Patreon Shenanigans

Patreon is changing their fee structure to one in which patrons pay more than the amount of their pledge, and creators get a lower percentage of what patrons actually pay. Lots of people are upset about this, and rightly so. I've had misgivings about Patreon for a while: the way they keep trying to encourage people to have walled gardens (yuck); the way they prioritize shiny tools for very...

Hilltop 55 54 D

Another hymn tune! This one, I think, might be suitable for Harvest, though the Revd Ally Barrett based it on the theology behind the gospel story about tax: ‘render to Caesar that which is Caesar’s; render to God that which belongs to God’. You can read some more of her hymns on her website and there is also information there about permission to use the text in worship. Here we are giving,...

Finsbury Park

This text by the Revd Ally Barrett was written shortly after the Orlando shooting in 2016, and then drawn to my attention again in 2017 after the Manchester attack. And since then there have been more terrorist attacks. I've called it "Finsbury Park" because the attack on the mosque there was in the news while I was writing this, and because there wasn't already a hymn tune of that name in the...

November Patron Drive

I've commissioned this lovely piece of artwork from Arkady Rose: All new supporters at my Patreon page during the month of November will get a copy of this in postcard format (unless you don't give me your address, obviously). Further, patrons at the $5 level will be sent a new postcard quarterly, and at $10 and $15 will be sent multiple copies -- one with a message for you, and one or more to...

Magnificat

The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth is transferred from 31st May to 1st June this year, because Trinity Sunday is more important; but we did get some words to Mary by Athelstan Riley in one of our hymns this morning: "Thou Bearer of the eternal Word, Most gracious, magnify the Lord." I note that Athelstan Riley died in 1945, which means his words become public domain this year (or next? I get...

Patreon, one year on

It's a little over a year since I first set up a page on Patreon, with a view to getting paid for some of my composing. I've been promising to write a post about my experiences, and I'm finding the "what" and the "why" aren't easy to consider separately. But I'll have a go at discussing the "what" in this post, and the "why" in the next. Patreon is a platform for distributed, or crowd-funded,...

Pied Beauty — recording

@pmphillips suggested this text to me when I was looking for something a bit creation-y for a unison/2-part community songbook. I didn't set it for that project, but instead in SATB. It's short and sweet, and might be suitable for an introit at a Harvest Evensong or similar. I'm pleased to be able to offer a demo recording of this, both at Soundcloud (where you can download the recording) and,...

Postcard 5

Over at Patreon I have a few different “rewards” for different levels of funding. The idea is to thank my patrons for their support, while also doing things that are musically useful or relevant. If you want to learn more about Patreon I've given a brief explanation. For pledges of $3/work or more, if patrons disclose their postal address, I send a hand-drawn postcard with a short, unique...

Postcard 4

Over at Patreon I have a few different “rewards” for different levels of funding. The idea is to thank my patrons for their support, while also doing things that are musically useful or relevant. If you want to learn more about Patreon I've given a brief explanation. For pledges of $3/work or more, if patrons disclose their postal address, I send a hand-drawn postcard with a short, unique...

Postcard 3

Over at Patreon I have a few different “rewards” for different levels of funding. The idea is to thank my patrons for their support, while also doing things that are musically useful or relevant. If you want to learn more about Patreon I've given a brief explanation. For pledges of $3/work or more, if patrons disclose their postal address, I send a hand-drawn postcard with a short, unique...