There’s a great deal of publicity surrounding Steamboat Willie entering the public domain this year. But for Anglican/Episcopal veterans of the “Old High Church” another public domain entry may be significant: Healey Willan’s Second Communion Service, featured in the 1940 Hymnal. You can see it below, from this site:
This was beloved back in the day, and part of it was used at the dedication of this ACNA church (presided over by Archbishop Foley Beach.) It’s haunting and a favourite of mine from my years at Bethesda, and in the Bethesda bulletins I’ve posted it appears in every Holy Communion service.
At the bottom of the page it proclaims “Copyright, 1928, by the Oxford University Press.” So it should share the fate of Steamboat Willie. But I’d double check this first; please refer to the Terms and Conditions of this Website, Privacy Policy and Information About Endorsements. If it’s true I hope someone will do a suitable “open source” performance and share this delight of the Old High Church with the rest of us.
Positive Infinity 
Saturday, September 21, 2024 – 11:03 PM PDT – I’m desperate enough to risk a little embarrassment (even though we’ve not met). To make a long story incredibly short, I attend St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in Newport Beach, CA. We sing only from the 1940 Hymnal. And for a couple decades, I’ve treasured and sung Hymn 713 (Willan’s setting of Gloria in Excelsis) with my beloved fellow parishioners. For the whole of my life, I’ve been a musician. Nobody famous of course. But if curious, I can be found in a lot of the familiar streaming destinations. By genre, I’m probably most accurately described as a folk music/singer-songwriter. For a new album I’ve just finished in Surrey, BC, I recorded a version of the Gloria with acoustic nylon string guitar, high string guitar, cello, and vocal. Not a “proper” setting I know. But I simply wanted to sing this for all I’m worth and tried my best. So, now that I’m at the point of “permissions’, did the Second Communion Service actually pass into PD … any further info since you posted in January. Thank you for slogging through this. My email is bobbennettgetsemail@gmail.com. When I was 24 years old and recording my first album, I tried my hand at “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” (Duke Street). That ancient recording by that kid is here: https://youtu.be/X46ayH7Io4c?si=S8X8WyZVqJNWjrqv (Okay, tedious novella completed!) 🙂 Thank you. Bob Bennett (Costa Mesa, CA)
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Thanks for your comment. The reason why I think that Healy Willan’s communion service is in the public domain is that the 1940 Hymnal noted that its copyright date is 1928 and that, under ordinary circumstances, works with that copyright date or older are in the public domain in the U.S.. I am no copyright attorney but have worked with issues like this over the years. The 1940 Hymnal notes that the original copyright is held by the Oxford University Press so you might contact them. Sorry I cannot be of more assistance.
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