Klarinet Archive - Posting 000102.txt from 2008/11

From: "Kevin Fay" <kevin.fay.home@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Rant du Jour
Date: Sun, 09 Nov 2008 21:18:45 -0500

So I'm to play Finzi's In Terra Pax with a local choir for the holidays;
thought I'd crack the part and take a peek.

Crikey! This is rental music (from Boosey & Hawkes) that undoubtedly costs
a Queen's ransom. The part is simply atrocious. It's a photocopy of a
hand-scrawled manuscript that might have been done whilst the copyist was
sober - but I'd bet s/he wasn't, with the number of scribbled out measures
and poorly compensated mistakes. It looks like it was done with a ballpoint
and no straightedge; very poor manuscript indeed. When new it was terrible,
and difficult to read.

On top of that, the rental company obviously photocopied an original that
had seen a great deal of rental use. You can see where the corners of the
earlier part were torn off, for example. In addition, the library folks
neglected to erase the elaborate pencil scrawlings.

. . . and that's *before* it got to the prior renters, who didn't bother to
erase their pencil scrawlings either.

Bottom line, it's about three times more difficult to play because of how
hard it is to read. I'm not being paid enough to memorize the piece. How
hard would it be for B&H to put the score on Finale and print a decent set
of parts, given what they charge for rental?

Sigh.

kjf

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