Cantus Musicus
Encyclopedia
Cantus Musicus, an international mixed chamber choir
based in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysian choral composer Yii Kah Hoe says it is the best choir in Malaysia . It has received favourable comment from various musicians and singers, including leading British choral conductor
and chorus master, Peter Broadbent, who conducted it in Kuala Lumpur
, Dr Michela Bertagnolli, Italian opera singer and judge of the SongFest Singing Competition 2004 in Malaysia, the late Armando Chin Yong
, Malaysia's top operatic tenor, Cha Seng Tiang, one of Malaysia's better known operatic baritones, Jangoo Chapkhana, one of Australia's foremost choral conductors and Datuk Dr Kah-Ming Ng of Oxford University, the founding member and Musical Director of renown Baroque
ensemble Charivari Agréable.
The choir is noted for its professional programming philosophy quite unexpected for its amateur status, its diverse international make-up and the fact that several of its principal singers have sung in some well-known choirs in the world or have studied under well known vocal coaches and opera singers.
but which had been disbanded. Glenis Butterworth coined the name "Cantus Musicus" which means "harmonious singing".
The choir's first public a cappella
performance was two days later on 13 April 2003 at the St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Two choral works were sung - Lotti
's Crucifixus a 8 in the original Latin and Tchaikovsky
's Crown of Roses (in English).
The choir remains to this day a strictly secular choir. Seven of the original singers are still with the choir. The choir which previously had as many as 56 singers has been deliberately trimmed to 36 permanent singers from 13 different countries. Lisa Ho is now the Music and Choral Director and Glenis Butterworth the Administration Director. The choir's Assistant Choral Director is Timothy Ooi. The soprano section head is Sally Addington, the head of altos is Glenis Butterworth, Chen Lee Fong heads the tenor section and Jeffrey Bannister is in charge of the basses.
In August 2005, Cantus Musicus was requested to record a special CD entitled Cantus Musicus for the listening pleasure of Datin Paduka Seri Endon Mahmood
, the late wife of former Malaysian Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi, who was then undergoing cancer treatment in the United States of America. They also sang before the Prime Minister on 6 September 2005, after which the CD recording was presented to him.
Selected members of the choir sang for the recording of the official anthem for the 11th Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) Summit backed by the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra in November 2005.
In November 2006, Lisa Ho and Janneke Bomhoff-Bos were invited to perform before the 12th Queen of Malaysia or Raja Permaisuri Agong, Her Royal Highness Tengku Fauziah binti Almarhum Tengku Abdul Rashid
in a private royal function.
On 21 June 2008, Cantus Musicus had its Everything But The Diva! concert to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the founding of the choir and also as a farewell concert for the outgoing German ambassador, His Excellency, Mr.Herbert Jess, who has been a staunch patron of Cantus Musicus. Mr. Jess made a surprise announcement at the end of the concert by giving an open invitation to Cantus Musicus to perform in Germany.
Cantus Musicus gave its first performance entirely in French (including dialects) on 31 March 2009 at the Francophonie event marking a surprising departure from its regular association with German choral music.
A new chapter opened on 8 October 2009 with Cantus Musicus' first Irish concert, By The Salley Gardens marking the choir's foray into Irish folk music and the use of Irish traditional instruments. This was followed by the All Through The Night Celtic concert on 25 May 2010 which expanded on the Irish theme by including folk songs coming from or popular songs influenced by the three main Celtic areas of the British Isles
: Ireland
, Scotland
and Wales
. This concert was also the farewell concert for the outgoing Irish Ambassador, His Excellency, Mr. Eugene Hutchinson.
On 12 October 2009, Music Director Lisa Ho announced a new membership policy for the choir as part of the overall plans to improve the quality of the choir and to transform the choir into a semi-professional one. In February 2010 the choir was transformed into a trimmer 36-strong choir with several new singers joining.
Cantus Musicus is also strongly committed to developing choral singing in Malaysia and Music Director Lisa Ho actively participates in choral workshops and festivals in Malaysia teaching school and youth choirs. The choir has also given exhibition performances at choral festivals. Lisa Ho, Janneke Bomhoff-Bos and Timothy Ooi are often called upon to serve as judges in local choral competitions.
The choir sings for the sheer pleasure of making good music and the fun of eating and drinking after the singing.
