MOST YEARS, almost every day in December is packed with Cantus’ holiday concerts in the Twin Cities and across the country, making for a month that’s equally exhilarating and exhausting.

This year is different, of course. The ensemble recorded Lessons and Carols for Our Time at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in the austere grandeur of an empty concert hall. With the ensemble on stage, I listened alone in the 900-seat auditorium, in contrast to the happy hubbub of last year’s concert in that same space: an audience of hundreds, a marriage proposal in the lobby, and a visit from the Winter Carnival Royal Family. In place of last year’s applause, stillness marked the moments between songs.

Despite — or maybe due to — these differences, three themes seem particularly important and timely.

First, I hope this concert offers you an opportunity to step outside the plentiful headaches and periodic heartbreaks of 2020. While the program isn’t designed to be escapist, its thoughtful blend of music and poetry can provide room for respite and reflection during a holiday season unlike any other in living memory.

I also hope this online concert might offer an occasion to connect, albeit virtually, with friends and family. The pandemic has upended so many holiday traditions, certainly including Christmas concerts. However, a good number of audience members have mentioned how they plan to share this concert with loved ones across town or across the country, harnessing this as an opportunity to bridge the miles.

Finally, Cantus is deeply grateful for your support throughout 2020, a year that required us to rethink both our revenue and raison d’être. We’ve shifted to online concerts, worked with students through Zoom master classes, and reached 2 million listeners through our COVID-19 Sessions.

Joseph HeitzExecutive Director

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Your generosity has offered us the leeway to adapt to the challenges of the present and look ahead to a brighter future.

The comparison that jumps to mind is one I’ve mentioned throughout the year but seems so well-suited to the context of Lessons and Carols: With blitzkrieg reaching deeper into England during World War II, workers raced to dismantle the soaring, 16th century stained glass windows of King’s College Chapel in Cambridge to save the fragile pieces from looming destruction. Eighty years later, on a dismal Saturday last March, Cantus closed its office in a new moment of uncertainty. As I turned off the lights, I wondered what — if anything — would be left after this storm passed.

The contexts are different, of course, and there are no pieces of 400-year-old stained glass to be spirited into the English countryside ahead of German bombs. But like those workers plucking ancient glass from stone frames, you are helping to save something we all treasure.

We are not out of the woods yet, in large part because no one knows quite how far those woods stretch. But with your generosity, those woods are looking brighter. Thank you, emphatically, for helping to keep Cantus singing. On behalf of the ensemble, staff, and board, have a merry Christmas and a peaceful holiday season, and may the new year be full of happiness and good health.

With gratitude and best wishes,

Lessons and Carols for Our Time: Part One | CANTUS

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visionmission

Samuel GreenEducation Outreach Coordinator

Jacob ChristopherTour Manager

Alexander NishibunProduction

Anne TodeyBox Office Coordinator

Alberto de la PazProgramming

Joseph HeitzExecutive Director

Jacob ChristopherTour Manager

Jeff Reed, ChairAttorney (retired)

Nancy GaschottConsultant to Nonprofit Leaders

David Niles, TreasurerVice President, Avant Energy

Bryan FisherDirector of Choral and Vocal Music,Minneapolis Southwest High School

Alberto de la PazTenor, Cantus

Theresa Gienapp, Vice ChairDirector of Planned GivingMacalester College

Brian NewhouseAssociate Vice President of Individual Giving, Minnesota Orchestra

Jonathan GuytonPrincipal, CornerstoneWealth Advisors, Inc.

Paul JohnsonFounder & President,Creative Fundraising Advisors

Kevin StocksExecutive Director, Twin CitiesGay Mens Chorus

Barbara ThomasSenior Program Manager, IT Mergers and Acquisitions, Medtronic

Beth Anne Thompson, SecretaryAssociate Director of Alumni and Parent Relations, St. Olaf College

Elizabeth Drotning HartwellAttorney, Heimerl & Lammers

Paul ScholtzTenor, Cantus

Craig ShulstadVice President, General Mills (retired)

Frank StubbsNon-Profit Executive (retired)

PaviElle FrenchArtist; Equity, Youth Outreach and Operations Coordinator, AIA Minnesota

ARTISTIC COUNCILADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CANTUS | Lessons and Carols for Our Time: Part One

Cantus gives voice to shared human experiences.

Cantus engages audiences in a meaningful music experience and ensures the future of ensemble singing

by mentoring young singers and educators.

Cantus was founded on the ideals of collaborative music-making: artists and staff work together to reach new levels of artistic

excellence, innovation and audience engagement.

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Now in its 26th season, the “engaging” (New Yorker) men’s vocal 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 the Philadelphia Inquirer called the group nothing short of “exquisite.”

