Richard Clark Issues a Challenge
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    ON THIS “BLACK FRIDAY”, I AM DELIGHTED to see Russell Weismann’s Advent Communion Antiphons published with GIA Publications, Inc. Simple and accessible, they are expertly composed by the former Associate Director of Music at the Basilica of the National Shrine. Having had opportunity to preview and sing this wonderful collection a year ago, it is encouraging to see one of the “Big Three” put forth such a work. While I remain cautiously optimistic, one must take note of new directions by mainstream publishers as it signals a broader change in the market. (E.g., Chief Publishing Officer for the J.S. Paluch Co., Dr. Jerry Galipeau’s description of the “servant model of composition.”)

    As settings of antiphons have been historically ignored by mainstream publishers, there are recent notable exceptions, e.g. Christopher Tietze’s Communion Antiphons for the Easter Season (World Library Publications) and Christopher Walker’s Communion Antiphons for SATB Choir. (Oregon Catholic Press) The current market share may be relatively small, but these publications reflect an emerging awareness of the propers, and hence an emerging market.


    A Challenge for the Big Three
    Thanked by 4Paul F. Ford Andrew Motyka CHGiffen Ben
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    Cross posted from CCW/Richard Clark's article commentary:

    I believe that among our own anglophonic liturgical company, Richard, we must first agree to drop our own prejudices that can shut down discussion of your wonderful exhortation in a New York minute. There are so many distractions and minutiae that GIRM thumpers (I should patent that! Nah, leave it in the commons) would have us interrupt envisioning the larger benefit. For example, we totally agree that the proper processionals ought not to be the sole provenance of the schola or choir. Many other voices will at least wince or shout that down for any number of reasons, ie. what constitutes a real proper (anything from a book sanctioned by the Vatican and in Latin;) is a Bartlett, Ford(s), Tietze, Kelly proper sanctionable as option one?; is a paraphrase, however accurate to the Psalter text really an alius cantus, etc. yada yada. For every musician that would endorse the absorption of Bartlett to OCP, Ostrowski to WLP and Bruce Ford to GIA (Paul: LitPress already in place) there will remain critics who, in very hushed tones, will demean either the inauthenticity or a perceived lack of artistic merit by comparison to the real McCoy. And others will bemoan the "glut concept" ala MacMillan's decree this week and the approbation of these open source collections into the marketing processes of "The Big Three." I say "So what? We're (just the English speakers) still under a huge tent that won't collapse because of diversity."
    The unity of shifting the paradigm towards the conscious effort to select proper settings for processionals, no matter whose setting (Deiss to Clark) would still be a monumental moment in the worship life of the Church based upon the Roman (and closely related) rites. Great essay.
Add a Comment