Chant Café

This is an exciting – and scary – time to be in publishing.

Mainstream booksellers and record labels have been feeling the crunch for some time, and even they have been slow to adapt to the reality of a world where a vast amount of alternative content is available freely and instantly. Publishers of sacred music, and choral music generally, have not yet experienced the full brunt of these global trends, but they will. That’s the scary part.

The exciting part is that the thing causing these changes – the technology and culture of the internet age – also offers unique opportunities and possibilities for reaching an audience.

Here at the Cafe, and in the relatively small world of “CMAA and friends,” we’ve seen a number of small (and not so small) publishers push the boundaries of traditional music publishing, to great success. Broadening our view to look at other publishers, we can find even more examples of innovative changes to the publishing paradigm.

For the benefit of our readers in the publishing industry, and for those of you (usually composers) who are thinking about self-publishing or joining a smaller publishing co-op, here are a handful of ideas for how to succeed in sacred music publishing.

1. Video

With almost 600 videos on YouTube and over 800 videos on Vimeo, Corpus Christi Watershed has been a real leader in this regard, posting sample videos of music, practice recordings, and behind-the-scenes coverage of the publishing process. I know some of us first discovered CCW through one of their online videos (I did).

It is not remarkably difficult to take example recordings (which many publishers are already making) and turn them into YouTube videos, and it really surprises me that more publishers (especially the established ones) aren’t doing this.

It completely transforms the relationship and the experience of buying music- musicians discover a video, have a chance to enjoy it on their own terms, and then come to the publisher to buy it. This is much more pleasant than sifting through endless stacks (or PDFs) of octavos and trying to guess whether a piece of music will be any good.

2. Instant download

One of the major concerns of music publishers is illegal copying. Regardless of your opinions about the nature of copyright (and I certainly have some), there is no doubt that for a publisher to make money, people need to pay for music one way or another.

Because of the ease of printing multiple copies of a PDF, many publishers have been wary of making their music available in a downloadable format- preferring to require choirs to purchase multiple printed copies for their singers.

But the logic here is pretty silly, because scanners and photocopiers are basically ubiquitous.

I’m of the opinion that more illegal photocopies are made to save time than ever have been made to save money. That is- I am convinced that paying a few extra dollars to obtain legal copies is NOTHING compared to the need to wait around for printed copies to arrive by mail.

Most musicians understand that paying for music supports other musicians. Giving them the ability to pay for a download (at a premium which covers the royalties for multiple copies) would give consumers of sheet music the ability to easily “do the right thing” without the hassle and inconvenience of waiting for shipping.

Also, since the marginal cost of a downloaded score is zero, the full purchase price goes back into composer royalties and publisher profits.

I should mention that OCP has been a leader in this regard among the mainstream music publishers, and has made most of their music available in this manner.

3. Creative Pricing

Related to “getting people to pay for things,” one of the more creative ideas I have encountered comes from Chris Mueller, the incredibly talented composer of the Missa pro editione tertia.

Rather than charging a few dollars and cents on individual scores and hoping no one photocopies them, he charges a single license fee to a parish who wants to use one of his compositions ($75 for tertia, $45 for other Mass settings, $10 for smaller individual works) and allows the purchaser to make as many copies as are needed.

Other pricing ideas I have run across include pay-what-you-can (essentially a donation-based system) and subscription/membership models, which require a bit more effort to maintain but have the benefit of guaranteeing steady income.

The idea here isn’t creativity for its own sake, or giving up on traditional copy-based pricing for no reason, but rather figuring out the most efficient, effective, and profitable way of getting music into the hands of people who want it.

4. Back catalog

Traditionally, one of the limitations to the number of individual pieces of music a publisher could offer was the cost of creating and storing physical copies of scores. It made no sense to publish and print a piece of music that may only be purchased one time- a large volume of purchases would be needed just to break even.

With the advent of print-on-demand publishing (which often includes drop-shipping capacity) and downloadable content, there is no reason for a publisher’s catalog to be limited in size.

Dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of scores which only get purchased rarely adds up to a large volume of total purchases. This is an idea called “The Long Tail,” and is a concept particularly responsible for the financial success of companies like Amazon, Google, and Netflix.

Established publishers tend to have huge libraries of out-of-print scores, languishing in filing cabinets or old floppy drives. Given the trend towards traditionalism in current church music, a lot of this music would be quite welcome to a small, but growing, audience.

5. Open Source

This might be the most radical of the ideas presented here, and it’s true that, to date, no publisher of sacred music has launched a serious Open Source initiative. Corpus Christi Watershed’s Chabanel Psalms project may be the closest thing I have seen, and it has been wildly successful. I’m of the opinion that going further would yeild even greater results.

(Obviously, CPDL and IMSLP – among others, have proven the viability of Open Source music as an end unto itself. But the point of this article is to discuss ideas for increasing the effectiveness of commercial publishing models.)

Now, my strong support of Open Source technology and techniques does not mean that I think publishers should abandon closed-source or proprietary music publishing. I think the world is big enough to support many different approaches to music production. But I do think that support for some strategically selected Open Source projects can benefit the music community and the sponsoring publisher.

