In 1991 I spent a week in Belgium working with a small group of choral people from Belgium, France, Germany, England, USA, the Philippines, and Slovenia to enlarge the holdings of a small choral music databank sponsored by the International Federation for Choral Music called Musica. Some of that group would later go on to achieve some renown in our profession: Karmina Šilec of Carmina Slovenica, Jonathan Velasco from the Philippines, Manfred Bender of the Deutsches Centrum für Chormusik and others. We stared at green and white computer screens entering data that identified choral music scores, asking each other in various languages how one might describe this genre or that use of a given piece of music. It was during that week that I first wondered why the Internet could not be used to facilitate exchange between choral musicians that were separated by vast distances geographically.  I came back to the USA determined to try to do just that.

 

That week spawned not only ChoralNet, but also an enduring association between ChoralNet and Musica which has grown in much the same manner as has that small email list I began after returning from Belgium. Throughout the infancy of Choralist and then ChoralNet, I worked with Jean Sturm, Musica’s creator, and uploaded nearly 4000 titles from my personal choral music database into the databank. In 1991, that was a major contribution to its holdings. Now, with over 160,000 entries, it would be barely noticed. Musica is an encyclopedic resource for the choral world.

 

Our friends across the Atlantic have announced a fund drive to support their choral music databank. If you’ve never used the resource, try it. If you do use Musica, please support their work. You can do so by going here.