Over the last year and a half, a small team of us has been assembling a songbook representing a selection of the most cherished 100 songs of the 100 year history of the Yale Whiffenpoofs. A couple of years ago, I had a wealth of experience typesetting songs for Blue of a Kind using Passport Encore, and I submitted some samples to audition for the job.
The Whiffenpoof Alumni Board told me they were making a hardcover edition for the Centenary celebration, which is in full swing at this moment. They also asked me how much remuneration I would require, suggesting that "none" would be the right answer. They would buy the Finale software I needed, and I hunted down a discount price. Due to the educational and historical significance of the project, I only had to submit a letter describing the project to gain the hefty discount. Sweet!
Then, I had to transfer my skills to Finale, whose typesetting paradigm was completely different from what I knew. The initial learning curve was quite steep, and working with other engravers using a rigid style sheet also added to the startup time.
This week we finished our 100 songs, typeset, proofed, edited, proofed again, edited again and etc. At times during the course of the project, an earlier manuscript was uncovered so some songs were completely redone. Every song was also proofed audibly to make sure our eyes were not fooling us.
And now the Songbook goes virtual
The Board has decided now to produce only a virtual songbook - there will not be any hardcover edition. Apparently the cost of the publishing made some Board members blanch. Throwing all the files on a web site will save a fortune.
I am not going linger over my disappointment, but let me say briefly that while a virtual songbook where members can access both sheet music and digital audio is itself a worthy project, it commemorates nothing. It has no historical moment. Members showing up for the big anniversary concert in October will get a username and a password. Nothing will "thud" on the coffee table when they return home.
Recently, I asked for statistics on the project, crunched the spreadsheet and found out how much work I'd done. I had a rough idea, but truly the project has been pretty much a blur.
The results? I engraved 88 songs, for a total of 423 pages. This may be the greatest reward of the project - knowing that we tackled something seemingly insurmountable, paced ourselves appropriately to achieve both quality and quantity and finished on time! We did it because we love this stuff, but also because of the goal to make something commemorative of the 100th.
To my family and friends who gave me the space to make something significant for the Centennial, I owe an enormous debt. Once the web site is up, I'll log in and show you what we did. ;-)
