The Recovering Choir Director

Though I’ve been told that I have the mind of a lawyer, I am not a lawyer and have no intention of becoming an expert in legal minutiae. Therefore, I will be writing in general terms.

I have been following the MusicaSacra Forum discussion on copyright issues and morality. While I agree that artists’ rights must be respected (as I dare count myself among that crowd), I also believe that current traditional copyright restrictions have resulted in economic marginalization of artists and the ascendancy of frankly villainous, parasitic organizations such as the RIAA.

Traditional copyright restrictions are, in my mind, a form of intellectual contraception and seem especially antithetical to the spirit of sacred music composition and execution, where a piece literally only comes alive when it is sung by a choir, especially within its proper context. I don’t have the intellectual capacity at the moment to expound on it, but there seems to be something inherently contradictory in placing a copyright restriction on a work that should properly be a gift to God and the Church.

If a piece is good, people will want it, legally or illegally. I would at least want my sacred music (if it is good) to be distributed as widely as possible, as freely as possible, touching as many souls as possible, as a gift to the Church and the world, while making sure that I receive credit for my work. As I am more valuable than a sparrow, I am not concerned with earthly royalties. And at least in the case of Crucem Tuam, no one of this world commissioned this work, so I don’t believe it’s appropriate to restrict it.

Therefore, after studying various forms of copyleft, I will be distributing Crucem Tuam (and possibly future sacred works) under the Free Art License. In the rare event I am commissioned to compose a sacred piece, I would insist that my patron (or patrons) permit the commissioned work’s distribution according to the same license, on the premise that the patron is paying for a gift to the Church that will attain maximum value only if distributed and presented without fear of legal retribution.

I recognize that the conclusion I have reached will not be the same conclusion that other, better composers of sacred music will reach. I pass no judgment on those who would choose a different solution for their intellectual property. I simply believe that this is the best solution for me at this time, and perhaps for all time.

Stay tuned for the page where I post the PDFs, LilyPond source code, and (hopefully) a (growing) list of churches where the work has been made part of the musical offering.

(If people want a personalized and autographed octavo laid out especially for their parish, however, they’ll have to pay for the autograph, layout and personalization. All reasonable offers accepted—not that I expect any.)