All-male ensemble delivers memorable concert at Four Arts

With a world-class orchestra and a nationally syndicated classical music radio broadcast, Minneapolis has become an exciting center for the musical arts in this country. Adding to its luster is the outstanding all-male vocal ensemble, Cantus, who performed a brilliant concert Wednesday at The Society of the Four Arts.

Known for its creative programming, the ensemble brought a thought-provoking set based on the concept of communication in an electronically connected world. The program, titled “Alone Together,” offered selections that dealt with connection and isolation in one way or another.

The central work of the evening was Libby Larsen’s You, which was premiered by Cantus last September. Set in five moments, the work was inspired by the poetry of Emily Dickinson and Edna St. Vincent Millay. In performance, the group scattered the movements among the other 12 selections. This tactic worked very well, since each of the movements begins in a similar manner, and the piece gives the ear so many wonderful moments to savor.

Filling in the rest of the program were thematically chosen works by a wide variety of composers. Ludwig van Beethoven and Camille Saint-Saëns shared the stage with Paul McCartney and Dave Matthews, as well as modern composers such as Laura Mvula and Steven Sametz.

Besides the Larsen work, the finale, consisting of two movements of Sametz’s We Two was the highlight of the evening. Based on the words of Walt Whitman, the music evokes the style of Ralph Vaughan Williams at times, but never to the point of parody. Perfectly suited to the ensemble, the texts offer hope that human connection has not disappeared in our age.

Cantus has all the skill and fluidity that one would expect from a group of guys who got their start at the choral foundry of St. Olaf College, but their stage presentation and programming are obviously geared to appeal to the younger generation. While this did not prevent the Four Arts audience from appreciating the performance, one could see who they were trying to reach. This was quite evident in the final two selections of the first half.

Matthew's Gravedigger has all the angst a young person could desire and Pasek and Paul’s You Will Be Found is an easy fit for the television show Glee, about high-school singers. Selections such as these, combined with some creative stage work — at one time the singers were all consulting their cell phones as one member spoke to the audience — and the youthful membership of the ensemble, show that Cantus is actively reaching out to a much younger audience.