Beach Spring
rgoodell
I sing in DownEast Singers, a 60+ voice chorus in central coastal Maine which specializes in the Russian liturgical repertoire -- we performed the Rachmaninoff "Vespers" (8 part, in Russian) last fall. Now, unfortunately, (from my point of view) the next concert will include the above piece, accompanied by handbells. The piece, as set by Mizell, is called "Come and Find the Quiet Center," and is dedicated to her mother, Ethelyn McGowen, "on the occasion of her 92nd birthday, June 22, 2001."
"Come and find the quiet center in the crowded life we lead.
Find the room for hope to enter, find the frame where we are freed:
Clear the chaos and the clutter, clear our eyes that we can see
all the things that really matter, be at peace, and simply be.
Silence is a friend who claims us, cools the heat and slows the pace.
God it is who speaks and names us, knows our being, touches base,
making space within our thinking, lifting shades to show the sun,
raising courage when we're shrinking, finding scope for faith begun.
"In the spirit let us travel, open to each other's pain.
Let our loves and fears unravel, celebrate the space we gain:
There's a place for deepest dreaming, there's a time for heart to care;
In the spirit's lively scheming, there is always room to spare."
The music copy says:"Words are by Shirley Erena Murray; copyright 1992 Hope Publishing Co.; Music copyright 2006 Lorenz Publishing Co." However, under Mizell's name is "Tune: Beach Spring by
Benjamin F. White."
I realized as soon as we began to sing it that I'd sung it before, although I couldn't have recalled that it was Beach Spring. But when I got home and looked, there it was.
The tune seems transcribed almost exactly as in the Denson book, with the exception that the "omitted" rest in the second half of the tune (that appears in the first measure in the first half, which is then repeated), which for me gives it that irregular oomph so pleasing in many shape note tunes, is added. The key is lowered from A to G, the tune is now in the soprano, the other parts are changed.
And then of course the change in words . . . "God ... touches base" ??? Sorry -- that can't compare to "This He gives you, 'Tis the Spirit's rising beam."
So I ask -- how much can be done to an already published piece of music?
Bobbie Goodell
S. Thomaston, Maine
Gabriel Kastelle
And stir that in to Rachmaninov and Grechaninov and Kastalsky (! no relation) and Smolensky and .....
-- Gabriel K. --
New London, CT
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Will Fitzgerald
Both the words we sing to Beach Spring and the tune are in the public
domain, so in some sense one can do as much one wants. It seems very
unlikely that the claimed music copyright covers more than just the
physical layout of the music, or the few tweaks you claim are there.
Mizell isn't the first one to leave out the internal rest, though.
The new words are, of course, under copyright.
Will
jzanich
God of day and God of darkness, now we stand before the night.
As the shadows stretch and deepen, come and make our darkness bright.
All creation still is groaning for the dawning of your might,
When the sun of peace and justice fills the earth with radiant light.
. . .
Praise to you in day and darkness, you our source and you our end.
Praise to you who loves and nurtures us like a father, mother, friend.
Grant us all a peaceful resting, may each mind and body mend,
Till we rise refreshed tomorrow, hearts renewed, to kingdom tend.
It has the credit line: (Text: Marty Haugen. C 1994 GIA Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. Music: The Sacred Harp, 1844.)
Different people are going to discover and use hymn tunes in different ways. It's the marketplace of musical ideas. We don't have to like them all. But it is unfortunate to be required to sing a version one dislikes.
On the bright side, at least Mizell didn't use the tune to hawk wares at Christmas, the sad fate that has befallen Carol of the Bells, Silent Night, and more in television commercials.
Jane Zanichkowsky
Newton, MA
--- On Wed, 3/10/10, Will Fitzgerald <will.fi...@gmail.com> wrote:
Andy Alexis
Which brings me to an aside, from the book "Why Catholics Can't Sing", which brings up the very valid point that modern hymns frequently have the SINGERS as God: "I the Lord of Sea and Sky, I have seen my people cry". You don't EVER see this is Fasola. It is the ultimate arrogance of modern religion.
But it also illustrates the role of nature in old vs. new, also: all of the modern hymns have tweeting birds, soaring eagles, wind whispering through the pine trees and the big guy up in Heaven admiring all of his National Parks. In the fasola world there is some of that, but more often, Nature Must Count Her Gold But Dross!
Ok, I'm done!
Andy Alexis
Sacramento, CA.
Andy Alexis :
http://www.google.com/profiles/aalexis
Sacramento, California
"The Pearl of the Central Valley"
Will Fitzgerald
> brings up the very valid point that modern hymns frequently have the SINGERS
> as God: "I the Lord of Sea and Sky, I have seen my people cry". You don't
> EVER see this is Fasola. It is the ultimate arrogance of modern religion.
Never? No never. Never? Hardly ever:
http://fasola.org/indexes/1991/?p=72b (Bellevue)
http://fasola.org/indexes/1991/?p=489 (The Savior's Call)
(Plus a few others with quotes from God, eg.
http://fasola.org/indexes/1991/?p=263 , Dodderidge). Point very much
taken, though!
--
Will
Carlton, David L
Which brings me to an aside, from the book "Why Catholics Can't
Sing", which brings up the very valid point that modern hymns frequently
have the SINGERS as God: "I the Lord of Sea and Sky, I have seen my people
cry". You don't EVER see this is Fasola. It is the ultimate
arrogance of modern religion.