Commercial producers of software discovered this, after initially fighting and bad-mouthing the Open Source software movement. Today, while there are still partisans of Free and Open software who balk at the motives of for-profit software companies, the Open Source and proprietary software worlds coexist quite peacefully, supporting each other. A number of major Open Source software projects are funded and sponsored by companies that produce and sell closed-source software, and a number of highly successful businesses have been spawned from the work done on Open Source projects.

For publishers of sacred music, I can imagine a number of potential Open Source projects which could be launched, coordinated, or sponsored by commercial publishers. The benefits, besides simply making the world a better place, would include excellent PR (more valuable than anything you could purchase), the development of ongoing relationships with leaders throughout the music community, and the opportunity to be a leader that sets standards and expectations for music publishing.

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What innovative approaches to publishing have you seen? Do you think smaller publishers are better able to be innovative because of their agility, or larger publishers because of their resources? What do you think stops publishers from pursuing innovative changes to their business model?

Circumstances put me out of the loop for a bit, but I thought I’d come back with an interesting version of the Ave maris stella.  I think every composer took a crack at this Vespers hymn, even though the chant is hard to beat. This one is by Dunstable.  And if you’re not in the mood for music, you can go over to my recently reconstructed Mary Jane Ballou and let me know (nicely, of course) what you think.

And I hope to be more prolific, in a thoughtful sort of way, soon. 

An old Slovakian carol invites us to “See how the Virgin waits for Him.” During Advent it can be very refreshing to focus on the person of the Blessed Mother, with perhaps a Marian prelude or Communion meditation each week.

The hymn “Mary the Dawn” might be particularly appropriate.

Or here is something that may be new to many–but can be found in the St. Gregory Hymnal.

A spiritual conference by Monsignor Andrew Wadsworth

All Souls Day Morning of Recollection – Juventutem DC
A spiritual conference by Fr Andrew

Given that this morning of recollection has been sponsored by the newly-formed chapter of Juventutem DC, I thought it might be appropriate to offer a few thoughts on the name ‘Juventutem’ and its obvious reference to Psalm 42 which is to be found in the prayers at the foot of the altar that occur in the Traditional Latin Mass. In most Masses in the Extraordinary Form, Psalm 42 is said in its entirety. In almost all Masses at least verse 4 of this psalm is said. In Sung Masses, it is not heard as the prayers at the foot of the altar coincide with the singing of the introit and the kyrie. In Masses during Passiontide and in Requiem Masses (such as this morning’s Requiem Mass for All Souls), the psalm is omitted but the antiphon retained.

Although commentators often disagree in their explanation of the origins of certain features of the liturgy, it would seem that historically, this penitential act has occupied its place at the beginning of Mass, at the foot of the altar, from the time when the Roman liturgy was spreading into Gall-Frankish territory. The psalm did not gain an entrance into many rites of Mass, however, even through the later Middle Ages and for a considerable time after. In the liturgies of religious orders such as the Carthusians and Dominicans Psalm 42 did not appear in their rite of Mass when these orders were established in the 13th century. Even when it was inserted, only a single verse was recited, Introibo ad altare Dei. Even when the psalm itself is omitted, the antiphon is said once.

This wonderful psalm expresses perfectly the sentiment which should animate the priest as he approaches the altar. It expresses a very great truth – the priest is powerfully attracted to the altar. A priest belongs at the altar and there is no place where he is more conscious of the reality of his priesthood than when he stands at the altar. The altar of God, however, is an awesome and holy place, yet there the priest stands, an unworthy servant of the Most High. He might call to mind the words of St. John Chrysostom: ‘When the priest calls upon the Holy Ghost and offers the tremendous Sacrifice: tell me in what rank should we place him? What purity shall we require of him, what reverence?’”

As a priest approaches the altar for the celebration of Holy Mass, he longs to ascend there to perform his sacred duty, to draw near to the Lord and to be united to Him. St John Chrysostom continues: “By the words iuventutem meam the priest may indeed, also, acknowledge that from his early days God has been his delight and bestowed on him a thousand joys.”

These are very beautiful thoughts but this psalm clearly expresses mixed emotions and demonstrates something of the divided heart that is so much a part of our human condition. It contains a sort of lament but one which includes a vow to give thanks in the Temple. Even when we are anxious and things are not going as we planned, we can purpose to praise God despite the way we feel. This primacy of will over emotions is one of the early lessons of the Mass and an essential one for anyone who wants to find happiness in the Church. It runs so very counter to all of the counsels of this age that suggest that our feelings are the greatest guide to reality. In truth, they are the least reliable guide and should often be mistrusted or even ignored.

What is so magnificent about Psalm 42 is that it is a pure expression of yearning for God with no expectation of reward or any other benefit – we seek God for the good which He is in Himself and not ultimately for personal gain. This approach to the altar which begins every Mass in many ways sums up all that follows. We should note that the approach to the altar is always one of happiness and joy, even if the Mass is celebrated in circumstances that are less than joyful or even downright sad. Perhaps it is for this reason that the Syrians call the whole Mass simply Kurobho, “approach.”

