Cantus

With its vigorous schedule of national tours, subscription concerts in its home of Minneapolis–St. Paul, and recordings, Cantus, often considered the country’s definitive male a cappella chorus, routinely garners praise such as this from American Record Guide: “The amazing men of Cantus weave their usual spell, with singing of unimaginable precision, sensitivity and deep emotional power.”
The ensemble is known for adventurous programming spanning many periods and genres, including chant, Renaissance music, contemporary works, art song, folk, spirituals, world music, and pop.
Its 2012 On the Shoulders of Giants tour offers listeners an extraordinary anthology of great choral works, from Renaissance masters (Palestrina, Tallis, and Byrd) to the great “Lieder” tradition of the 19th century (Schubert, Mendelssohn, Grieg, and Wagner), to contemporary settings by such diverse composers as Zoltan Kodaly and Randall Thompson, and pop masters Paul Simon and Lennon and McCartney.