As one of the nation’s few full-time vocal ensembles, Cantus has grown in prominence with its distinctive approach to music-making. Working without a conductor, the members of Cantus rehearse and perform as chamber musicians, each contributing to the entirety of the artistic process.

In a typical year, Cantus performs more than 60 concerts both in national and international touring, and in its home of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Cantus has performed at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, UCLA, San Francisco Performances, and Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. Cantus has a rich history of collaborations

with other performing arts organizations, including the Minnesota Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Boston Pops, Chanticleer, and Sweet Honey in the Rock.

The ensemble is heard frequently on classical public radio nationwide and on SiriusXM Satellite Radio. Cantus has released 18 recordings on the group’s self-titled label and has recently signed with British record label Signum to release the COVID-19 Sessions as a live album.

The ensemble actively commissions new music and seeks to unearth rarely performed repertoire for men’s voices, having received commissioning grants from New Music USA, the National Endowment for the Arts, Chorus America, American Composers Forum, and Chamber Music America.

Integral to the Cantus mission is its commitment to preserve and deepen music education in the schools. In a typical year, Cantus works with more than 5,000 students each year in master class and workshop settings across the country.

Lessons and Carols for Our Time: Part One | CANTUS

5CANTUS | Lessons and Carols for Our Time: Part One

A native of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, Jacob Christopher began his career as a chorister with the Lyric Opera of Chicago (2010–2012) before moving to New York where he appeared in Ragtime at Lincoln Center, Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Paper Mill Playhouse, Studio Cast Recording), and, in 2016, made his Carnegie Hall debut with the New York City Chamber Orchestra. A graduate of Luther College, Jacob has also performed backup vocals for Ben Folds and The Judds.

Born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico, Alberto’s early choral music experience consisted of arrangements from diverse varieties and styles of Latin American music. Alberto graduated with high honors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, then participated in the Young Artist Program at Illinois Bach Academy. Following graduation he served as choral director at Leyden High School in Chicago. When Alberto isn’t busy singing, he enjoys reading a good novel or salsa dancing.

A graduate of Millikin University and the University of Nebraska, Chris grew up in southwest Iowa. In addition to his experience as a soloist and ensemble singer, Chris brings his choral conducting and award-winning arranging experience to Cantus. When Chris isn’t singing, you might find him playing one of his favorite guitars or trying to stop his dogs from jumping out of the canoe.

A multi-genre vocalist, composer/arranger, conductor, and music educator, Brandon primarily performs at Walt Disney World Resort with the “Voices of Liberty” a cappella ensemble and the “Dapper Dans” barbershop quartet. Brandon enjoys sharing his passion for music with younger generations of music-lovers and with the general public. More recently with his “A Voice of Justice” show, Brandon uses songs to tell the narrative of the Black American struggle for justice.

Prior to joining Cantus, Samuel was a sought-after musician in the thriving Kansas City arts scene, lending his voice to several ensembles including the GRAMMY Award-winning Kansas City Chorale under the direction of Charles Bruffy, the Simon Carrington Chamber Singers, and Kantorei of Kansas City. In addition to chorister experience, Samuel has taken the stage performing jazz, barbershop, southern gospel, and country music as a soloist and ensemble musician, and is also a voiceover artist.

Jeremy enjoys a wonderfully varied career as a singer, conductor, and voice teacher who has performed on both the international and U.S. stages with focuses in oratorio, art song, and ensemble singing. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, past seasons have seen him premiering solo roles in major choral compositions that honor the culture and history of the islands. He is passionate about collaborative music making, and is thrilled to create music at a high level with the singers of Cantus.

Prior to joining Cantus, Alex performed as a soloist and chamber musician with such renowned groups as the Skylark Vocal Ensemble, Handel & Haydn Society, Blue Heron Renaissance Choir, and Ensemble Origo. Boston Classical Review praised his “smooth-toned voice (of) spring-water clarity.” Alex is from Kentucky and is a graduate of New England Conservatory of Music and Huntingdon College.

When not performing with Cantus, Paul enjoys engagements as a concert soloist and appearances with Bach Vespers at The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity in New York City. A recent highlight was a performance of Handel’s Messiah with the late J. Reilly Lewis of the Washington Bach Consort. Paul is a native of northeast Iowa and received his B.A. in English from Luther College.

JACOB CHRISTOPHER

TENOR

Artistic CouncilTour Manager

ALBERTO DE LA PAZ

TENOR

Artistic CouncilProgramming

CHRIS FOSS

BASS

Staff ComposerMusic & Media Librarian

SAMUEL GREEN

BASS

Ed. Outreach Coordinator

JEREMY WONG

BARITONE

ALEXANDER NISHIBUN

TENOR

Artistic CouncilBookkeeping

PAUL SCHOLTZ

TENOR

Communications & Audition Coordinator

BRANDON MARTIN

BARITONE

Brandon is joining Cantus for its 2020 fall and winter

virtual concerts.

