The red tape behind the music

I recently worked my way through the labyrinth of a large music publisher's licensing and copyright department to obtain permission to perform a transposed piece of classical music at a college music festival next year. Not fun! It took a lot of time that I could have spent singing--or walking the dog, for that matter--but it was a learning experience

It all began in August when my singing teacher and I determined that a 20th century art song I really like--John Duke's  Luke Havergal--fits one of the required categories for entry in the festival, scheduled for February 2011. My teacher owns  a copy of the music--great!--but it is the "Medium Voice" version, meaning the range, with a high note of F above middle C--is well above mine. So the search began to see if Luke was available in a Low Voice version. After a hunt that included phone calls to a classical music library in Ithaca, NY, and e-mails to a European music supplier whose website promised what ultimately turned out to be a red-herring Low Voice version of Luke, we confirmed that Low Luke was not available and, indeed, had never been published.

An alternative was to sing the published High Voice version an octave lower to fit my range. Tried it.  Didn't work. I sounded like I was in the basement, or trapped in a mine in Chile somewhere. After further study of the festival's requirements for entry, we found that a version of the music transposed via software like Finale would be acceptable, as long as we obtained permission from the publisher. Thus began the dealings with the publisher's licensing and copyright department. Nearly a month after my initial request, permission arrived by e-mail yesterday.

My point is that performing music takes more time and involves more backstory than I ever imagined before I began my adventures in singing. Sure, I could have easily blown off Luke and found another piece that suits the festival's entry requirements, but when a piece of music speaks to you the way this one speaks to me, it's worth the effort. (More about that in a future posting.) I was thrilled when that e-mail arrived yesterday. Now let's hope the judges at the festival will be equally enthusiastic.

To what lengths have you gone to perform a piece of music you love?