Cantus Musicus is one of Malaysia's unofficial ambassadors of culture and goodwill and is welcomed at many of the embassies and diplomatic missions in Malaysia.
s to sacred works
, from lied
er to gospel
, from folk songs
to symphonic choral works as well as good sampling of 20th and 21st century choral compositions, including original a cappella arrangements and compositions by Lisa Ho ranging from the original composition, Magnificat
, premiered at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church on 9 December 2007 to her 7-part choral arrangement of the traditional French folk song, L'amour de moi first heard during Francophonie on 31 March 2009 and her latest 8-part choral arrangement of Vince Clarke
's hit song, Only You
with its first public performance during the Festliches Weihnachtskonzert in Kuala Lumpur on 28 November 2009.
Cantus Musicus are known to sing in 15 different languages: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Norwegian, Swedish, Welsh, Irish Gaelic, Dutch, Flemish, Latin, Greek and Malay with a strong emphasis on English, German, Latin, Italian and French choral works.
The choir also has its integral group of musician-singers who play on old European instruments or clever adaptions of traditional Asian instruments to simulate old European instruments to accompany medieval songs. Cantus Musicus has been known to perform in period European costume. Cantus Musicus was known for its madrigal concerts in its early years, the most popular being Mad as a Hatter - Spring Madrigals and other May Maladies held on 28 May 2005.
Known Cantus Musicus lieder concerts include Liederabend (June 2004), Liederabend im Penang (4 March 2006), Love, Grief & Obsession - The Vision of the Herald & the Hawk (8 August 2006), Leise Flehen Meine Lieder (21 May 2007) and Hausmusik: Zu Gäste bei Clara und Robert Schumann (20 October 2010) .
The former Cantus Musicus Quartet have also given lieder recitals - one recital in 2005, two in 2006 (one of which was a farewell recital for Datuk Ooi Chean See, the former Resident Conductor of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra) and two more in 2007, the latest on 22 November 2007, Von ewiger Liebe - Of Love Eternal, in conjunction with the launch of the publication, 50 Years Malaysian-German Relations: Portraits of Friendship - Then and Now by Datuk Ahmad Shabery Chik (then Information Minister), at the German Ambassador's Residence in Kuala Lumpur.
which are performed annually in December. Since 2003, the choir has been performing the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at 6.00pm on every second Sunday of Advent in St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Kuala Lumpur. Cantus Musicus are responsible for reviving and promoting the Festival as a popular traditional annual Christmas choral event in Kuala Lumpur.
Cantus Musicus has been performing at Scandinavian Christmas celebrations for several years now and for the first time on 15 December 2009, the Ensemble Cantus Musicus sang in a Luciakonsert celebrating Luciatag or Saint Lucy's Day as part of the Swedish Embassy's Christmas celebration.
. Another collaboration was with the Encounter High Winds Ensemble (founded by Joost Flach under the auspices of the Education/Outreach Department of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra) in a concert entitled Voices in the Wind on 30 April 2008. On 6 December 2009, Cantus Musicus collaborated with the late tenor soloist, Armando Chin Yong, during the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. Mr Chin was Malaysia's foremost operatic tenor and had sung in the opera houses of Europe and Asia. Noted Western Australian choral director and vocal coach, Jangoo Chapkhana was invited to guest conduct the choir at their In Voice and Verse concert on 29 October 2011 celebrating the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible combining choral singing, poetry recital and readings.
soprano from the Italian bel canto
(Italian for "beautiful singing") school of singing and is trained in bel canto vocal pedagogy. Her first vocal teacher was the Italian opera singer and pedagogue, Dr. Michela Bertagnolli Febvre, of Turin, who was trained by a pupil of Spanish coloratura soprano and pedagogue, Elvira de Hidalgo
who also taught Maria Callas
. Her most recent vocal coach was the late Armando Chin Yong. Lisa Ho's personal goal is to introduce bel canto singing techniques to the choir and to promote the bel canto technique in Malaysia, especially in choral singing. Assistant Choral Director Timothy Ooi, a tenor who was taught by Arthur Reckless of London's Guildhall School of Music & Drama, was also undergoing re-training under the late Armando Chin Yong to convert to the bel canto method. Tenors Pieter Rebel, Chen Lee Fong and Lim Shimron are proper bel canto singers taught by maestro
Armando Chin Yong and his star pupil, counter-tenor David Ngim respectively. Several other singers in the choir have already received some rudimentary bel canto training.
