Franz Schmidt - Das buch mit sieben siegeln

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tilmaen
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Franz Schmidt - Das buch mit sieben siegeln

Post by tilmaen »

Hi!

I just played Franz Schmidt's awesome masterpiece "Ein Buch mit sieben Siegeln" and may have access to all orchestra parts, the organ part, conductors score as well as choir parts. Franz schmidt died 1939 - so he should be public domain. My Music score says (c) 1954 so it should be free under Canadian law, right?
Unfortunately it alsy says "Ausgabe V1/2001" but i guess that's what we in germany call "nachdruck" (it's rented material)
as i read on worldcat the piece was first published in 1937 - so if i could get my hands on that version we could upload that immediately.

greetings
tilman
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Re: Franz Schmidt - Das buch mit sieben siegeln

Post by Carolus »

Here's what I found on WorldCat:

1. Vocal score: Universal Edition, 1938, plate U.E. 10951, 214 pages.
This is free in Canada and in all life-plus-50 countries. Probably not in the USA and subject to the [TB]. Under the USA's definition of publication, all extant material is considered published upon publication of a derivative work (the vocal score, for example). Thus, publication of a full score with a 1954 notice may have injected the work into the USA unless it included the 1938 claim in addition. In Canada and 50pma countries, the full score would be free even if a separate publication date is calculated for it. The work's status in the EU might be affected by whether a full score is considered a separate publication from a vocal score. Most likely now free in EU since he died in 1939.

2. Zwei Orgelzwischenspiele aus dem Oratorium Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln. Universal Edition, 1954, plate U.E. 15168. This was possibly arranged or edited by Walter Pach (1883-1958), though perhaps Pach only wrote a preface (difficult to say from the record I was viewing).
tilmaen
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Re: Franz Schmidt - Das buch mit sieben siegeln

Post by tilmaen »

awesome.
so what do you think? should i try to get my hands on the score (vocal and conductors as well as maybe the organ stuff) make digital copies?
I'm going to Canada end March/beginning April anyways so i could upload it from Canada.
greetings
Tilman
panda
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Re: Franz Schmidt - Das buch mit sieben siegeln

Post by panda »

My orchestral score (copyright 1954 by Universal Edition (London) Ltd, London, plate 16941, 10 pages introduction plus 384 pages) also contains an English text by T.M. Lindsay. There is a T M Lindsay who died in 1914 and wrote Biblical commentaries, so I suspect his translation of the Biblical text may have been fitted to the music. Interestingly there is a separate copyright notice (English text copyright 1953 by Universal Edition (London) Ltd., London). How would this affect things?
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Re: Franz Schmidt - Das buch mit sieben siegeln

Post by Carolus »

That's interesting. Here's what I found in the online records of the US Copyright Office:

1. English translation by Thomas Martin Lindsay, 1953. Renewed in 1981

2. Full score, 1954. Renewed in 1982 The renewal claim states that the full score was "new matter" - added to the 1938 vocal score. This is obviously not true. The orchestral score was surely in existence when the vocal score was published in 1938. Unfortunately, it would take a lawsuit to challenge the claim as registration and renewals are considered prima facie evidence of a copyright's validity.
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Re: Franz Schmidt - Das buch mit sieben siegeln

Post by panda »

Yes isn't it interesting that the underlay of a pre-existing text to pre-existing music can have a copyright claim??
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