Jeremy is joining Cantus for its 2020 fall and winter

virtual concerts.Samuel will not appear on Christmas with Cantus, as

he’s attending to urgent family needs.

ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH

THE LIGHT CONTINUES

ON THE SHORTEST DAYS

FIRST MIRACLE

excerpt from ONLY CHILD

FINAL NOTATIONS

THOSE WINTER SUNDAYS

IF MY PEOPLE

SILENT NIGHT

SALUT, DAME SAINTE

LIGHT IN THE HALLWAY

BLOOD MOON (world premiere)

A LA NANITA NANA

NOËL NOUVELET

EVEN WHEN HE IS SILENT

NOW THAT WE HAVE TASTED HOPE

IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER

THE CALLING AND THE WILL TO CHANGE

SEEING THE DIVINE IN ALL THINGS

FROM WHERE WE CAME: HONORING THE MOTHERSACRIFICE

HOPE & GIFTS

Lesson OneLesson OneLesson FourLesson Four

Lesson FiveLesson FiveLesson TwoLesson Two

Lesson ThreeLesson Three

Traditional French Carol, arr. SAUNDER CHOI

poem by LINDA GREGG

poem by JOYCE SUTPHEN

poem by A. E. STALLINGS

poem by D. NURKSE

poem by ADRIENNE RICH

poem by ROBERT HAYDEN

music by BRANDON WADDLES

music by FRANZ GRUBER, arr. ERICK LICHTE

music by FRANCIS POULENC

music by MITCHELL GRASSI, SCOTT HOYING, & AUDRA MAE

music by CHRIS FOSS

music by JOSÉ RAMÓN GOMIS, arr. ALBERTO DE LA PAZ

Traditional French Carol arr. SOFIA SÖDERBERG

music by KIM ANDRÉ ARNESEN

poem by KHALED MATTAWA

music by GUSTAV HOLST, arr. JACOB CHRISTOPHER

Cantus would like to give special thanks to Patricia Kirkpatrick for her guidance in selecting poetry for this concert.

6 Lessons and Carols for Our Time: Part One | CANTUS

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TEXTS & TRANSLATIONS

A LA NANITA NANA

THOSE WINTER SUNDAYS

FINAL NOTATIONS

Traditional French Carol arr. Saunder Choitranslation by James Chadwick

music by Brandon Waddlestext II Chronicles 7:14, alt.

music by José Ramón Gomis, arr. Alberto de la Paztext by Juan Francisco Muñoz y Pabón

Translation (from Latin):

The angels sing heralding the new-born Lord,Peace to us and pardon for humanity.Joyful, all ye nations rise,With the heavenly hosts proclaim,God's Son, our King, is born in Bethlehem:Hark the herald angels sing,"Glory to the new-born King!"Amen.

Angels we have heard on high,Sweetly singing o'er the plains,And the mountains in reply,Echoing their joyous strains.

Gloria Deo in excelsis!

Shepherds, why this jubilee?Why our joyous strains prolong?What the gladsome tidings be,Which inspire your heavenly song?

See Him in a manger laidJesus Lord of heav'n and earth;Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,With us sing our Savior's birth,

Come to Bethlehem and see,Him whose birth the angels sing;Come, adore on bended knee,Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

If my people,Who are called by my name,Would humble themselves and prayAnd seek my face,And turn from their wicked ways,Turn from their sins,

Then will I hear from heav'n,Then I'll forgive their sins.Then I will heal their land.

Translation (from Spanish):

A little lullabymy child is sleepy, bless himlittle spring flowing clear and loudnightengale singing in the forestkeep quiet while the cradle rocks to and frolittle tree budding with flowersfall asleep, my life, while I sing to yousleep while the cradle rocks to and fro.

CANTUS | Lessons and Carols for Our Time: Part One

THE CALLING AND THE WILL TO CHANGE

Lesson OneLesson One

poem by Linda Gregg

poem by Robert Hayden

poem by Adrienne Rich

SACRIFICE

Lesson TwoLesson Two

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TEXTS & TRANSLATIONS

Lessons and Carols for Our Time: Part One | CANTUS

HOPE & GIFTS

SEEING THE DIVINE IN ALL THINGS

Lesson ThreeLesson Three

Lesson FourLesson Four

NOËL NOUVELET

EVEN WHEN HE IS SILENT

music by Gustav Holst, arr. Jacob Christopher text by Christina Rossetti

Traditional French Carol arr. Sofia Söderbergtext Anonymous

music by Kim André Arnesentext Anonymous

In the bleak midwinterFrosty wind made moan,Earth stood hard as iron,Water like a stone;Snow had fallen,Snow on snow,In the bleak midwinter,Long ago.

Angels and archangelsMay have gathered there,Cherubim and seraphimThronged the air;But his mother only,In her maiden bliss,Worshipped the BelovedWith a kiss.

What can I give him,Poor as I am?If I were a shepherdI would bring a lamb,If I were a wise manI would do my part,Yet what I can I give Him —Give my heart.

I believe in the sun, even when it's not shining.I believe in love, even when I feel it not.I believe in God, even when He is silent.

Translation (from French):

Christmas comes anew, O let us sing Noel!Glory to God! Now let your praises swell!

Sing we Noel for Christ, the newborn King,Christmas comes anew, O let us sing Noel!

Angels did say, "O shepherds come and see,Born in Bethlehem, a blessed Lamb for thee."Sing we Noel for Christ, the newborn King,Christmas comes anew, O let us sing Noel!

In Bethlehem, all united,Were found the child, Joseph, and Mary too.Sing we Noel for Christ, the newborn King,Christmas comes anew, O let us sing Noel!

NOW THAT WE HAVE TASTED HOPE

ON THE SHORTEST DAYS

poem by Khaled Mattawa

poem by Joyce Sutphen

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TEXTS & TRANSLATIONS

CANTUS | Lessons and Carols for Our Time: Part One

SILENT NIGHT

BLOOD MOON (world premiere)

SALUT, DAME SAINTE

music by Franz Gruber, arr. Erick Lichtetext by Joseph Mohr

music by Chris Fosstext by Patricia Kirkpatrick

music by Francis Poulencfrom Four Small Prayers of Saint Francis of Assisi

(sung in Hawaiian, English, French, and German)

Translation (from Hawaiian):

Peaceful night, wonderful night,Peace, lightThe beloved motherWith the holy childSleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night, holy nightAll is calm, all is bright'Round yon virgin Mother and ChildHoly infant so tender and mildSleep in heavenly peace

Slient Night, holy nightShepherds first saw the light,Heard resounding, clear and strongThe words of the angel’s songPeace on Earth to all

FROM WHERE WE CAME: HONORING THE MOTHER

Lesson FiveLesson Five

Translation (from French):

Hail, holy Lady,queen most holy,Mother of God,O Mary, who art virgin perpetually,chosen by the most holy Lord of Heaven,consecrated by him with his most holy well-beloved Sonand the Holy Ghost, the Paraclete:

thou in whom was and remains allfullness of grace and all goodness!

Hail, palace; hail, shrine;hail, house; hail, clothing;hail, serving woman; hail, Mother of God!And hail to all of you, holy virtues,which by the grace and illumination of the Holy Ghostare poured into the hearts of the faithfuland, from being unfaithful as we are,render us faithful to God.

FIRST MIRACLEpoem by A. E. Stallings

The moon held an aurabefore turning red,silence like a tremorjust before the baby emerges.

The other side of the moon stays hidden.

Call the baby they’d saidwhen the baby didn’t come.Sometimes that helps.

In labor the current ran all the waythrough her. To deliver the child,its cup being poured.

Ancient. Witnessed. Said to bring gifts.

Is the baby all right? the mother is asking.Yes a nurse answers. She’s perfect.

From Blood Moon by Patricia Kirkpatrick (Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions,

2020). Copyright © 2020 by Patricia Kirkpatrick. Reprinted with permission

from Milkweed Editions. Milkweed.org

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TEXTS & TRANSLATIONS

Lessons and Carols for Our Time: Part One | CANTUS

excerpt from ONLY CHILD

LIGHT IN THE HALLWAY

poem by D. Nurkse

Close your eyes, lay your head downNow it's time to sleepMay you find great adventureAs you lie and dreamIf you're scared of the darknessI will calm your fearThere's a light in the hallwaySo you know I'm hereSo count your blessings every dayIt makes the monsters go awayAnd everything will be okayYou are not aloneYou are right at homeGoodnight, goodnight

You won't need me foreverBut I'll still be hereFor we all have our nightmaresEven me, my dearFrom now on, if you need meYou can sing this songThere's a light in the hallwayBurning all night longSo count your blessings every dayIt makes the monsters go awayAnd everything will be okayYou are not aloneYou are right at homeGoodnight, goodnight

music and text by Mitchell Grassi, Scott Hoying, and Audra Mae

Thank you for joining us for Part I of Lessons and Carols for Our Time. We hope it brought you a few moments of reflection, relief, joy, and peace.

Have feedback? Fill out a quick survey here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/LessonsAndCarols2020

Visit www.cantussings.org/how-to-give to donate today!

Your generosity, now and over the last 25 years, has allowed Cantus to serve our community, advance our art form, and give voice to shared human experiences.

However, as we navigate a fall defined by its uncertainty, we respectfully

request your help.

As one of the nation’s two full-time professional vocal ensembles, Cantus continues to sing, collaborate, and create new content that we look forward to

sharing with you in the coming months.

If you are able, will you please help to keep Cantus singing?