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The men’s a cappella ensemble Chanticleer will perform on Friday in Santa Fe.
Christmas is a big deal for the men’s a cappella group Chanticleer. The San Francisco-based ensemble has recorded eight Christmas albums including “Our Favorite Carols,” “A Chanticleer Christmas,” “Let It Snow” and “Christmas with Chanticleer.”
The Santa Fe Concert Association brings Chanticleer to town on Dec. 7 to provide holiday cheer to the City Different.
“We’re presenting the same program all over the country,” explained Chanticleer’s interim music director Jace Wittig. “It has a wide variety of pieces in it, starting with Gregorian chants.”
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If you go WHAT: The Santa Fe Concert Association presents Chanticleer WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7 WHERE: Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis, 131 Cathedral Place, Santa Fe HOW MUCH: $10-$50, for tickets call 505-988-1234 |
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Performing in Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis, Chanticleer opens the concert by singing Gregorian chants while proceeding down the cathedral’s main aisle. Music from the Renaissance follows, including “Nesciens Mater” by French composer Jean Mouton.
“This is a beautiful French masterpiece,” said Wittig. “We only sing it at Christmas. It’s been six or seven years since we’ve performed it.”
A set of carols from the medieval period is paired with contemporary works by Arvo Part and Francis Poulenc that were inspired by these carols.
Chanticleer sings “Gladsome Light” by Russian composer Alexander Gretchaninov, which is a new work for the ensemble. Wittig discovered the piece during an Internet search for Russian church music.
“It was written at the turn of the 20th century in the golden age of Russian choral music,” he said. “It’s a decadent piece of Russian music with big, warm, rich chords and lush harmonic language.”
The one work that is always on a Chanticleer Christmas program is “Ave Maria” by Franz Biebl.
“This piece is associated with us,” said Wittig. “It’s special to us. We never change a thing about it from year to year. It’s set in stone, and we like it that way.”
Chanticleer, which was formed in 1978 and won a Grammy Award in 2000 for Best Small Ensemble Performance, is comprised of two basses, three tenors, one baritone, three altos and three sopranos.
“Our male sopranos can sing quite high, all the way to high B flat,” said Wittig. “They have highly developed falsetto voices. Alto and soprano males are a rarified group. They’re hard to find.”
While few singers leave the group within a given year, Chanticleer holds auditions annually, attracting tapes from between 75 and 200 singers.
“If we have a few openings, we’ll ask 15 or 16 men to come to San Francisco for a rather involved weekend with us,” Wittig added. “The thing is that unexpected stuff happens. There are family emergencies, and sometimes people have to move out of the Bay Area. It’s good for us to know who’s out there.”
Chanticleer presents 120 concerts in the Bay Area and around the world during a busy year.
“We also do workshops and work with college choirs,” said Wittig. “On top of all this, we rehearse 20 hours a week when we’re at home.”
The last time Chanticleer performed in Santa Fe was in December 2009 when the ensemble appeared with the Santa Fe Concert Association at the Lensic Performing Arts Center.
