Message-Id: <01BDF532.3EC7E6E0.lnktheriot@csi.com>
From: Ken Theriot <lnktheriot@csi.com>
To: "'minstrel@pbm.com'" <minstrel@pbm.com>
Subject: minstrel: tune sources and more on copyrights
Date: Sun, 11 Oct 1998 16:14:36 -0400
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Just wanted to jump in on Greg's comment "Listen to CDs, but of course that 
has copyright difficulties."  Well, for period music, usually not.

Here's another maxim of copyrights: IF IT WAS EVER IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, IT 
IS FOREVER.  Recordings of period music which show copyright info are for 
the "arrangement" which includes the full musical arrangement (key 
signature, harmonies, etc.) as well as the full orchestral arrangement 
(parts for instruments, instruments chosen, etc.).  If the basic melody, or 
in the case of madrigals, the basic arrangement, can be documented as 
period, it's not copyrightable, and you may use it with impunity and wild 
abandon.  As long as you don't copy note for note, instrument for 
instrument, someone's ARRANGEMENT, you are free and clear.

Copyright citations, especially in folk music, have gotten better, and now 
usually say "traditional, arranged by" the artist rather than "copyright" 
the artist.  Tweren't always so.  An example:  Peter, Paul and Mary did a 
song called "Flora", which is listed as "copyright 
Stookey/Travers/Mezzetti, Pepamar Music, ASCAP" and Joan Baez did a song 
called "Lily of the West" which is "copyright Baez".  It's the same 
TRADITIONAL song; what's copyrighted is, in both cases, their individual 
performances so that when they get played, they get paid, and in PPM's 
case, their vocal arrangment.  Nothing else about the song is 
copyrightable.  In fact, in the Joan Baez songbook, she lists the words and 
music as "Laws P28" which is a citation based on a fellow who tried to do 
for broadsides what Child did for (?) ballads (hey Greg, do you have a copy 
of Laws?).  You can copy, re-record, disseminate, etc. this song until the 
cows come home, and as long as you don't use their recordings in some 
commercial way or duplicate PPM's arrangement, you are in no trouble at 
all.

Alas, Elizabeth, church music and court music were the best documented in 
period, but there are some lovely melodies.  Any church collection will 
have pieces from "Piae Cantiones", which is now "contrafait"ed so often 
it's nearing par with Men of Harlech, and I heartily recommend Hildegard of 
Bingen's work which is readily available on recordings as "A Feather on the 
Breath of God", not only beautiful, but written by a woman in period.  The 
melodies are plain chant style which work just as well solo as choral.

					Adelaide


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