Cantus Explores Our Experience with the Divine in Song of the Universal

Minneapolis, MN – September 20, 2022 – On October 21-30, the acclaimed vocal ensemble Cantus will perform Song of the Universal – a new program exploring how people across time and geography experience the divine – in concert in five venues throughout the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Cantus will also perform Song of the Universal on tour in thirteen cities around the country throughout the 2022-23 season. The October 21st performance from Westminster Hall in Minneapolis will be livestreamed and available online through October 30 for audiences everywhere as well. 

Song of the Universal – which draws its title from a poem by Walt Whitman – touches on faith traditions across cultures, exploring connections to the divine through both the self and the ineffable with repertoire ranging from chant by Hildegard von Bingen to A.R. Rahman’s pulsating “Zikr.”

Cantus tenor Paul Scholtz explains the genesis of Song of the Universal: “The program was initially inspired by the strong prevalence of sacred music in the western choral tradition. As we considered this repertoire, we were intrigued by the ways other cultures evoke sacredness and divinity. Saint Hildegard the mystic claimed that her visions of God came to her through all five senses. Joan of Arc and Blaise Pascal both received holy instructions from other-worldly visitors. Indian visionary Kabir believed that God is not external, but rather located inside oneself. Experiencing God, however, is not exclusive to the historic or religious. Song of the Universal touches on how music, nature, and community can all evoke holiness in our homes, spirituality in our surroundings, and the universal in our souls.”
 
American composer Joan Szymko’s energetic “Ffe Mwe, Mwe Ffe” celebrates how some may encounter the divine through building community, while Paul John Rudoi’s “Song of Sky and Sea” reflects how others do so by retreating into nature. Song of the Universal also features a newly commissioned multi-movement work by three exceptional emerging composers – Mari Esabel Valverde, Yosvany Estepe Diaz and Mariana Sadovska – that reflects on universal themes of humanity’s relationship to the great mystery: Creation, Life, and Afterlife.
 
“Every program we craft is designed to engage the audience in meaningful musical experience,” concludes Cantus tenor Alexander Nishibun. “One of my favorite aspects of this program is that it reveals how spirituality doesn’t have to be found in a religious setting or space.  It meets you where you are.”
 
Cantus will present Song of the Universal on tour in thirteen cities throughout the United States this season, including stops in Indiana, Wisconsin, California, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, and Massachusetts.

A preview of Song of the Universal can be viewed here.
 
Song of the Universal  Program Repertoire
Edie Hill: (A Sound Like This) III. Clay Jug
Paul Rudoi: (Song of Sky and Sea) II. Two Falling Stars
Mari Ésabel Valverde: Before Spring
Yosvany Estepe: Vida, Tú
Mariana Sadovska: The Gates
Anon (arr. Arlety Valdés / Yudelkis Lafuente): Canto a Eleggua
Byron Adams: Eventide
Joan Szymko: Ffe Mwe, Mwe Ffe
Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson, Kolbeinn Tumason: Heyr himna smy∂ur
John Lennon and Yoko Ono: Imagine
Makiko Kinoshita: Shukufuku
Traditional Spiritual (arr. Stacey Gibbs): Steal Away
Hildegard (arr. Chris Foss): Tu Flos Es
Kurt Elling (arr. Blake Morgan): Those Clouds Are Heavy, You Dig?
Toru Takemitsu: Wind Horse
A.R. Rahman (arr. Ethan Sperry): Zikr
 
Song of the Universal Home Concerts
Friday, October 21, 2022 at 7:30 pm – Westminster Hall, Minneapolis
Sunday, October 23, 2022 at 3 pm – Westonka Performing Arts Center, Minnetrista
Tuesday, October 25, 2022 at 11 am – Meetinghouse Church, Edina 
Saturday, October 29, 2022 at 7:30 pm – Ordway Concert Hall, Saint Paul
Sunday, October 30, 2022 at 3 pm – Trinity Lutheran Church, Stillwater

Online performance available for viewing on-demand in a pay-what-you-can format. Visit cantussings.org/online-concerts/ for more information.

Tickets may be purchased at cantussings.org or by calling the Cantus box office at 612-435-0055.

Song of the Universal National Touring Dates 2022-23
September 30, 2022 – Chippewa Valley Cultural Association – Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
October 2, 2022 – Buena Vista University – Storm Lake, Iowa
October 14, 2022 – Sonoma State University – Rohnert Park, California
October 16, 2022 – InConcert Sierra – Nevada City, California
November 11-12, 2022 – Juniata College – Huntingdon, Pennsylvania
February 10, 2023 – Duke Performances – Durham, North Carolina
March 4, 2023 – Huntsville Chamber Music Guild – Huntsville, Alabama
March 11, 2023 – Miami University of Ohio – Oxford, Ohio
March 17, 2023 – Albion College – Albion, Michigan
April 21, 2023 – Pawling Concert Series – Pawling, New York
April 23, 2023 – First United Methodist – Shreveport, Louisiana
April 30, 2023 – Shalin Liu Performance Center – Rockport, Massachusetts

About Cantus
Now in its 28th 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, and others. In the fall of 2022, Signum releases Into the Light, the first new Holiday album from Cantus in over a decade.  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.
 

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