Cantus Opens 2020-21 Season With THERE LIES THE HOME

On Friday, October 2, the Twin Cities based men's vocal ensemble Cantus will launch the first concert of the 2020-21 season, entitled There Lies the Home.

The program celebrating sea travel and exploration - originally planned for the ensemble's spring 2020 home concert series - will be made available to audiences online October 2-4 on a pay-what-you-can model. There Lies the Home marks the first of several online concerts that Cantus has developed to continue sharing music during the ongoing pandemic.

Few journeys on our planet are more dangerous than those across the oceans. There Lies the Home honors the courage, despair, and yearning of those who traverse these tumultuous blue unknowns seeking opportunity or adventure, as well as those fleeing persecution or stolen from their homes. With repertoire spanning riveting sea shanties as "Shenandoah," traditional spirituals like "Steal Away," and the Lake Superior folk classic "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," There Lies the Home weaves together stories of the journey, what's left behind, and what's just beyond that blue horizon.

Thanks to careful quarantine and creativity, Cantus has been able to continue making music during the pandemic. The group's small size has allowed its members to sing together under protocols developed with guidance from medical professionals. To safely create and capture There Lies the Home, the ensemble quarantined intensively for two weeks, underwent tests for COVID-19, and then rehearsed and recorded together in isolation in Decorah, Iowa at what the members of the ensemble dubbed "Camp Cantus."

There Lies the Home is the first program of Cantus' 2020-21 season, which includes two additional online concerts: On November 6, Brave will be broadcast LIVE from the Ordway in St. Paul and available online through November 8; Christmas with Cantus: Lessons and Carols for Our Time will be available December 11-13 and 18-20.

Cantus' online concerts are available on a pay-what-you-can model, with a suggested price of $20 per household per concert. Tickets for online concerts can be purchased on the Cantus website. Attendees who purchase tickets will receive an e-mail with a link to the webpage for the online concert, available for 48-hours.

There Lies the Home

Friday, October 2 at 7:30 pm through Sunday, October 4 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: Pay-what-you-can with a suggested price of $20 per household
Tickets available online or by calling 612-435-0055

Repertoire to include:
Hinbarra - Michael McGlynn
Sunayama - Japanese Folk Song by Shinpei Nakayama, arr. Jacob Christopher
Alfonsina y El Mar - Ariel Ramírez & Félix Luna
Super Flumina - Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Steal Away - Traditional Spiritual, arr. Stacey V. Gibbs
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot
This Brightening Silence - Kathleen Allan
Long Time Traveler - Traditional Sacred Harp Hymn
Shenandoah - Traditional American Folk Song, arr. Chris Foss

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