St. Ambrose relates the meaning of this psalm to those who have just been baptized: “The cleansed people, rich with these adornments, hastens to the altar of Christ, saying: I will go to the altar of God, to God who makes glad my youth; for having laid aside the slough of ancient error, renewed with an eagle’s youth, it hastens to approach that heavenly feast. It comes, and seeing the holy altar arranged, cries out: You have prepared a table in my sight.”

Most of us approach the altar with our baptism in the relatively distant past but this essential aspect of our Christian identity is of major importance every time we come to Mass. The traditional designation of the ‘Mass of the Catechumens’ and the ‘Mass of the Faithful’ reminds us of what a tremendous privilege it is as those who are baptized to be permitted to remain for the whole accomplishment of the offering of the Sacrifice and even more to approach the altar for the reception of Holy Communion.

These prayers “at the foot of the altar,” as Josef Jungmann explains in his momumental writings on the history of the development of the Mass, only existed after the year 1000. This is because before the eleventh century, as a rule, there were no steps up to the altar—not even a predella or platform. Yet by the ninth century, these prayers had been inserted:“On the way to the altar, Psalm 42 was spoken in common, and upon arrival at the altar, two orations were added in conclusion, one of which is our Aufer a nobis. In witnesses to this particular arrangement of the entry (of the priest at Mass), there are found in addition various apologiae, forerunners of our Confiteor, included in a variety of ways and in an assortment of forms. They are either added at the beginning or inserted somewhere in the middle or subjoined at the end.

This arrangement quickly took the lead over other plans of a similar kind…Very seldom was there any clear transfer of the psalm to the altar steps. Often this transfer occurred because the chasuble was put on the altar, as was the custom especially at private Mass. In other cases the rubric was left indefinite. This diversity of practice corresponded to the variety in spatial arrangements. Often the distance from sacristy to altar was very short. In order not to prevent the psalm’s being said with proper care and to lend it greater importance, it was not begun until the steps were reached. This must have been the origin of the arrangement now found in the Missal of Pius V.”

Although we cannot be confident about the origins of this Psalm and its place in the liturgy of the Mass, we do have the psalm itself which is worthy of careful attention and rewards a close reading. I would like briefly to walk through this psalm with you and offer a little commentary on those phrases which I have high-lighted in your printed hand-outs:

– Judge me, O God
We ask a serious thing when we ask God to judge us because we ask Him to search our heart and discern our truest motives which alone give meaning to our actions. So often we judge others by their actions in the hope that they will judge us by our intentions. Only God has all the information necessary to make such judgments. For this reason, He, and He alone is the judge of all.

– distinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy
We always want it to be clear that we are not just like everyone else but we forget that for God, it is as if we are the only one who exists – He is faithful even when we are faithless!

– deliver me from the unjust
We need God to help and rescue us, particularly form those who will bring about our ruination. Bad company, occasions of sin etc.

– For Thou art, God, my strength
A profession of faith – we need to make them often in the course of the day so that the muscle of faith may be exercised and become strong.

– why do I go sorrowful?
It is easy to be depressed but we have to minister to our emotions speaking faith to our feelings.

– Send forth Thy light and Thy truth
Only God can show us the way, the right path, without His light, we are really lost.

– they have conducted me and brought me unto Thy holy hill
This is where God brings me- to the holy hill which is the altar, the Mass: the one place where we can make sense of all of this confusion and chaos.

– I will go in to the altar of God
This is the future tense of intention and purpose – I have to keep coming here, I have to keep ascending this holy hill – it is the only answer.

– to God Who giveth joy to my youth
God is the only reliable source of happiness, the only true satisfaction for any human heart. So many marriages, relationships and friendships fail because people do not understand that nobody can ultimately satisfy us, only God.

– I will give praise upon the harp
I have to keep singing and not be deterred even when the opposition or discouragement, either from within myself or from others, is very considerable.

– Hope in God
The fundamental virtue of the Christian life – the ability to look beyond our present difficulties and to see a time when all will be well. It is the virtue most obviously demonstrated by the Holy Souls for whom we pray today.

I want to conclude these brief thoughts with a citation from the writings of Pope Benedict XVI, his very particular commentary on a verse from this psalm with he mentions in concluding a sermon he preached on Sexagesima Sunday in 1962 at the first Mass of a newly ordained priest. It is of particularly personal significance for me as I chose to include this citation in the printed program for my first offering of the Traditional Latin Mass, the day after my ordination, twenty-there years ago. It says, far better than I could ever say, what lies at the heart of this word of Scripture:

“and I will come to the altar of God, the God of my joy” (Ps.42:4)

Pope Benedict writes:
We want to ask God that he will always let something of the splendour of this joy, if it is is necessary, fall on our life; that he may give the radiance of this joy ever more deeply and purely to this priest who today for the first time comes before the altar of God; that he will still continually shine upon him when he does so for the last time, when he comes before the altar of eternity in which God shall be the joy of our eternal life, our never-ending youth. Amen.