XML import (WAS: A premiere by Daahoud Salim, typeset with LilyPond)

[Francisco Vila]

From my work on Daahoud Salim's sextet, I can tell to those interested some things to do and some not to. Today I am focusing on the XML import alone.

Long story short: avoid it.

This is a very small piece when compared to dozens of huge works we all in the list have seen on the years, but it is decent-sized for me, at least big enough so that some mistakes can have a deep effect on the workflow.

What is obviuos is that a version control system of any kind is absolutley needed. In my case that saved me from the disaster two or more times. Branches are very useful, too. But this is well known by git users. All ponders, do become git users! Some also use Make for building. I used it for my LaTeX thesis. _My_ problem with Make is that syntax of makefiles is very hard to read.

The piano part looked cumbersome to type; I knew the composer could give me exported XMLs from Finale and I thought this was going to make me save some time. It was rather the opposite. MusicXML puts too many layout details forced.

- The converted code has \stemUp and \stemDown in every single note, which had to be searched and replaced. Also all articulations are forced up or down. Beams are also fixed.

- Page and line breaks are there and you don't want them.

- Tuplet fractions are often almost impossible to understand.

- Line breaks in the code itself are nonsense, e.g. in the middle of a <> chord or a tuplet.

- Bar number checks have to be searched as well to delete them. What if you want to insert a measure? it's a nightmare. Even worse, bar number checks are not fixed strings, so you have to compose regular expressions to match them.

- Dynamics are not attached to the note it is meant to, if the author moved them with the mouse.

- Page size is usually US Letter.

- Just look at this converted block:

#(set-global-staff-size 20.6625714286)

\paper {
    paper-width = 21.59\cm
    paper-height = 27.93\cm
    top-margin = 1.27\cm
    bottom-margin = 1.27\cm
    left-margin = 2.53\cm
    right-margin = 1.27\cm
    between-system-space = 2.19\cm
    page-top-space = 1.27\cm
    indent = 1.66076923077\cm
    short-indent = 1.10717948718\cm
  }

No comments. Except that you have to pay attention to it even if you want to discard it completely, because it's between all else, otherwise useful, code. The work of picking and editing the useful parts is time-consuming.

My advice to all copyists is: unless you can extract naked pitches and rhythms from the XML, it is better to forget it.

===============

> Hello; as promised, here is the link: https://goo.gl/oauPWL but please bear in mind
> that the composer has found some changes to be done and therefore the version
> is not final. Read the history.txt file to know what latest changes are.

Grachtenfestival Amsterdam
Poem: History of Peoples
https://www.grachtenfestival.nl/concert_detail.vm?id=3379

Sunday 13 August / 20:30
Muziek
Salim, D.: Poem: History of Peoples
Chausson, E: Poème
Ravel, M.: Violin Sonata no. 2 in G major

Daahoud Salim
piano, composer
https://www.grachtenfestival.nl/musician_detail.vm?mus=43576&lang=en

Rosanne Philippens
violin
https://www.grachtenfestival.nl/musician_detail.vm?mus=7906
http://www.rosannephilippens.com/

Aristos Quartet
https://www.grachtenfestival.nl/musician_detail.vm?ens=8711&lang=en
http://aristosquartet.nl/home/
Evelien Jaspers - Dmitry Ivanov - Sylvain Dessane - Otto Bakker

--

Francisco Vila. Badajoz (Spain)
paconet.org , csmbadajoz.com