes this free Christmas sheet music a quick study for students who want something pretty that won't take them a month of hard work... they might be able to play it at church in a week or two.

Now we have the harder version, with parallel sixths in the right hand:

These parallel 6ths will greatly increase the difficulty of this piece, but also the pianist's satisfaction in playing it.

The lead sheet links for Il est né:

Download free Christmas sheet music He is Born lead sheet in the key of F 

Download Christmas music He is Born in the key of G 

Download free Christmas song in the key of A, Il est né

Download printable sheet music in the key of Bb 

Download free Christmas song lyrics and music in the key of D 

The link to the Middle C piano version:

Download printable Christmas music for Middle C piano players He is Born/ Il est né

The links to the piano arrangements with single melody notes:

Download free Christmas song He is Born easy piano in the key of F 

Download and print out He is Born in the key of G 

The links to the fullest piano arrangements:

Download free Christmas song He is Born full piano arrangement in the key of F 

Download and print out He is Born full piano arrangement in the key of G 

Now this last video is pure indulgence in sentimentality... the boys' choir is very nice, but few of the lyrics are audible. However, I find myself sighing over the sweet pictures - too, too sweet to be real, but calling back something just on the edge of memory.

Memories, as C.S. Lewis suggests, of things that we have never actually experienced, of places we have never been, but that somehow we have a desire and longing for... these "memories" are one of the proofs of heaven.

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