Dear Music Publishers
One score should not cost £40, especially when it's a tone poem. I don't care if it's a "rare order", you choose to print it out and stockpile it, and therefore there is no difference between this and any other score.

It's about 40 pages of paper and some black dots, and it's also something I need for my degree. I can't help but feel you're capitalising on that to some extent.

Also, libraries in the UK: One copy between you, and you've lost it? For shame.

It would be easier for me to go and dig up the original fucking manuscript from Vaughan Williams' grave, I swear it would...

Length? About 300 bars
(Sivvus trolley collision in the fruit aisle led to a jam, Wed 10 Mar 2010, 20:22, 13 replies)

ooh, which one?
The worst is Universal Edition - they charge an absolute fortune for contemporary music. I had to find a copy of "Cry" by Giles Swayne for one of my dissertations - it's not too expensive now, but was unbelievable a few years back.
(The Empress it seems you CAN polish a turd!, Wed 10 Mar 2010, 20:51, closed)

I'm trying to find "In the Fen Country" by Vaughan Williams
I've looked in so many online publishers- musicnotes etc. It just isn't there. I found one site that had it and, like I said, £40! They called it a "study" edition which presumably means it has room to make annotations.

I really just need a score. I'm trying to analyse it a' la Agawu/Semiotics but I don't think it's going to happen. :P
(Sivvus trolley collision in the fruit aisle led to a jam, Wed 10 Mar 2010, 21:01, closed)

Indeed
Spent £20 last week on a not very well produced score for Honegger's Cantate de Noel, which appears to be the only edition available. So I'm really expected to spend £500 for 25 members of the choir, especially when we only want the final section (the Laudate Dominum)?

Aaargh.

On the upside - In the Fen Country is lovely. (As is the Honegger.)
(ChaRleyTroniC is invincible with his chips and cheese, Wed 10 Mar 2010, 21:46, closed)

I had a similar problem with a choir
admittedly it was a normal score- Rutter's Requiem- but the library I requested it from sent Rutter's arrangement of Faure's Requiem. The only alternative was to buy the score and then photocopy enough choir parts, which cost far too much. (The library's response was "We're not expected to know anything about music". X( )

I played "Fen Country" last year with my orchestra and adored it- I think it lends itself to interpretation well, too, which is why I'm annoyed that I can't get hold of it! I may resort to Greensleeves at this rate.
(Sivvus trolley collision in the fruit aisle led to a jam, Wed 10 Mar 2010, 22:09, closed)

Have you tried getting in touch with the Bodleian library in Oxford? I just looked it up and they have a copy (or at least the main music faculty library does - In the Fen Country : symphonic impression / R. Vaughan Williams

If you email the music department, they might be able to send you an educational use copy or something (I'm hazy on how music copyright works), or if you're anywhere near at all come and use it.

www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/music/about/contact are probably the guys to ask. Afraid I can only get into the science library or I'd copy it for you.
(Foxinsockssir, Wed 10 Mar 2010, 22:13, closed)

Usually OUP request a fee
for the hire of their stuff... I'll give it a go though, thanks!
(Sivvus trolley collision in the fruit aisle led to a jam, Wed 10 Mar 2010, 22:23, closed)

But if you deal with the music faculty library or get one of your supervisors to write for them you should sidestep the graspers at OUP entirely. Though I suppose a lot depends on whether or not they digitised it and whether OUP or the music guys did the actual digitising.

Good luck though!
(Foxinsockssir, Wed 10 Mar 2010, 22:48, closed)

If you really can't get hold of it
I do have access to the Bod (arts student) and would photocopy it. As a last resort like
( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Thu 11 Mar 2010, 10:35, closed)

Or
could you get a midi file of it, load it into Sibelius and tidy it up yourself?
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Thu 11 Mar 2010, 9:12, closed)

Tempting
But I really need the music to be as close to the printed original as possible- as in, the notation and expression markings- and I wouldn't know if the Midi was different.
(Sivvus trolley collision in the fruit aisle led to a jam, Thu 11 Mar 2010, 10:12, closed)

is there anything on that International Music Score project? They tend to scan in copies, so markings would be there - it's a bit hit and miss as to which edition you'd get though...or if they have it at all.

Also try: Senate House, British Library, Vaughan-W Societies etc.
(The Empress it seems you CAN polish a turd!, Thu 11 Mar 2010, 10:23, closed)

If I end up doing Greensleeves I'm going to get it from IMSLP
Tis generally my first port of call- my last three projects have all involved scores from there. :P
(Sivvus trolley collision in the fruit aisle led to a jam, Thu 11 Mar 2010, 11:28, closed)

*ahem*
imslp.org/wiki/

Alas, this particular score is not there, but most things are!
(grandmasterfluffles Come to my Armageddon party on, Thu 11 Mar 2010, 10:58, closed)