in St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Kuala Lumpur, on a number of occasions. The Riddell-Eminent organ is a hybrid made up of components of the original 1939 Riddell organ married to the 1998 Eminent Omegan DCS 300/325 console. This was done by organ builder Mr Robert Navaratnam of Singapore (who also built the 9-rank Choir Organ in the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
in Singapore). The original Riddell organ has a near twin in the 1938 Riddell organ installed at All Saints Church in Taiping, Malaysia. In 1939, Mr James A. Riddell, colonial Malaya's only organ builder, built the organ using local materials except for the 29 display pipes which were cast and milled in England. During the Second World War, the organ pipes were looted during the chaos following the abandonment of Kuala Lumpur to the advancing Japanese imperial army. In 1948, Mr. Riddell restored the pipes but this time using local materials.
and the Kawai
grand piano from Japan
. For rehearsal purposes, the choir uses the K. Kawai from Japan.
in the United Kingdom
. The choir sang at her memorial service at ABWM House in Kuala Lumpur on 17 January 2011 and Lisa Ho's latest SATB
arrangement of Abide with Me
was premiered. They also sang Gabriel Faure
's Requiem
on 3 March 2011 at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Kuala Lumpur, in Joanne's memory
Maestro Armando Chin Yong who taught 7 of Cantus Musicus' singers, passed away on 2 February 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, aged 52. Cantus Musicus sang a different interpretation of Faure's Requiem on 6 March 2011 at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Kuala Lumpur, in the Maestro's memory.
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
based in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysian choral composer Yii Kah Hoe says it is the best choir in Malaysia . It has received favourable comment from various musicians and singers, including leading British choral conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
and chorus master, Peter Broadbent, who conducted it in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Dr Michela Bertagnolli, Italian opera singer and judge of the SongFest Singing Competition 2004 in Malaysia, the late Armando Chin Yong
Armando Chin Yong
Armando Chin Yong , also known as Chen Rong to the Chinese-speaking, was a Malaysian opera singer, the only tenor with an international reputation forged in European and Asian opera houses and concert halls. He received much of his singing education in Rome, Italy and Vienna, Austria...
, Malaysia's top operatic tenor, Cha Seng Tiang, one of Malaysia's better known operatic baritones, Jangoo Chapkhana, one of Australia's foremost choral conductors and Datuk Dr Kah-Ming Ng of Oxford University, the founding member and Musical Director of renown Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
ensemble Charivari Agréable.
The choir is noted for its professional programming philosophy quite unexpected for its amateur status, its diverse international make-up and the fact that several of its principal singers have sung in some well-known choirs in the world or have studied under well known vocal coaches and opera singers.
History
Cantus Musicus was formed on 11 April 2003 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia by Lisa Ho and Glenis Butterworth. The original choir consisted of Lisa Ho as the Choral Director and accompanist on the piano and pipe organ, and 17 singers drawn from a much larger experimental choir intended to complement the Malaysian Philharmonic OrchestraMalaysian Philharmonic Orchestra
The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra is a Malaysian orchestra, resident at the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas in Kuala Lumpur. The orchestra gives concerts throughout Malaysia and also in Singapore....
but which had been disbanded. Glenis Butterworth coined the name "Cantus Musicus" which means "harmonious singing".
The choir's first public a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
performance was two days later on 13 April 2003 at the St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Two choral works were sung - Lotti
Antonio Lotti
Antonio Lotti was an Italian composer of classical music.Lotti was born in Venice, although his father Matteo was Kapellmeister at Hanover at the time. In 1682, Lotti began studying with Lodovico Fuga and Giovanni Legrenzi, both of whom were employed at St Mark's Basilica, Venice's principal church...
's Crucifixus a 8 in the original Latin and Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
's Crown of Roses (in English).
The choir remains to this day a strictly secular choir. Seven of the original singers are still with the choir. The choir which previously had as many as 56 singers has been deliberately trimmed to 36 permanent singers from 13 different countries. Lisa Ho is now the Music and Choral Director and Glenis Butterworth the Administration Director. The choir's Assistant Choral Director is Timothy Ooi. The soprano section head is Sally Addington, the head of altos is Glenis Butterworth, Chen Lee Fong heads the tenor section and Jeffrey Bannister is in charge of the basses.
In August 2005, Cantus Musicus was requested to record a special CD entitled Cantus Musicus for the listening pleasure of Datin Paduka Seri Endon Mahmood
Endon Mahmood
Tun Endon Mahmood Ambak was the first wife of the 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. She died from breast cancer on 20 October 2005.She was also known as Kak Endon.-Early life:...
