Toward the unknown region!

The Walt Whitman poem, set for chorus and orchestra by Vaughan Williams in 1907, seems to be a good metaphor for the anticipation of a world première performance. The poem speaks of uncharted lands and could be described as a dialogue with ones inner self and that, surely, is the kernel of all creative work. As I write this final blog, the first performance of Seascapes is on an ever approaching horizon with all the expectation, trepidation and jubilation that holds!

Once the writing is complete, there is a whole subsequent process to embark on to prepare the scores and orchestral set. I have collaborations with several publishers with whom I work on a variety of editions of my music, if not publishing under my own imprint, Impulse Edition. The collaborative editorial process is detailed and painstaking and can be drawn out, so for Seascapes, I have decided to produce the performance materials myself.

The first step is to enter the music into publishing software having initially set up the programme to fulfil the many requirements of the BBC’s printed music bible, in accordance with MOLA – Major Orchestra Librarians’ Association. The full score is the source for everything else, so many hours are spent ensuring the right notes in the right place at the right time in the right way across a screen which holds 21 staves for 31 musical lines all of which will need to be extracted into separate parts for the players. Draw breath!

Actually, I find this process almost cathartic. It is both revealing and reassuring to get into the minute detail of what each player will be producing in order to contribute to the totality of the work. At the same time, it is an opportunity to face the work in a more objective way. That slightly distanced critiquing is highly beneficial for me in resolving any final questions about how the music comes together.

Once the score is complete, I move on to extracting the parts. If only this were as simple as a single mouse click! Not so! Although all the notes are there, each part has to be individually edited, often for very practical purposes of where to place a convenient page-turn, or, for percussion players, to give advance warning of an instrument change. It can be helpful also, to provide instrumental cues where there have been a lot of rests or where there is complexity that needs some context. These instrument specific instructions aren’t on the full score so must be added to each part as required.

The final stage in the process is to produce both digital files and hard copy versions of the parts, beautifully printed, folded, saddle-stitched (that is stapled down the spine) and with frontispieces with the necessary attributions and a hard cover. Thankfully, the print-machine saw the job through with no jams or other faults although I made sure to have a technician at the end of the phone just in case. The image is of a spread of the completed set, safely despatched to the BBC librarians ahead of schedule. Job done!

Almost! Now the piece must speak for itself, to the players, to the conductor, in rehearsal and to the audience in performance, not forgetting to the commissioners - BBC Proms, and the producers - Orchestras Live!

It has been a fantastic journey which I am delighted to have shared on this blog.