ASE Express!

an Artistic Score Engraving update from January 2024

Dear all,

Welcome to the first update of 2024!

First things first: HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you were able to celebrate in the way that fulfilled you the most, and I wish you a 2024 in strong, rude health, and with plenty of joy, love, peace, and success!

I’m trying to get back to a monthly schedule, possibly writing less in these newsletters and leaving more specific content to dedicated blog posts.

NEWS

Reactions to last newsletter

Thank you for reacting to my “How can I help you?” query. Knowing that you cared and listening to your suggestions helped new ideas spark and old ones gain clarity. Please keep this coming! I am always available for every one of you!

Publishing

Since the last update, I intended to update two older editions to the new standards before moving on to new works. A dear friend, though, asked me if I could consider anticipating the release of a work by Dotzauer because he wanted to use it in his classroom. I eagerly accepted and… it took one month and a half of work! I’m glad I’ve done that, though, because it convinced me that I needed to offer something unique if I wanted to stand out in the sea of the digital market.

The result of this endeavour is the new edition of J. J. F. Dotzauer’s Three Easy Sonatas for Cello, accompanied by a second Cello, Op. 103. What do you say? They are on IMSLP? Of course, they are, but what edition do you have there? A fragment from Peters and a fragment from IMC, and no score, and no critical research.

My edition, instead, is composed of three versions:

• Critical edition of the first print by Hofmeister (not available on IMSLP), first published in 1827.
• Critical edition of the revision by Alwin Schröder from 1891 (the IMSLP version). This includes a list of the over 1200 (yes, twelve hundreds, there’s no typo in there!) changes between it and the first print!
• A new version based on the first print with my personal fingering, bowing, and performance suggestions.

So far, nothing special, right? What makes this unique, though, is that the last two versions come with an additional copy highlighting every change from the first print, making it super-easy to spot what a specific editor changed! Here’s an example:

Here you can see that something changed or was added by the editor in the highlighted regions.

You can find the digital copy here, and listen to how it sounds here.

Last month’s edition of Mayr’s Concerto for piano and orchestra got an excellent reception. A performance is being planned for this year, and I’m very excited about it. A musicology student is even using this edition as topic for an exam at the University!

Blog Posts & more…

My journey through the Serbian language is continuing fast, and I have published one more episode on phonetical transformations.

I have also just upgraded my computer (after 7 years!) and I’ve been documenting my transition as a way to get something to compare to when the next upgrade comes. The first four episodes are already out: 1, 2, 3, and 4.

My blog series on “How to Engrave an Opera in Sibelius” has received much appreciation, especially from young composers who have—understandably—few clues on the industry’s best practices. You can find the first (of 13!) episodes here.

Miscellaneous

Promotions have been a hit-and-miss, and I honestly can’t do much more than just take note of what worked and what not, before moving on.

As a gentle reminder, I’ve recently started the Adopt an edition initiative. Contact me to know more about it.

Few but funny engraving assignments helped me concentrate on the Christmas concerts with the kids, which are always… peculiar!

What’s next?

A question for you: since Gumroad has recently given us creators the possibility of making bundles, I would appreciate it if you could tell me what products you would like to find in a bundle of my editions. Bundles would be discounted compared to buying each product separately.

I hope to be able to keep this short format for now, please let me know if you like it more or less than what I proposed before.

Bottom Line

I believe that’s it for today. Thank you for reading through this.

You can join my mailing list here, browse my editions here, and check what’s available for print in the HNE Store.

My YouTube channel contains video renditions of most of my editions. Check it out, it would mean a lot to me.

If you want to actively support what I do, please look at my Gumroad Support Program: it starts at a couple of coffees a month, and it gives back much more than it takes.

Once more, HAPPY NEW YEAR, and let me know what your Resolutions are.

Until next time, thank you.

Michele