It turns out there are a lot of composers who want to be involved in this project! I’ve heard from so many of you, from people who’ve written one hymn or anthem, to people whose music is sung or played regularly and have agents to handle communicating with projects like this.
This is really good news and I am keeping a list of every suggestion and request from composers and non-composers alike. I want this to be as useful and relevant a resource as possible, and comprehensive information is really important for that.
That said: I am a PhD student, and a composer myself, with all the workload that involves. Out of necessity, I’m going to have to start small with this site, and gradually build it up. I’ve already received more suggestions than I can possibly include before the launch date of 22nd November, especially when I need to go to multiple websites and sift through catalogues in a variety of formats. This is exactly the problem I’m trying to solve for people who choose music for church services!
To help streamline the data collection process, I’ve made a music submission page where you can suggest works for inclusion in the directory.
In the meantime, between now and 22nd November I will focus on making sure there are some works referenced in every one of the starting categories (Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Eucharist and Evensong), so that the site will be useful for people who are choosing music. After that, I will be adding new music every week, and new categories as necessary.
Thanks for clarifying. If you’re happy I’ll continue to keep directing people to your site but totally understand that you are juggling this project with other commitments. Starting small sounds like a really good idea.
Yes, please do continue to direct people here! The more composers have submitted music, the less time I will have to spend scratching around on the internet for it when I want to add more music in future weeks. A certain amount of backlog is actually helpful, as long as people understand I can’t process everything immediately.
Early drafts of the site had over 40 categories and that was before I got started on saints; I was crashing and burning before I’d even made the site public. I’m hoping that starting small will help me keep this sustainable.
I’m looking forward very much to the launch. The site already looks impressive. And I’ve just submitted three pieces by my wife, who is thrilled that you are going to so much trouble.
Excellent; I’m glad you like what you see so far.
This is a wonderful initiative! Multitude of Voyces (www.multitudeofvoyces.co.uk) is thrilled to have found such mutual interest, intentions and creative imagination in Kathryn’s initiative. We look forward to seeing lots more liturgical works by women included in parish and cathedral services across the country! For more information about the anthology of liturgical works by women, being planned by Multitude of Voyces, please go to that website. We will be in regular contact with Kathryn and will share information to her as her site grows. If you feel moved to compose a hymn-tune in celebration of this wonderful new database, please consider our competition open to all women, of all ages.