23 April 2009

Say, “See Bone”

(C’est si bon.)

Had a stars & guitars meeting with the players this afternoon. I had been hoping (but in the event hadn’t the time this week) to have a proper part ready for the bass flutist; instead, Peter H Bloom very sportingly read as best he could from a reduced staff on the full score.

There were the inevitable instances of finding typos ‘on the fly’ (notably two or three instances where I had either erroneously indicated a pedal change for the harp, or neglected to indicate one); and (again, lack of time) they read from scores already old, for I have pencilled in numerous editorial tweaks on my copy, which I have not yet incorporated into the final draught (thus a couple of minutes were taken up by Peter asking if I’d meant to add the odd cautionary accidental—which, in fact, I had meant).

Still the reading went largely smoothly, with a piece written (as I am wont to write) in a way which resists sight-reading; and it was exciting to hear the piece, even as a rough take, with the actual instruments. The hearing justified everything in the score on which I was still entertaining question.

(But then, of course, I had already incorporated helpful suggestons from Maria & Irina.)

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