Just to point out that if this is arrogance, it pervades all the prophetic writings. How dare those prophets pretend to channel the voice of God! I know that hymn well; the text is framed as a dialogue between God and his Isaiah-like servant, whose voice comes in the refrain. No one I know who sings it confuses the two. I myself am a huge fan of the unfashionable theology of shape-note hymnody, and find much to object to in contemporary hymnody, but I find nothing theologically untoward here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David L. Carlton
Associate Professor of History
Vanderbilt University Sta. B, Box 351523
Nashville, TN 37235-1523
Ph.: (615) 322-3326 FAX: (615) 343-6002
E-Mail:david....@vanderbilt.edu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cleve Callison
Most of the times the modern hymnals get out the 80 grit musical sandpaper and smooth the rough edges out; they take out the "wretches" and verses like "When I was sinking down beneath God's righteous frown". Wouldn't want to tell anyone they are anything less that perfect; it is the triumph of modern vanity and definitely has a marketing aspect to it.
Chris Noren
Andy Alexis
Pelagian...very much what I am talking about, much more elegantly said.
At least in the Bellevue example above, they had the good sense to use quotes for what God is saying.
It is true, you could consider the singer-as-God as prophetic writings; it's just that there is a LOT of it in the Catholic contemporary hymns that I am familiar with. We're not just reassuring people as God (like the examples from Bellevue and The Saviors Call) ; we are forgiving them, we are saving them, healing the sick, irrigating the desert, doing all sorts of God-like things.
I grew up in the Episcopal church, and I am still quite fond of those hymns; I don't recall many of those speaking as the big guy.
Andy Alexis
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Will Fitzgerald
"Post in haste, repent at leisure".
Will
On Wed, Mar 10, 2010 at 12:53 PM, Robert Vaughn <rl_v...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Bellevue probably fits in the "quotes from God" category. After asking "What more can He say than to you He hath said" the writers begins to quote some things "He hath said".
>
> At least that's the way I take the meaning.
>
> Robert Vaughn
--
Will
Charles Wells
Besides, it rhymes. It is the best modern (post-1950 or so) rhyming hymn I can ever remember seeing, and I love it.
Charles Wells
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dadadharma @dslextreme.com
A splendid discussion thread bringing to mind Pelasgian & Augustinian notions of grace amongst other things -- how music opens our minds!
But was the original question addressed?
So I ask -- how much can be done to an already published piece of music?
I think by this Roberta means to ask "how many notes does an arranger need to re-arrange in Beach Spring before the arranger can claim copyright protection."
I'm kinda curious about this myself.
I think the answer is "two".
For instance, if there are two quarter notes, the third and the fifth, and the arranger takes the third and makes it an eighth and the fifth a dotted quarter -- probably copyrightable.
More likely, the third will be split into two eighth notes -- a third and a fourth, leading up the quarter-note fifth. Definitely copyrightable.
Look at what O. A. Parris did to dozens of songs in Christian Harmony.
Look at Wayfaring Stranger -- the version in Denson (1991) is under copyright, I think due to the "mi-la" at the end of the first musical phrase, whereas Cooper has "fa-la".
(and I tend to sing it fa- la, because I think that's how it's usually recorded by the folksingin' world)
May I introduce some new terminology here?
"copyrot" --
When, in order to claim under copyright law, a song is tinkered with, thus destroying the intersubjectivity of the musical tradition, and usually making certain parts -- bass in particular, unsingable.
When I was a kid, there were interdenominational events & everybody had Thomas Ken's doxology or "Be Present At Our Table" memorized so for instance you could have a picnic in the park without hymnals but still sing grace for the meals.
Now, when the new Lutheran "cranberry hymnal" was released, I attended an event -- only laypersons & clergy intensely interested in hymns came -- but when lunchtime rolled around, a member of the clergy said grace, because no one has anything memorized anymore.
If I start singing "Be present at our table, Lord" a few voices will join me, some people will complement me afterwards, but most will treat this as an instance of "the Authoritarian Personality at work".
Amazing Grace --
this should be renamed "Amazing Hydrant" -- 90% of all professional church musicians have a burning desire to hear the sheeple say: "He's such a good musician, he even wrote a new arrangement for Amazing Grace".
Arranging Grace, how sweet the hope,
of cheating harmonies
I changed two notes when I was broke,
to receive royalties.
In the world of patents, incremental improvements are (theoretically, in America) not "inventive steps" and do not deserve protection under intellectual property law.
In the world of music copyrights, incremental tinkering seems to be the name of the game.
David Olson
Culver City, CA
Will Fitzgerald
<dadad...@dslextreme.com> wrote:
>
> A splendid discussion thread bringing to mind Pelasgian & Augustinian
> notions of grace amongst other things -- how music opens our minds!
>
> But was the original question addressed?
>
I guess this is the time to remind people of Cooper v. James [1]
[1] http://cip.law.ucla.edu/cases/case_cooperjames.html
--
Will
jzanich
Yes, one is not going to find any brimstone in the New Century, Presbyterian, or Episcoapl hymnal of today.
You make an interesting point about first-person texts quoting God; I wonder if Petersburg, 174, is an exception, however. "My name is God" . . . "On earth I have a mansion too," etc.
One time more than twenty years ago, I happened to be the assigned cantor on the day of "I the Lord of sea and sky/I have heard my people cry." You should have heard the ensuing brouha, causing the pastor to reassure the elders that no female would ever sing that piece again.
Jane Zanichkowsky
Newton, MA
--- On Wed, 3/10/10, Andy Alexis <aal...@gmail.com> wrote: