...against the dying of the light
Classics Today
Artistic Quality: 8; Sound Quality: 8
David Vernier

There are many styles of choral singing around the world, and what we get from the professional all-male Minnesota-based ensemble Cantus is as distinctly American as that term can be defined: free use of vibrato, a certain interpretive homogeneity (not a lot of difference between Sibelius and Josquin), and an exuberant sincerity that informs everything, governed by an obvious love of beautiful sound and warm expression. In other words, in these performances, the music is more a means to an end than an end in itself--specifically, to “champion male choral singing and to encourage people of all ages to sing.” Thus, we’re presented works--several by very well-known composers who aren’t primarily known for their choral music--whose texts are more profound than their musical settings are masterful. It’s clear that Cantus wants to convey a message (or several messages) here that we as listeners are expected to attend to and become absorbed in as the program progresses.

The themes--the inevitabilities of life, the opportunities and consequences of choices, the certainty of death, the hope of the next life--are delivered through works both familiar--Casals’ "O vos omnes," Josquin’s "Absalon, fili mi," Randall Thompson’s beloved "Alleluia"--and strange, including a very un-Debussy-like Invocation by the French master, Kenneth Jennings’ Two Laments on Dylan Thomas, and a couple of Sibelius hymns. Orff’s Sunt lacrimae rerum, whose middle section is a setting of the Ecclesiastes text “To everything there is a season”, sounds as if ripped directly from the In taberna scene in Carmina Burana; and Veljo Tormis’ "Varjele, Jumala, Soasta," a prayer to God to “protect us from war”, features what must be the most terrifying tam-tam crescendo ever recorded. There’s power aplenty in these utterances, presented with complete conviction and often hair-raising ensemble technique--the effects of perfect vocal balance and blend and uniformity of dynamics. The engineering allows some harsh edges in the louder passages, but there’s no escaping the immediacy and presence of these 11 singers, whose mastery of often very difficult music is impressive. This isn’t an easy listen--and I’m sure it’s not intended to be; but it’s well worth your attention. Although the liner notes contain English translations of the texts, there’s next to no information given about the music or composers.