John ... that's a hell of a story ... what are the odds!!!! And, it
also contained some valuable tips ... I'm in your debt.
Thanks,
Dean
On Jan 14, 2007, at 9:53 AM, John Howell wrote:
At 8:37 PM -0800 1/13/07, Dean M. Estabrook wrote:
I've just been offered a commission to write a choral piece.
Though I've done a lot of composing, this is the first time for me
in the world of commissions. If there is such a thing, what might
be the going rate for an SATB piece for a church choir of 20
singers, lasting about 3 minutes? I told the person wanting the
work that I honestly didn't know what to ask, but that I'd look
around ... hence, this message. She supposed that something
between $500 and a grand might be a reasonable range ... what say ye?
I would agree, for someone who does not have a big stack of
published works but is a good composer. There is no standard fee
and no union scale or standard contract. And I'm sure others will
emphasize that the devil is in the details--the written, signed
details!!
(Some personal history follows; hit <Delete> to move on.)
A couple of years ago (well, 2001 actually, now that I think of
it), I was commissioned by a church to provide 4 anthems based on 4
specified Psalms (and my wife threw 4 Introits into the deal as
well, at my suggestion). I hasten to add that the church had
generous outside funding, a nice grant from the Calvin Foundation
(I think that was the name) for Congregational Revitalization. The
pieces were conceived for a decent church choir of about 35, a
brass quintet, youth choir (on 2 of them), handbell choir (on 2 of
them), organ or piano (a good player), and whatever rhythm section
we wanted to add. Plus a reduction so they could be done with
keyboard alone. Our commission was $5,000.
Now, the scary part. The premiers were scheduled for 4 consecutive
Sundays in September, 2001. The Sunday School and Adult Forum
concentrated on the subject assigned for each week, and the sermons
were keyed to those Psalms and their meanings. The first Sunday
was a Psalm of Trust (Ps. 27, and Trust In the Lord turned into a
unifying concept as I wrote the remaining ones).
Then came 9/11. A Tuesday, if I recall.
The following Sunday was built around a Psalm of Lamentation (Ps.
13). Wow!! (They did tone down the Rap section a bit.) And it
gets even scarier. The third Sunday was a Psalm of Vengeance (Ps.
58), and if you've never tried to get Presbyterians to sound like
grunge singers you haven't lived!!
The final Sunday was a Psalm of Praise (146), with all the stops
pulled out. And I had carefully worked in phrases of praise in
Latin, English, Hebrew, AND ARABIC! I asked the Pastors if they
wanted me to delete the Arabic and they said absolutely not, that
they would use it in their sermon, and they did, beautifully. (As
an aside, I had asked a couple of Arabic-speaking students in one
of my classes if I had the correct words and pronunciation for "God
Is Great" (I did), but when I asked for a phrase meaning "God Is
Good" they were stumped and couldn't think of one! The things you
learn!!!)
Things I learned, besides that: Never write for handbells in 5/4
time unless you're prepared to accept aleatoric performance! Let
the basic sound of youth choir be unison, with occasional harmonies
that sing themselves by ear (given limited rehearsal time). When
asked to write in "contemporary" style, try to find out what they
think that means; then write what you feel is right! And working
to fill the specific needs of specific people (like Bach and Mozart
always did) can be great fun, and not at all restrictive if you
have a good imagination. The Pastors were VERY pleased, and the
Music Minister was ecstatic (please your patrons)! The
congregation was drawn in and energized (please your audience)!!
And the Brass quintet commissioned me to do some arranging for them
(please your musicians)!!!
John
--
John & Susie Howell
Virginia Tech Department of Music
Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A 24061-0240
Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034
(mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED])
http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html
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Dean M. Estabrook
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http://home.comcast.net/~d.esta/
Power embraces greed and abjurs justice
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