THE VOICE OF MELODY | new Anglican psalm chants by female composers

imprimis.uk is inviting female composers to submit new Anglican psalm chants for inclusion in a substantial new published collection.

This project is an international call for new Anglican chants by women composers aged 18 or over, whether professional composers, amateurs or students, in order to create a curated collection of approximately 100 new chants which will be published digitally by imprimis.uk.

This project has been established to address the historic underrepresentation of women composers in published collections of Anglican chant, and to increase the availability and use of their music in Anglican worship.

We are looking for chants which are musically distinctive, practical to sing, and are written with a clear understanding of how Anglican chant works with the words and character of the psalms.

Who can enter?

The call is open to female composers aged 18 or over. Each composer may submit up to three original psalm chants.

Submissions will be assessed anonymously, so the PDFs uploaded for assessment must not contain the composer's name or any other identifying information.

The assessment panel comprises Richard Shakeshaft, founder of imprimis.uk; Martyn Rawles, Organist and Assistant Director of Music at Lichfield Cathedral; and Käthe Wright Kaufman, Associate Director of Music & Organist at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Columbia, South Carolina.

Entrants should not contact members of the assessment panel directly about submissions.

What are we looking for?

We welcome new single, double, triple or quadruple Anglican chants suitable for practical use by church, cathedral, collegiate and other choirs.

We are particularly interested in music which:

• responds sensitively to the character and structure of psalm texts;
• is satisfying for both singers and congregations;
• is practical within normal Anglican choral use;
• demonstrates an individual musical voice.

For each chant submitted, composers will be asked to identify the psalm(s), or sections of psalms, for which they consider the chant particularly suitable, using Book of Common Prayer numbering.

The suggestions are not intended to prescribe how the chant should be used. Rather, they are intended to show that the composer has considered the mood, character and textual shape of the music in relation to particular psalm texts.

What happens if my chant is selected?

Selected chants will be edited and prepared for publication by imprimis and included in the new collection. Composers whose chants are selected will be asked to provide a short biography and further information required for publication.

The composer will retain copyright in her work.

For the first five years after publication, imprimis.uk will have exclusive rights to reproduce, publish and distribute the chant in printed and electronic musical notation. After five years, those rights will become non-exclusive: the composer will be free to publish the chant herself, or to license it to another publisher, while imprimis.uk will retain the continuing right to keep its edition and the collection available.

The publication will be designed for practical use. Choirs which have licensed and downloaded the collection will be able to make the copies they need for rehearsal and performance, and churches and similar institutions will be able to incorporate individual chants into locally produced psalters and other internal liturgical resources.

There is no entry fee and no prize money. No royalties will be payable in respect of imprimis.uk's publication or voluntary contributions received by imprimis.uk. Composers retain the rights and any income arising from uses not licensed to imprimis.

Indicative timeline

Following the closing date, February is expected to be the main assessment period, after which the assessment panel will discuss the final selection. We currently hope to contact successful composers after Easter 2027 and to publish the collection in autumn 2027.

These timings are indicative only and may change, particularly depending on the number and range of submissions received and the editorial work required before publication.

Full details are set out in the Publication Terms.

How to submit

Submissions are made entirely online. You will be asked for your name and email address and to upload an anonymous PDF of each chant you wish to submit.

For each chant, you will also be asked to identify the psalm(s), or sections of psalms, for which you consider the music particularly appropriate, together with any brief comments you wish to make about those choices.

You may submit up to three chants.

Before submitting, please read the Submission Guidelines and Publication Terms.

Questions about the project may be sent to chants@imprimis.uk.