Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN – September 28, 2022 – On October 14, low-voiced ensemble
Cantus will release
Into the Light – its first holiday album in over a decade and the group’s third release on the Signum Classics label. The men of Cantus will embark on a tour of
Into the Light on November 29, performing repertoire from the album in Iowa, Ohio and Virginia before returning to Minneapolis-St. Paul to perform in ten venues throughout the Twin Cities through December 20.
Cantus is widely known for its warmth and blend and innovative programming of music ranging from the Renaissance to the 21st century.
Into the Light reflects Cantus’ commitment to diversity of repertoire with works spanning five languages by a broad range of composers and arrangers: from
John Jacob Niles and
Kenneth Jennings to
Joni Mitchell and
B.E. Boykin. The album also offers six pieces created specifically for Cantus, including two new arrangements from
Reginald Bowens and
Christopher H. Harris.
Cantus says about the program, “Each December, we find ourselves surrounded by winter’s darkness at the fulcrum between the old year and the new. In the shadowy stillness of these short, cold days, December is the darkroom that focuses our gaze squarely on the bright promise and growing light of the imminent new year.”
The album contains updated versions of traditional tunes like Kenneth Jennings’ setting of
O Little Town of Bethlehem, Paul John Rudoi’s reflective
I Wonder as I Wander, and Saunder Choi’s energetic
Angels We Have Heard on High, with world premiere arrangements written for Cantus including Chris Foss’
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, Christopher H. Harris’ version of Franz Gruber’s
Silent Night, Aaron Humble’s setting of the Austrian Carol
Still, Still, Still, and Reginald Bowens’ rhythmic
I Saw Three Ships. Cantus bass Chris Foss also premieres his new carol,
Love, the God Eternal, with text by Ella Wheeler Cox.
Also included are Christmas spiritual
Glory Hallelujah to Duh Newbo’n King, arranged by Rosephanye Powell and set for low voices by William C. Powell, B.E. Boykin’s setting of
O Magnum Mysterium, Spanish carol
Mensaje de Paz by Francisco Grau Vegara, a version of the traditional Filipino
Aguinaldo Carols by Jerry Brandy and arranged by Saunder Choi, traditional French carol
Noël nouvelet arranged by Sofia Söderberg, and composer Cheryl Camm’s
Alleluia! Into the Light, sung from the perspective of an underground coal miner on Christmas Eve. Well-known for their adaptations of pop-music for low-voices, Cantus also features a rendition of Joni Mitchell’s
River and an arrangement of
Children Go! from the gospel duo of Joe Gilbert and Eddie Brown. The album closes with a Cantus holiday favorite by Twin Cities-based composer Linda Kachelmeier entitled
We Toast the Days.
HERE is a video prevew of the first single from
Into the Light, "Silent Night."
Tracklist:
Angels We Have Heard On High | Trad. French, arr. Saunder Choi
O Little Town of Bethlehem | Kenneth Jennings
I Wonder As I Wander | John Jacob Niles, arr. Paul John Rudoi
River | Joni Mitchell
Alleluia! Into the Light (a miner’s carol) | Cheryl Camm
Love, the God Eternal | Chris Foss
O Magnum Mysterium B. E. Boykin
Glory Hallelujah to Duh Newbo’n King | Trad. Spiritual adapted by Rosephanye Powell,
arranged for male voices by William C. Powell
Mensaje de Paz | Francisco Grau Vegara
Children Go! | Trad. Spiritual, arr. Joe Gilbert and Eddie Brown, adapted by Cantus
I Saw Three Ships | Trad. English, arr. Reginald Bowens
Aguinaldo Carols | Trad. Filipino / Jerry Brandy, arr. Saunder Choi
Still, Still, Still | Trad. Austrian Carol, arr. Aaron Humble
Noël nouvelet | Trad. French, arr. Sofia Söderberg
Silent Night | Franz Gruber, arr. Christopher H. Harris
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas | Chris Foss
We Toast the Days | Linda Kachelmeier
Christmas with Cantus: Into the Light Live Performance Schedule
November 29, 2022 – Okoboji Performing Arts – Okoboji, Iowa
December 1, 2022 – Hancher Auditorium/University of Iowa – Iowa City, Iowa
December 2, 2022 – Civic Music Association – Des Moines, Iowa
December 4, 2022 – Gateway Arts Council – Sidney, Ohio
December 7, 2022 – St. Mary's Catholic Church – Richmond, Virginia
December 9, 2022 at 11 am – Westminster Hall, Minneapolis*