, the late wife of former Malaysian Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi, who was then undergoing cancer treatment in the United States of America. They also sang before the Prime Minister on 6 September 2005, after which the CD recording was presented to him.
Selected members of the choir sang for the recording of the official anthem for the 11th Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated ASEAN rarely ), is a geo-political and economic organization of ten countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has...
(ASEAN) Summit backed by the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra in November 2005.
In November 2006, Lisa Ho and Janneke Bomhoff-Bos were invited to perform before the 12th Queen of Malaysia or Raja Permaisuri Agong, Her Royal Highness Tengku Fauziah binti Almarhum Tengku Abdul Rashid
Tengku Fauziah binti Almarhum Tengku Abdul Rashid
Tuanku Fauziah binti Tengku Abdul Rashid, D.K., S.S.P.J., S.P.M.P., is the current Raja Perempuan of Perlis. She also served as the Raja Permaisuri Agong of Malaysia from 2001 till December 12, 2006....
in a private royal function.
On 21 June 2008, Cantus Musicus had its Everything But The Diva! concert to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the founding of the choir and also as a farewell concert for the outgoing German ambassador, His Excellency, Mr.Herbert Jess, who has been a staunch patron of Cantus Musicus. Mr. Jess made a surprise announcement at the end of the concert by giving an open invitation to Cantus Musicus to perform in Germany.
Cantus Musicus gave its first performance entirely in French (including dialects) on 31 March 2009 at the Francophonie event marking a surprising departure from its regular association with German choral music.
A new chapter opened on 8 October 2009 with Cantus Musicus' first Irish concert, By The Salley Gardens marking the choir's foray into Irish folk music and the use of Irish traditional instruments. This was followed by the All Through The Night Celtic concert on 25 May 2010 which expanded on the Irish theme by including folk songs coming from or popular songs influenced by the three main Celtic areas of the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
: Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. This concert was also the farewell concert for the outgoing Irish Ambassador, His Excellency, Mr. Eugene Hutchinson.
Policy
Cantus Musicus never charges its audience as part of its overall commitment to promoting the choral tradition in Malaysia and is probably the only secular choir in Malaysia to do so. This choir receives no state funding and is completely self funded. Its loyal patrons and fans help secure free quality venues for its performances and assist in promoting the choir.On 12 October 2009, Music Director Lisa Ho announced a new membership policy for the choir as part of the overall plans to improve the quality of the choir and to transform the choir into a semi-professional one. In February 2010 the choir was transformed into a trimmer 36-strong choir with several new singers joining.
Cantus Musicus is also strongly committed to developing choral singing in Malaysia and Music Director Lisa Ho actively participates in choral workshops and festivals in Malaysia teaching school and youth choirs. The choir has also given exhibition performances at choral festivals. Lisa Ho, Janneke Bomhoff-Bos and Timothy Ooi are often called upon to serve as judges in local choral competitions.
The choir sings for the sheer pleasure of making good music and the fun of eating and drinking after the singing.
Cantus Musicus is one of Malaysia's unofficial ambassadors of culture and goodwill and is welcomed at many of the embassies and diplomatic missions in Malaysia.
Repertoire
Cantus Musicus has a repertoire ranging from madrigalMadrigal (music)
A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....
s to sacred works
Christian music
Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....
, from lied
Lied
is a German word literally meaning "song", usually used to describe romantic songs setting German poems of reasonably high literary aspirations, especially during the nineteenth century, beginning with Carl Loewe, Heinrich Marschner, and Franz Schubert and culminating with Hugo Wolf...
er to gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
, from folk songs
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
to symphonic choral works as well as good sampling of 20th and 21st century choral compositions, including original a cappella arrangements and compositions by Lisa Ho ranging from the original composition, Magnificat
Magnificat
The Magnificat — also known as the Song of Mary or the Canticle of Mary — is a canticle frequently sung liturgically in Christian church services. It is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn...
, premiered at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church on 9 December 2007 to her 7-part choral arrangement of the traditional French folk song, L'amour de moi first heard during Francophonie on 31 March 2009 and her latest 8-part choral arrangement of Vince Clarke
Vince Clarke
Vince Clarke is an English synthpop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been involved with a number of successful groups, including Depeche Mode, Yazoo, The Assembly and Erasure....
