Cantus Choro
Cantus Choro has established a fine reputation for its broadcasts for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and recitals of sacred and secular music. Directed by Peter Chapman, with Norman Kaye on the organ.
Cantus Choro was formed in 1979. It specialised in music for men's voices, both sacred and secular, ranging from the 16th to the 20th centuries. Cantus Choro has established a fine reputation for its broadcasts for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and recitals of sacred and secular music. In this recording of women's voices were added to the ensemble.
Peter Chapman - choral conductor, singer and music teacher, achieved renown for his direction of the Choir of Canterbury Fellowship in Melbourne for 25 years. He began his singing career as a boy of eight, later studying at the Melbourne University Conservatorium of Music and at the Royal Academy of Music. While in London, he sang in the BBC Chorus and the choirs of Westminster Abbey and the London Philharmonic. Peter Chapman's enthusiasm and skill as a conductor have inspired countless young musicians, particularly Royal Society of Church Music choristers and students at Scotch College. These recordings with Cantus Choro demonstrate his lively musicianship and his care for phrasing and words.
Norman Kaye - Organist and composer, is equally fluent in English Cathedral and French Symphonic styles of organ playing. A former pupil of the late Dr A.E. Floyd in Melbourne, he also studied in London and in France taking his Premier Prix at the Conservatoire Nationale in Nice. He displays a bold and colorful accompanying style which contributes much to the dramatic impact of these hymns. Norman Kaye is also a noted actor and appears frequently in feature films, television, and on the stages of major theatre companies in Melbourne and Sydney.
Geoffrey Cox (Vol. 3 only) - was born in Queensland, where his early training as an organist was with Robert Boughen at St. John's Cathedral, Brisbane. After graduating in music from the University of Queensland, he became Organ Scholar of New College, Oxford, and subsequently completed doctoral studies at Oxford University. He was currently Organist and Director of Music at St. Peter's Eastern Hill, Melbourne, Senior Lecturer in Music at Australian Catholic University (Victoria), and chairman of the Victorian branch of The Royal School of Church Music. He has performed in many parts of Australia as well as overseas as an organist recitalist. His refined and sensitive approach to accompanying hymns.
Cantus Choro is featured on the following titles
Psalms
Psalms and chants from the Anglican and Taizé traditions, plus two hymns, directed by Peter Chapman. This recording by Cantus Choro demonstrates Peter's love of the Anglican psalm tradition, his lively musicianship and care for phrasing and words.
Performer: Choir
Songs and Praises
Favourite Hymns from the Australian Hymn Book Vol. 3. The thrilling sound of choir and organ in the fine acoustic of Trinity College Chapel, Melbourne, is an inspiration for all hymn lovers.
Performer: Choir
Hymns For All Seasons
16 more hymns from Cantus Choro, sung in the grand acoustic of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne. The hymns start with Advent and trace the great events of the Christian year. With Norman Kaye and the Melbourne Brass Ensemble.
Performer: Choir
Sing Out With Joy
The Cantus Choro directed by Peter Chapman. Imaginative organ accompaniments by Norman Kaye give these 17 well-known hymns a new dramatic impact.
Performer: Choir
Cantus Choro also appears on
The Remarkable Norman Kaye
Move Records has gathered material for this CD paying tribute to the wonderful Norman Kaye. The main focus here is on the musician, but not forgetting his acting career.
Performer: Choir
Members of Cantus Choro
Peter Chapman
Peter Chapman (1922–2006) - was a choral conductor, singer and music teacher, achieved renown for his direction of the Choir of Canterbury Fellowship and of Cantus Choro in Melbourne for 25 years.
Norman Kaye
Norman Kaye (1927 - 2007) was a distinguished organist and actor. Norman studied organ with Pierre Cochereau of Notre Dame de Paris and won a Premier Prix for conducting at the Nice Conservatoire.
Geoffrey Cox
Geoffrey Cox was born in Brisbane, but has lived in Melbourne since 1979. After a period as Organ Scholar at New College, Oxford in the late 1970s, he became Organist and Director of Music at St Peter's Anglican Church, Eastern Hill (1980-1994), Assistant Organist and Choirmaster at St Patrick's Catholic Cathedral (1995-1999) and then Director of Music at St Patrick's (1999-2014).
