Acquiring a version of a classical song

[Mike Chalmers]

I'm currently producing a video that has a section parodying an X-Factor style competition. We've been asked to get music similar to O Fortuna from Carmina Burana - which is the music they use at the start of the X-Factor.

This is a classical piece and has been performed by different orchestras. I'm having trouble finding a version which doesn't cost too much (the budget of this small video isn't too high) and was wondering if anyone knew of a website to get reasonably priced classic music - especially this track.

Alternatively, a similar piece of music might be good, if anyone has any ideas..

I wish I was more up on classical music, but it is something I look forward to as I get older!

[Jim Andrada]

You could try the classical archives

Listen to Classical Music on Classical Archives: Home

Haven't searched around to see if they have it or not - but I guess I don't really know what you mean by "cost too much"

ie do you mean cost too much for the CD itself or for licensing or...?

The Carl Orff setting of 24 of the total 254 texts was done in the 1930's so I believe copyright issues are still with us in the US - but I think you have things easier in the UK so may be no problem.

[Geoffrey Cox]

I think the copyright in the UK is now also 70 years as in the States (used to be 50 years). So I think the copyright on the composition has expired but not of course on any recordings - so you could record a version yourself hah ha!

Carl Orff's music is pretty unique but a similar vibe is Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet which I think they use on The Apprentice (or something similar by him).

[Jim Andrada]

Anybody who could really understand US Copyright laws would make Einstein look stupid!

But as I read it, the US law says that a work is copyrighted for 70 years from the date of death of the composer (Orff died in 1982) or 120 years from date of publication, or 95 years from date of publication depending on - ????????

I think in the US it's best to think of it as if copyright (like diamonds) is/are forever.

[Paul R Johnson]

Why not do just that and re-record it. Plenty of musicians now have pretty good orchestral sampling facilities - and most of this piece is quite doable - apart from the vocals, but maybe a local amateur choir could be pursuaded? Probably still a bit expensive, but possible. It's not beyond possibility that somebody somewhere is actually rehearsing this one for a public performance - so recording it could be popular.

That said, depending on how many DVDs you'll be producing, it could just be simpler to just license an existing version!

[Jon Fairhurst]

For music compositions that are not under copyright, another option is to have a mock up specialist sequence a piece using sample libraries. These are done with MIDI, but they're not your crazy uncle's MIDI files.

I found a thread about a Carmina Burana mock up using EWQLSO (a choir lib). This was his first use of EWQLSO, so it's a bit rough and has some synch issues, but it gives an idea of what a top MIDI performer would be able to do.

Carmina Burana: O Fortuna - Soundsonline-Forums
O Fortuna.mp3 - File Shared from Box.net - Free Online File Storage

If you only need a few seconds/minutes and don't need perfection, a mock up may be the way to go.

You can hear more EWQLSO demos on this page: Symphonic Choirs - PLAY Edition - Sounds Online
Go down about a page and click on the "Demos" link to see the items. This one by Nick Phoenix is especially cool: http://media.soundsonline.com/mp3/217207.mp3

In fact, if you hear a composition on that page that works well, you can probably contact the composer/performer and license the whole deal from him. (That would also avoid any unintentional associations to the Nazi era that Orff may evoke.)

[Mike Chalmers]

Thanks for all the responses.

By cheap, I mean around £20. I know this might not be possible. I have a copy of the song, I just need one that I can license for around this amount.

It's for a video for an education establishment, where the video will be on the web (so no revenue) and the budget is going on the event rather than music for the video.

I understand that to get good music you have to pay for it, I was just wondering what you would do if you didn't really have money yet wanted something like this piece.

The midi file is almost ideal, but the sync problems in the middle section are too obvious to use this one. I'd like to be able to commission one or ask an orchestra to record one, but time and money constraints prevent that, on this occasion.

Would you guys just go for something slightly similar on a music service like audiojungle? This exact piece would add a lot to the video, but if it's impossible then there's not much I can do..

Thanks again

[Steve House]

Just FYI, a quick search of the Harry Fox agency Songfile utility reveals Carmina Burana is still copyright, published by Schott Music in the States.

[Jon Fairhurst]

For 20 quid, I'd drop the idea of licensing Carmina Burana.

Instead, scour these forums for demos that amateur composers have posted of their works:
Music Audio EM Home Film Recording Movie Sounds Orchestral Sample forums-Northern Sound Source
v.i. control forum • Board Index [ Guest ]

Many of these composers have never made a penny on their music, and if they've already done the work of creating a piece, they might license it for the price of a credit.

Frankly, big epic pieces similar to Carmina Burana and Lord of the Rings battle scenes are really popular. As long as you're not married to the notes in CB, you should be able to find something with a similar mood.

[Mike Chalmers]

Mood is all I'm going for at this point. Thanks for the links, I'll give them a look.

Additionally, I've contacted PRS (PRS for Music) as I met one of their senior managers early this year, to see if they can provide me with exact information about this.

[Jim Andrada]

I was under the impression that in the UK there was some kind of inexpensive "short run" synch licensing available, similar to the mechanical licensing deal for audio only. Can't put my finger on it, but I know it has come up in some of the posts in the "Taking care of business" area.

[Mike Chalmers]

Jim,

I believe the link I posted above is the people who organise the license you are talking about. A forum thread suggested linked to a website, which then re-directed me back to that site.

Hopefully I will be able to get some information and post it here, for fellow UK users looking to use audio inexpensively for smaller productions.

Thanks