..... was hand copying, and all it`s eye watering, seeing double, and sleepless nights:
(Hope this attaches - two jpgs.
Not one of mine, nor did I do the copying. I believe it was compiled by a TV MD who is now no longer with us. The copyist who was driven mad is also no longer with us - Martin Lowenthal. He once had to quickly drive his wife to Kingston-on-Thames hospital after a bad wasp sting which could have been critical. They then moved to a high rise apartment in Kingston, several floors up, due to ground floor level wasp activity, just round the corner from the hospital to ensure her safety. Martin was a double bass player, and discovered several annoying neighbours when using the lift.
Days gone by - ah well. After a heavy arranging/copying session, we`d all gather in the pub in Kingston to sink multiples of pints. We were known as the `West London Mafia`. Brian Vaughan, John Mitchell, Roy Huckridge, Les Williams, Martin Lowenthal, all now deceased. And occasionally Jill Streater, Barrie Forgie and another arr. I can`t think of at present.
"Re: Sib. 7.1.3: Strange Print Behaviour
Posted by Robin Walker - 26 Aug 10:37AM
No picture was attached.
On this forum, attachments must be less than 900kB in size, and graphics must be in formats either .png or .jpg (with extensions in lower case). Some .jpg files are not accepted, particularly those that have been processed through Photoshop."
Thanks Bob
--
Bob Morabito
Sib 5.2.5, 6.2, 7.1.3. 7.5.1
Mac OS 10.9.4 iMac 32GB RAM, 1 TB SSD
The forum can`t add up to four, so I`ll type out the last bars: the last 1/4 page starts at bar 17, continues similarly, then the last bars are:
34 is now 9/4.
35 is now 5/4 and repeated - see score for details.
36 is now 7/4
37 is now 8/4
38 still 8/4 changes to D nat on 7th beat and last bar ends one beat earlier on 3rd beat.
Thanks for posting this, Tony. It sounds like' those were the days', but, believe me, there's not so much difference with Sibelius today, except that a copyist now works much faster and therefor all alone most of the time. Interaction with the composer, somewhere else on the planet, can still end up with PDF's full of remarks and flashes in red the very night before the first rehearsal or immediate recording! Before Sibelius I copied by hand for over 2o years, know all about it!
My most panic stricken yet humourous copying episode: I had farmed out a score to be copied. In the studio I placed all the parts onto the stands and the read through began. It turned out that the timpani part had not been copied. Another cue was started, but there was no table in the studio for me to use, so the timpanist said to use this drum, as it`s not required for the cue. I stood up resting the score and mss to be copied on his drum and started scribling as fast as I could. It was finished in less than five minutes as the part took less that one page, but about four minutes in, the timpanist touched my `drum table`, then stated to tune it and testing it with `quiet hits`. My pen started to jump; I looked up at him with wide eyes, and he responded similarly. Upon finishing the part, I gave it to him and pointing out the scribbly writing, said to him "That`s where you started to tune - just there". All the rest of the sessions went well, except at 10pm one night the producer said a cue wasn`t to his liking. I stayed till midnight whilst the composer & orchestrator altered the music. I then took it home and was up all night copying and pasting etc, to set off at 8am to begin another full day.
Good stories Tony! Always interested in the art of copyists for many reasons. Did it myself years ago, just for my own scores and recall the painstaking time involved. Did a course with Arnold Arnstein (NY) when I studied at Julliard called 'Preparation of Music Manuscript" and he was a funny guy-but gave many useful clues to get a good hand.
Recently, I began to write a book which I've called 'Copista, Copista'-all about the history of music copyists for several reasons. I believe that craft was seriously undervalued by most people-and of course audiences at Symphony concerts/Operas wouldn't have a clue that without them (copyists) they could not have listened to that glorious music.
And there are so many stories. A Prima Donna complaining about her range in a Verdi Opera demanding a down transposition on dress rehearsal night. Of course not just her part but the orchestration needed adjustment. "Copista, copista" shouts the conductor, and by candlelight they began the tedious work of recopying the parts, and inserting them into the right place.
Sounds romantic but according to my Ricordi sources in Italy it actually happened.
And of course Beethoven growling at his copyists because they got notes wrong-trying to read his illegible scores!
Only once did I get a grant for one of my works which included funds for a copyists. Best day of my life!
PS What article (title, name) do you refer to when you write state BEFORE SIBELIUS "continuing from a couple of weeks ago?
[Kenny Woodman, Arr. (now also deceased) told me of 4 scores & parts he had done. He set off in his car in the morning, but before he did, he cleaned his windscreen after first putting the scores on the roof of the car. He drove off and they were never seen again. He was probably not the only one to have experienced this trick at some time during their career].
Kenny did a lot of arr. and MD`ing of Acker Bilk`s albums. He also did the arr. of Sandy Shaw`s Puppet on a String (if you remember) - Eurovision winner (1970?) The bassoon was featured, and it`s believed it was the first time it had been used in the world of `pop music`. I
used to play in a rehearsal band with him in the Turk`s Head, Twickenham. Several other arr/copyists also who were busy at one time when `real music` was real. I think nearly everyone in the band contributed something.
Kenny did his National Service for Queen & Country in the Navy. He was a crew member (not musician) on the HMS Amethyst in 1949 when the Chinese trapped and threatened the boat for 3 months in the Yangtze River during their own civil troubles. The Amethyst finally made a break for it during night time. (See Wikipedia).
Puppet on a string was '67 I believe, the same year as Smokey Robinson's Tears of a Clown which also stars a bassoon.
Any other bassoon-feature pop songs out there?
According to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tears_of_a_Clown the bassoon was played by Charles R. Sirard, who sounds like an American gentleman. Puppet would have been a British band though, presumably...