Choral Wrapping Paper

Here’s a thought for the holiday season:  Why do we bother wrapping presents?  We find gifts for those we love that are wonderful in-and-of themselves, but then we add all sort of additional time and expense to cocoon shiny new things in equally shiny paper. Pretty dumb, isn’t it? 

 

Of course, it’s not.

 

How we present something to the recipient is a reflection of the importance of what it is we are presenting (something like getting dressed up for that first date).

 

So it is, one suspects, with the covers of the Choral Journal.   Though initially quite Spartan, since the mid-1970s, the editorial staff of the Journal has made a concerted monthly effort to “wrap the package” in an attractive and engaging manner (let’s face it, we do the same thing with our concert programs).  

 

Understandably, the evolution of Choral Journal covers has included photos of choirs, bucolic nature scenes, and notable performance sites.  Many months’ worth of covers have been devoted to the musical score and illuminated manuscript.  ACDA’s national headquarters have been featured, as are regular conference promotions.

 

Journal covers have even stirred a bit of controversy.  A letter to the editor criticized the musical notes being presented backwards on one cover, while another took the publication to task for the use of grisly Civil War images. One is somewhat surprised that no one wrote to complain about an ever-so slightly risqué cover that appeared in the mid-1990s.

 

Refreshingly, some Choral Journal covers have included a bit of whimsy.  The January 1994 cover shows a cartoon motor coach trundling down the road toward the divisional conferences – note the name of the bus company and the license plate.  The caricature of English Beefeaters on the October 1992 issue is far from random; those two chaps hold an important place in the history of musical theatre (can you identify them?).  Perhaps one of our favorite cartoon covers is from September of that same year; note the magazine titles depicted on the newsstand, including Tenor Weekly and Scream Magazine.

 

More recently, covers of the Choral Journal have been individual works of art, designed specifically for the publication, many of which highlight the issue’s specific content.  Some CJ covers are award-winning designs.