COMPOSER Hubert Parry's Voces Clamantium holds special significance at this year's Three Choirs because it was written for the festival exactly 100 years ago when it premiered in Hereford.

So, when artistic director Geraint Bowen was compiling this year's programme, it seemed like a perfect choice.

The programme was completed and the publicity material went out last year - but then a spanner appeared in the works.

When festival organisers went to collect the manuscript from publishing company Novello, it had been destroyed in a clear out.

The performance was in trouble. There was no music and no printed version available.

Desperately searching for a copy, festival organisers turned to the Royal College of Music library.

"They had a hand-written copy by Parry on microfilm, which they printed off and sent to me," said Tim Symons, a music type-setter from Hereford.

Mr Symons proved to be an ace in the hole for the festival, as he's one of only a few people able to translate the hand-written score into a usable score and orchestration.

"There aren't many people who do what I do," he said. "There are only about 100 in the country.

"I've seen some dreadfully-written manuscripts in my time, but this wasn't that bad. It came out at about 64 pages, for a full-length 20 to 25-minute piece."

Using computer software, Mr Symons set about copying the score, and completed the task last week. He's now working on each individual part for the orchestration.

"It was first performed in Hereford in 1903, and then in 1904 in Leeds, then at Three Choirs in Gloucester in 1928, but that was the last full orchestral performance," he said.

But if it hadn't been for modern technology the piece might have been lost forever.

"It's true that we wouldn't have been able to do this 10 or 15 years ago," said Mr Symons, who's also a lay-clerk with Hereford Cathedral Choir. "Computer setting has revolutionised the industry."

Although Mr Symons has been working on the piece since May, the festival will be the first time he will hear it in its entirety.

"This is the sort of piece that will come alive when it's performed by an orchestra."

Voces Clamantium will be performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Festival Chorus alongside the world premiere of Anthony Power's Air and Angles, Elgar's Froissart and Prokofiev Suite from Romeo and Juliet in Hereford Cathedral on Thursday, August 21.