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, with two hymns, directed by Peter Chapman. Cantus Choro’s recording shows his love of Anglican psalmody, lively musicianship, and care for phrasing and words.
Songs and Praises
Favourite hymns from the Australian Hymn Book, Vol. 3. Choir and organ fill Trinity College Chapel, Melbourne, with the thrilling sound that hymn lovers know so well.
Hymns For All Seasons
Sixteen further hymns from Cantus Choro, recorded in the grand acoustic of St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne. The programme opens with Advent and follows the great events of the Christian year, with Norman Kaye at the organ and the Melbourne Brass Ensemble.
Sing Out With Joy
Cantus Choro, directed by Peter Chapman, sings seventeen favourite hymns from the Australian Hymn Book. Norman Kaye’s imaginative organ accompaniments give the well-known settings fresh dramatic shape and room for the choir to breathe.
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 is the musician and organist, without forgetting his acting career.
Members of Cantus Choro
Peter Chapman
Peter Chapman (1922–2006) was a choral conductor, singer and music teacher who 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 an Australian organist, composer and actor. Schooled in the French organ tradition, he brought bold colour, humour and improvisatory flair to the console, and is remembered equally for the quiet depth of his screen performances.
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).