December 10, 2022 at 7:30 pm – Capri Theater, Minneapolis
December 11, 2022 at 3 pm – Trinity Lutheran Church, Stillwater
December 12, 2022 at 7:30 pm – Fridley High School Auditorium, Fridley
December 15, 2022 at 11 am – Meetinghouse Church, Edina
December 16, 2022 at 7:30 pm – Ordway Concert Hall, Saint Paul*
December 17, 2022 at 7:30 pm – Zumbro Lutheran Church, Rochester
December 18, 2022 at 3 pm – Hamline United Methodist Church, Saint Paul
December 19, 2022 at 7:30 pm – Westonka Performing Arts Center, Minnetrista
December 20, 2022 at 7:30 pm – Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas, Saint Paul
*Concert on December 9 will be livestreamed and available on demand through January 3. For more information visit
cantussings.org/online-concerts. Tickets go on sale November 9 – visit cantussings.org.
About Cantus
Now in its 28
th season, the “engaging” (
New Yorker) low-voice ensemble Cantus is widely known for its trademark warmth and blend, innovative programming and riveting performances of music ranging from the Renaissance to the 21st century. The
Washington Post has hailed the Cantus sound as having both “exalting finesse” and “expressive power” and refers to the “spontaneous grace” of its music making. The
Philadelphia Inquirer called the group nothing short of “exquisite.”
As one of the nation’s few full-time vocal ensembles, Cantus has come to prominence with its distinctive approach to creating music. Working without a conductor, the members of Cantus rehearse and perform as chamber musicians, each contributing to the entirety of the artistic process, creating programs that give voice to shared human experiences. As the
Star Tribune has written, “The main hallmark of the Cantus sound has always been sheer quality and an unbroken belief in the special way that vocal music has of warming and invigorating the human spirit.”
Cantus enjoys a vigorous schedule of national and international touring, in addition to home concerts in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Cantus has performed at Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, UCLA, San Francisco Performances, Tanglewood and Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. Cantus also makes all of its home concerts available online. This pandemic-prompted innovation has brought the ensemble’s programs to audiences spanning 50 states and ten countries.
Cantus records for the UK-based Signum Classics label which has released the popular
COVID-19 Sessions and
Manifesto – an album of world premiere recordings of works by Ysaÿe Barnwell, David Lang, Sydney Guillaume, Libby Larsen, Sarah Kirkland Snider – prior to the release of
Into the Light. Cantus also has a deep catalog of recordings released on the group’s eponymous label.
Committed to the expansion of the vocal music repertoire, Cantus actively commissions new music and seeks to unearth rarely performed repertoire for low voices. Cantus has received commissioning grants from New Music USA, the National Endowment for the Arts, Chorus America, American Composers Forum and Chamber Music America. In line with Cantus’ ongoing commitment to fostering new works for tenors, baritones, and basses, the ensemble has partnered with composer and former Cantus bass Timothy C. Takach and Graphite Publishing on the Cantus Choral Series, distributing Cantus’ signature arrangements and compositions for ensembles everywhere to perform and enjoy.
Cantus has a rich history of collaborations with other performing arts organizations, including the Minnesota Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Pops, Chanticleer, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Lorelei Ensemble, Theater Latté Da and the James Sewell Ballet. The ensemble is heard frequently on both classical public radio nationwide and on SiriusXM Satellite Radio.
Integral to the Cantus mission is its commitment to preserve and deepen music education in the schools. Cantus works with more than 5,000 students each year in masterclass and workshop settings across the country and has visited 31 Minnesota high schools throughout the 15-year history of its award-winning High School Residency program. Cantus also presents a Young and Emerging Composers’ Competition, to encourage the creation of new repertoire through cash prizes, a performance, recording and potential publication of winning compositions.
