an Artistic Score Engraving update from March 2024
Dear all,
It’s already March, and one sixth of 2024 is already gone. Honestly? This looks scary! So, assuming the year is a 4/4 bar with four eighth-note triplets in it, we’ve already played the first two notes. I know, just stop it and get on with something serious, so let’s go!
NEWS
I am convinced that, when I will look back at this month of February in a few years time, I will consider it the most groundbreaking time in my life. To live through it, though, has been utterly terrifying. In short, not to bother you:
- Health came knocking at the door, telling me I can’t continue like this
- Basic, non-avoidable expenses have skyrocketed through the roof
- Unexpected disappointment from someone I deeply trusted and respected
On this last point, I believe one part of me has died this month, and in an excruciatingly painful way. I would have never expected someone who had been so central to my development as an artist to turn out the way they did. We will see if the phoenix will rise from the ashes.
With all this pain also came the realisation of whom I was eager to collaborate with and, as with all good things, it was dead simple: collaborate with people at your level, build a network of like-minded people. Most of all, avoid like the plague people who are much above you in power, popularity, money, status, etc… as they will just try to exploit you. The only exception to this last point is if the person is honestly interested in just helping you, expecting nothing in return. Rare? Oh, yes! Impossible? Not at all!
I would like to collaborate with people who share my enthusiasm for what I do, and who share what they’re doing with me so that I can help them in return. I want to build a positive circle, attracting positivity, good vibes, hope, smiles! Furthermore, I’m sick and tired of all the negativity I’ve forced myself to swim into in our profession, and it’s time to change it!
Will you follow me? If so, know that you will be most welcome, and that I will never let you down!1
UPDATES
Dotzauer Project
Even with all the storm that February has been, there were a few events that pushed this project forward:
- I found more details about Dotzauer’s life, and it is not at all what we are used to knowing.
- I got in touch with two incredible people who dedicated part of their life to Dotzauer about 25–30 years ago. Their research not being free online, I could not access it before. They went to such a depth that it will be quite hard for me to even match what they did2. At a certain point, though, one of them mentioned what a pity it was that there was no editorial process about Dotzauer. To which I simply answered: “Present!”
On this, I would like to say: beware of free stuff! If it is free, ask yourself why it is. If subsequently, you’re still fine with it, sure, go for it, but do not expect it to have no consequences. For example: you are freely reading this post, right? What’s the consequence? I am trying to sell you my scores, there’s no hiding behind a glass wall! As a partial defence, I constantly try to give more than what I ask for, and I hope you agree that such is the case.
After 60 (SIXTY!) hours of work, I have finally updated the Twenty-four Pieces for Two Cellos, Op. 159. If you’ve already purchased it, or if you’ve browsed the catalogue, you should know that, until now, I had only found the revisions by Carl Hüllweck and Johannes Klingenberg. Now that the first edition has finally come to the surface, I have massively updated it, alongside correcting plenty of small and not so small mistakes. The new Standard Edition now contains the score & parts of the modernised first edition, which Dotzauer simply called, in French:
Pièces | pour deux Violoncelles | composées et dédiées | aux premiers Commençans3.
Hüllweck called it “Twenty-four Exercises”, Klingenberg inserted 22 of them in his “57 Duets” collection, and both heavily altered what Dotzauer wrote. In my edition, you will find plenty of footnotes describing what one should be careful about. Coming back to free stuff, this is the most expensive acquisition I’ve ever made to my collection! No surprise that no one uploaded it to IMSLP!
The Collectors’ Edition adds to it the revised versions by Hüllweck & Klingenberg (this last one removing no. 8 & 16, which are not present among the 57 duets, even while being two marvellous fugues in minor keys!), and my personal version of the first edition with bowing and fingering suggestions.
You can find it here, and listen to how no. 14 sounds here. Here’s a teaser:
Finally, I have recently released my first open-source project, which is a collection of more than 130 “pearls of wisdom” by Dotzauer, ordered, collected, and commented by yours truly. This book is FREE to download, this time because of its collaborative nature, and it is now in English. If you would like to collaborate on the project and translate it into your language, please get in touch. Here’s the table of contents for you to see what you can expect to find.
New Editions
At the beginning of February, I release a trio of editions dedicated to Pietro Mascagni (1863–1945) and his Intermezzo Sinfonico from Cavalleria rusticana:
- The piano solo version, based on the composer’s autograph
- The full score & orchestral parts of the original orchestration (which has massively different dynamics compared to the piano version!)
- My arrangement for cello ensemble (I suggest at least 8 people, due to the division).
You can listen to it here, and find it here. Here’s a preview:
Miscellaneous
Gumroad issues
I had a few issues with Gumroad—the service I use to sell my scores:
- Someone wanted to buy a score and didn’t manage to, contacting me for support. When the issue was resolved, he was either no longer interested in it, or simply forgot about it.
- Someone else subscribed to the mailing list, and their email provider (Telekom DE) auto-unsubscribed them. Once I located the issue through Gumroad support, they refused to go through this and ask their provider to whitelist Gumroad.
I apologise for both issues, and I did all I could to solve them, but it wasn’t enough.
Mayr Concerto reviewed
The world-first edition of Johann Simon Mayr’s Piano Concerto n° 1, realised with M° Fabrizio Capitanio, received a nice review from a musicology student who decided to use this piece for his exam. You can read it here, and find the edition here. Thank you, William, for the delightful words and your most professional work.
ONE MORE THING!
This is just a teaser, but I am proud to introduce the ASE Composers Network! What is that? In short, it is a chance for composers and arrangers to get their music professionally engraved, published, and distributed. The nice thing is that you will keep your intellectual property, and all your recording and performance rights. The only thing you will relinquish are the editorial and publishing rights of the sheet music (digital & printed).
How is this different from ArrangeMe, My Score, Stretta-Music, etc…? I will accept only a small number of composers, as I want this to be a network of like-minded people, not just a marketplace.
Details will follow in future instalments of this newsletter, but if you are interested, please get in touch.
Bottom Line
Thank you for reading through all this, I deeply appreciate your time and support.
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.
Until next time, thank you.
Michele
Music Preparation Services 