's hit song, Only You
Only You (Yazoo song)
-Track listing:7": Mute/7 MUTE 20 # "Only You" - 3:10# "Situation" - 3:447": Sire/9 2-98447 # "Only You" - 3:10# "Winter Kills" - 4:0112": Mute/12 MUTE 20 # "Only You" - 3:10# "Situation" - 5:20CD: Mute/CD MUTE 20...
with its first public performance during the Festliches Weihnachtskonzert in Kuala Lumpur on 28 November 2009.
Cantus Musicus are known to sing in 15 different languages: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Norwegian, Swedish, Welsh, Irish Gaelic, Dutch, Flemish, Latin, Greek and Malay with a strong emphasis on English, German, Latin, Italian and French choral works.
The choir also has its integral group of musician-singers who play on old European instruments or clever adaptions of traditional Asian instruments to simulate old European instruments to accompany medieval songs. Cantus Musicus has been known to perform in period European costume. Cantus Musicus was known for its madrigal concerts in its early years, the most popular being Mad as a Hatter - Spring Madrigals and other May Maladies held on 28 May 2005.
Ensemble Cantus Musicus
The Ensemble Cantus Musicus is the expanded former Cantus Musicus Quartet which was formed for smaller, private performances focusing on art songs and for tour purposes. The Ensemble currently consists of 12 singers. The Ensemble Cantus Musicus would form the core of the tour choir.Lieder
Cantus Musicus are among the main promoters of lieder or German art songs in Malaysia and have given a number of lieder concerts and recitals ever since their first Liederabend concert in Kuala Lumpur in 2004. For this and for the annual Weihnachtskonzert (German Christmas Concert), Cantus Musicus have been strongly supported by the German and Austrian Embassies in Malaysia, the German Speaking Society, Kuala Lumpur (GSSKL) and the Malaysian-German Society in the Malaysian state of Penang.Known Cantus Musicus lieder concerts include Liederabend (June 2004), Liederabend im Penang (4 March 2006), Love, Grief & Obsession - The Vision of the Herald & the Hawk (8 August 2006), Leise Flehen Meine Lieder (21 May 2007) and Hausmusik: Zu Gäste bei Clara und Robert Schumann (20 October 2010) .
The former Cantus Musicus Quartet have also given lieder recitals - one recital in 2005, two in 2006 (one of which was a farewell recital for Datuk Ooi Chean See, the former Resident Conductor of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra) and two more in 2007, the latest on 22 November 2007, Von ewiger Liebe - Of Love Eternal, in conjunction with the launch of the publication, 50 Years Malaysian-German Relations: Portraits of Friendship - Then and Now by Datuk Ahmad Shabery Chik (then Information Minister), at the German Ambassador's Residence in Kuala Lumpur.
Christmas concerts
Cantus Musicus are particularly noted for their annual Weihnachtskonzert (German Christmas Concert), and their Festival of Nine Lessons and CarolsNine Lessons and Carols
The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is a format for a service of Christian worship celebrating the birth of Jesus that is traditionally followed at Christmas...
which are performed annually in December. Since 2003, the choir has been performing the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at 6.00pm on every second Sunday of Advent in St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Kuala Lumpur. Cantus Musicus are responsible for reviving and promoting the Festival as a popular traditional annual Christmas choral event in Kuala Lumpur.
Cantus Musicus has been performing at Scandinavian Christmas celebrations for several years now and for the first time on 15 December 2009, the Ensemble Cantus Musicus sang in a Luciakonsert celebrating Luciatag or Saint Lucy's Day as part of the Swedish Embassy's Christmas celebration.
Music collaborations
Cantus Musicus has collaborated with members of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra String Section at the EUphoriA Concert on 26 May 2006 in conjunction with the European Union Delegation Celebrations headed by AustriaAustria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. Another collaboration was with the Encounter High Winds Ensemble (founded by Joost Flach under the auspices of the Education/Outreach Department of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra) in a concert entitled Voices in the Wind on 30 April 2008. On 6 December 2009, Cantus Musicus collaborated with the late tenor soloist, Armando Chin Yong, during the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. Mr Chin was Malaysia's foremost operatic tenor and had sung in the opera houses of Europe and Asia. Noted Western Australian choral director and vocal coach, Jangoo Chapkhana was invited to guest conduct the choir at their In Voice and Verse concert on 29 October 2011 celebrating the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible combining choral singing, poetry recital and readings.
