Almost all works available on Choralia’s catalogue, and that can be played using Choralplayer, were made upon request. So, all requests for new works are very welcome! However, there are some conditions that need to be met.

As described in this post, the procedure to make new training aids with high quality (minimum number of errors) is quite complex. On average, the whole process requires around 30 minutes for each score page. Requests for new works are often numerous, especially in some periods of the year when choirs prepare for the next concerts, so it is necessary to assign priorities to the requests. The key factor to assign the priority to a request is the amount of the donation made (or supposed to be made) to support the preparation of the oeuvre requested.

Typically, most donations are in the range between 1 and 2 Euro per score page, so this is the amount suggested when there are no stringent deadlines for the work. If the work is urgent instead, a donation above 2 Euro per score page is necessary in order to obtain a higher priority. The number of pages of the score should be based on an edition with piano reduction, with the exception of “a cappella” pieces where no instrumental accompaniment is required.

In order to ensure that the training aids perfectly match the score used by the choir, Choralia needs to obtain a copy of the specific sheet music edition used by the choir. Additional costs (if any) to purchase the score should be considered in addition to the donation, and additional time may be necessary to receive the score via snail mail services when applicable. Alternatively, to save time and costs, a scan of the score can be sent to Choralia via email or using any file sharing services. The recommended scan settings are:

• resolution: 300 dpi
• colour depth: 256-level greyscale
• compression: TIFF is best, JPEG is generally acceptable

The actual time needed to do the work is estimated once the score (or the relevant scan) is available, so that the print quality can be assessed as it determines the amount of time required to digitise the sheet music and perform the optical music recognition. Generally speaking, the time approximately halves if the higher priority status is achieved, as a double time slot is assigned to the work in lieu of the normal time slot assigned to works without higher priority status.

If the work contains multiple movements (for example, in the case of a Mass: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, etc.) the production order may not necessarily follow the performance order, if a different order is best to match the rehearsal planning of the choir. It is quite normal that a “concurrent production” process is used: the training aids of a first movement are prepared according to the rehearsal plan of the choir, and, while the choir studies the first movement, the training aids of the second movement (according to the rehearsal plan) are prepared; while the choir studies the second movement the training aids for the third movement are prepared; and so on. This “just in time” approach requires a little bit of coordination with choir, however it is very effective.

The new work is normally published on Choralia’s catalogue only when all movements are complete. The person (or choir) that requests a new work receives a link where the training aids can be accessed before the complete work is published.