The Recovering Choir Director

Those who closely followed the Papal Mass at World Youth Day will have noticed a partial rollout of the new ICEL English translation of the Mass Ordinary - a rollout that happened in the home archdiocese of the chair of the Vox Clara Committee of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Most noteworthy were the alterations to the Gloria and the Sanctus, which eschewed dynamic equivalence for a more literal translation of the Latin.

While this is all good, the question remains regarding copyright. Current ICEL guidelines state: “Any publication produced for sale which contains ICEL translations is subject to a royalty or flat fee.” Simply put: If you or I want to directly make money off a vernacular Mass Ordinary, we will have to write the powers-that-be at ICEL to ascertain what level of tribute would be demanded of us. For more detail we can consult the 24-page ICEL Publication Policy booklet (PDF).

Jeffrey Tucker writes in the MusicaSacra Forum:

It would be great to see the new texts issued under a creative commons attribution license or keep conventional copyright but provide the broadest liberality in use, and eschew royalties altogether. This is an essential part of reform because it would end the cartel [of the liturgical industrial complex of publishers, etc.] My worry is that this issue is not even on the radar screen.

The question of copyright and royalties is probably is not on the radar screen. Most probably, it is taken as given. But it ought to be raised. I, for one, would at least appreciate transparency in the current arrangement, specifically: who/what in ICEL benefits from the royalties generated? How much is generated? After all, “we are church” and all that. (If those questions are readily answerable, please say so in the comments.)

I would also be interested in the arrangement that George Palmer - the composer of the WYD 2008 Mass - had with ICEL and/or those who commissioned his work, especially given his legal background. Given that it is still freely available on the Internet, and it is not for sale, perhaps there is a basis in this arrangement that can be more widely employed.

Looking at the ICEL Publication Policy booklet, I find the following on Page 17 (page 18 of the PDF):

Publications for More than One-Time Use

No royalty is charged on publications for more than one-time use such as hymnals and other participation aids containing ICEL texts and produced by parishes, schools, or religious communities for their individual use and not by an outside firm, provided that the group printing this publication does not sell it. Permission must be obtained from ICEL for the inclusion of ICEL texts in publications for more than one-time use.

How could a creative exercise of these permissions play itself out to the benefit of the composer, established or otherwise, who is loath to submit his compositions to the circular file of creativity that is the Liturgical Industrial Complex? I envision two approaches at the moment:

1. The composer could conceivably compose a self-funded work, obtain the necessary ICEL permissions, publish it and hawk it as “donate-ware”, meaning to say that he gives it freely to the world, hoping for some sort of direct remuneration. It’s a great way to store up treasure in heaven, but not so great to directly receive one’s daily bread - ask me how much money I’ve received for Crucem Tuam a 4. (It ought to be said, however, that I am perfectly happy with the decision I made to place it under the Free Art License, and I wasn’t hoping for earthly remuneration when I did so).
2. A diocese, a newly established institute like the Sacred Music Institute in St. Louis, or even a wealthy patron could initiate a contest for composers to set works based on the ICEL texts, giving out prizes, scholarships, or even the guarantee of direct monetary patronage, with the stipulation that the newly composed work be freely distributed.

If anyone has any other ideas, please share in the comments. Also, if anyone wants to send this post in the form of a question to ICEL, feel free.