Bel Canto
Music Director Lisa Ho is herself a coloraturaColoratura
Coloratura has several meanings. The word is originally from Italian, literally meaning "coloring", and derives from the Latin word colorare . When used in English, the term specifically refers to elaborate melody, particularly in vocal music and especially in operatic singing of the 18th and...
soprano from the Italian bel canto
Bel canto
Bel canto , along with a number of similar constructions , is an Italian opera term...
(Italian for "beautiful singing") school of singing and is trained in bel canto vocal pedagogy. Her first vocal teacher was the Italian opera singer and pedagogue, Dr. Michela Bertagnolli Febvre, of Turin, who was trained by a pupil of Spanish coloratura soprano and pedagogue, Elvira de Hidalgo
Elvira de Hidalgo
Elvira de Hidalgo was a prominent Spanish coloratura soprano, who later became a pedagogue...
who also taught Maria Callas
Maria Callas
Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...
. Her most recent vocal coach was the late Armando Chin Yong. Lisa Ho's personal goal is to introduce bel canto singing techniques to the choir and to promote the bel canto technique in Malaysia, especially in choral singing. Assistant Choral Director Timothy Ooi, a tenor who was taught by Arthur Reckless of London's Guildhall School of Music & Drama, was also undergoing re-training under the late Armando Chin Yong to convert to the bel canto method. Tenors Pieter Rebel, Chen Lee Fong and Lim Shimron are proper bel canto singers taught by maestro
Maestro
Maestro is a title of extreme respect given to a master musician. The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music and opera. This is associated with the ubiquitous use of Italian vocabulary for classical music terms...
Armando Chin Yong and his star pupil, counter-tenor David Ngim respectively. Several other singers in the choir have already received some rudimentary bel canto training.
Riddell-Eminent pipe organ
Cantus Musicus has been accompanied by various pipe organists playing the Riddell-Eminent pipe organPipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
in St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Kuala Lumpur, on a number of occasions. The Riddell-Eminent organ is a hybrid made up of components of the original 1939 Riddell organ married to the 1998 Eminent Omegan DCS 300/325 console. This was done by organ builder Mr Robert Navaratnam of Singapore (who also built the 9-rank Choir Organ in the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Singapore. It is located in the Museum Planning Area within the Civic District and affords a welcome respite from the city....
in Singapore). The original Riddell organ has a near twin in the 1938 Riddell organ installed at All Saints Church in Taiping, Malaysia. In 1939, Mr James A. Riddell, colonial Malaya's only organ builder, built the organ using local materials except for the 29 display pipes which were cast and milled in England. During the Second World War, the organ pipes were looted during the chaos following the abandonment of Kuala Lumpur to the advancing Japanese imperial army. In 1948, Mr. Riddell restored the pipes but this time using local materials.
Pianos
Cantus Musicus' preferred accompanying pianos are the Boesendorfer grand piano from AustriaAustria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and the Kawai
Kawai
The of Japan is best known for its grand and upright pianos, electronic keyboards and electronic synthesizers. The company was established in August 1927, and has its headquarters in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka.-Pianos:...
grand piano from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. For rehearsal purposes, the choir uses the K. Kawai from Japan.
In Memoriam
Contralto singer Joanne Toshack, 43, passed away on 31 December 2010 at MarsdenMarsden, West Yorkshire
Marsden is a large village within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, west of Huddersfield and located at the confluence of the River Colne and the Wessenden Brook...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The choir sang at her memorial service at ABWM House in Kuala Lumpur on 17 January 2011 and Lisa Ho's latest SATB
SATB
In music, SATB is an initialism for soprano, alto, tenor, bass, defining the voices required by a chorus or choir to perform a particular musical work...
arrangement of Abide with Me
Abide With Me
The hymn tune most often used with this hymn is "Eventide" composed by William Henry Monk in 1861.Alternate tunes include:* "Abide with Me," Henry Lyte, 1847* "Morecambe", Frederick C...
was premiered. They also sang Gabriel Faure
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th century composers...
's Requiem
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
on 3 March 2011 at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Kuala Lumpur, in Joanne's memory
Maestro Armando Chin Yong who taught 7 of Cantus Musicus' singers, passed away on 2 February 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, aged 52. Cantus Musicus sang a different interpretation of Faure's Requiem on 6 March 2011 at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Kuala Lumpur, in the Maestro's memory.