Appropriate Copyright Statement for Billings Quotations

[Paul_Wainwright]

I am about to publish a photography book about Colonial Meetinghouses in New England (www.colonialmeetinghouses.com), and I have selected 7 quotations of Billings hymns (7 verses from 7 different hymns) that are particularly complementary to my art. On the Copyright page of the book I would like to acknowledge the Choral Public Domain Library (including your URL), and was wondering if there is a sentence or 2 that you would prefer I use? In the absence of this, I plan to say the following:

Quotations from hyms by William Billings (1746 - 1800) were obtained from the Choral Public Domain Library (www.cpdl.org), and are used in accord with the CPDL License that insures the fredom to distribute and perform music that is in the public domain.

Any thoughts on this? I can't seem to find a link to contact an actual CPDL person. Many thanks!

[bobnotts]

Firstly, thank you for giving CPDL credit for the use of the quotations. That phrase seems ideal to me. However, I feel obliged to point out that the CPDL License ensures the freedom to distribute and perform music... (sorry, my inner stickler strikes again )

Rob

[carlos]

Hey Paul, I saw your B&W photographs and they look great! The centenarian graffitti carved in wood was an interesting addition.
Congratulations for the new book!

[Paul_Wainwright]

Thanks for pointing out my spelling mistake... I'm dyslexic and never could spell worth a damn. I guess that's one of the reasons I'm a photographer.

And thanks for your kind words about my work.

[DrewE]

If it were me, I'd probably just say that the quotes were obtained from the CPDL. By definition, no license is required to use words (or whatever) that are in the public domain. Specific editions of public domain works may or may not be copyrightable and thus require licensing, depending upon a great many factors (including, in particular, variations in copyright laws among different nations). Something like "...promotes ready, free access to music..." makes more sense to me than "...ensures the freeedom to distribute and perform music...."

That said, I don't think there's nothing inherently wrong with your proposed wording. And, of course, I cannot speak for "the CPDL" in an official (or even unofficial) sense.

[carlos]

What Drew said makes sense to me. Since no sheet music is involved, I think the license part could be removed from the acknowledgements:

Quotations from hyms by William Billings (1746 - 1800) were obtained from the Choral Public Domain Library (www.CPDL.org)

perhaps with the addition of something like "a repository of free sheet music in the Public Domain." ?

[vaarky]

I'd like to echo the thanks regarding crediting CPDL!

If including something about the public domain, it's better to use something such as
"of public domain and other free sheet music" (since CPDL is not exclusively for works in the public domain).

I prefer the shorter version by Carlos, which avoids the whole issue of license and public domain references:
Quotations from hyms by William Billings (1746 - 1800) were obtained from the Choral Public Domain Library (www.CPDL.org)

Just optimizing here, though...