an Artistic Score Engraving update from April 2024
Dear all,
Welcome to this new monthly update. We’ve already left Easter behind us, we’ve slept one hour less in daylight saving time countries, and it’s all starting over again.
NEWS
Personal Reflections on Life …
Everything is a process, and change is the only sure thing in our lives. Sounds philosophical? It does, until you’re not forced to fight for every inch. As soon as you don’t have an open-ended contract, or are attempting any kind of business, it becomes the core of all you do. Nothing is truly free, nothing is just given to you, and how good you are at what you do is just the first step.
For the third month in a row, things have been pretty rough. In January, I felt anger, in February hopelessness, in March I realised acceptance was the only way forward.
… the Universe …
I’ve been deeply thinking of my 32 years of journey in the musical world, and something just doesn’t feel right. Our education (and academic) system doesn’t teach you any soft skills, nor it prepares you for any non-ideal outcome (solo, chamber, orchestra, academic teaching). You are just not supposed to fail, and it is only your fault if you do! They wash their hands as soon as you enrol, and you’ve got no Plan B! You hopefully graduate as a decently good instrumentalist, but you have no idea what to do with it at all!
… and Everything!
Doing something entirely different requires training, regardless of what it will be. For now, then, there is just keeping my head down, pushing hard, maintaining the highest quality, and learning new skills in the spare time.
Will I succeed? I don’t know. About 2% of people succeed in anything they attempt; 10% manage to stay afloat, and the rest (88%) just fail. I hope to at least learn something from all this, and I will keep sharing my path month by month.
NEW EDITIONS
I managed to publish three new editions this month, and worked on three more that are nearing completion. I’m also beavering away with the update to my arrangement of the Intermezzo from Goyescas by Granados, but I’m taking my time to remove any possible association with Cassadò’s version for cello and piano—I was criticised for that, so decided to do something about it.
This month’s production was entirely dedicated to Alfredo Piatti, with three songs for voice and piano, two of which with an obbligato cello part added to it.
The first is called Canto sopra uno studio di Duport, and it takes the popular Exercise No. 7 from the 21 Exercises, and adds to it a beautiful melody on a text by Felice Romani, and a discreet piano accompaniment.
Here’s a video where you can hear how it sounds, here’s a detailed article about it, and, finally, here’s where you can find the score.
The second and third editions are based on the same text, A Farewell by Samuel Rogers (a British poet), but the similarities end here. Around 1863, fifteen years after coming to live in London, Piatti wrote two versions of this song and, curiously, the first one to be written was the one with additional cello. The following year, a version for just voice and piano would be published. While the first one is definitely a better chamber music piece, even somewhat epic in its conception, the second one is more intimate and perhaps conveys the text’s meaning more effectively.
A dedicated blog post about these two pieces is scheduled for April 25, and you can find more about them at the following links:
- video of the version for voice, cello, and piano
- video of the version for voice and piano
- score of each version with the possibility to purchase them as a discounted bundle
Once you’ve listened to these pieces, I would like to ask you something: would you be interested in seeing versions of these pieces for cello and piano or—for the trios—for two cellos and piano? I’ve tried the vocal part of A Farewell on the cello, and it’s just gorgeous.
If you’re worried about Mr. Dotzauer, fear not, he’s being well taken care of!
Printing is back
I’m delighted to tell you that, almost one year after pausing the printing process, I’m back into it, this time with a print-on-demand program. All my editions are now available for digital and print purchase at J. W. Peppers here. I believe their printing services are limited to shipping in the USA (perhaps to Canada?), but it’s nevertheless a great service.
I have plans for the rest of the world as well, but that needs extra care, since printing hundreds of copies without clear demand is madness.
Bottom Line
I believe that’s it for this update.
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 