Chanticleer Reconnects with Loyal Home State Audiences, Touring “Labyrinths” and “A Chanticleer Christmas” Programs This Fall and Winter (Sep 18–24, Dec 11–23)
Chanticleer (photo: Stephen K Mack)
Multiple Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer – a group that “fascinates and enthralls … through luxurious perfection” (Los Angeles Times) – embarks on its 45th season in 2022-23, devoting two tours in the fall and winter to its loyal fan base in the vicinity of its Bay Area home (Sep 18–24; Dec 11–23). In the fall, the group tours its “Labyrinths” program, which explores the journey through life’s labyrinth and the storms that arise on the way. The repertoire touches on the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, Icarus’s ill-fated flight to the sun, the unforeseeable twists and turns of ordinary life, and the final return home. Past Chanticleer commissions by Stephen Paulus and Zhou Tian are featured along with an eclectic selection of music from Josquin des Prez, Joni Mitchell, Caroline Shaw, George Walker, Trevor Weston, and more. December sees the return of the group’s beloved holiday program, “A Chanticleer Christmas,” which previously reached national audiences through a PBS special and multiple appearances on NBC’s Today show, and also furnished the repertoire for the ensemble’s latest Grammy-winning album. From its opening candlelit chant procession to its triumphant gospel conclusion, the program hearkens back to some of the group’s most cherished traditions and the original vision of its founder, Louis Botto. In addition to Christmas performances throughout the Bay Area, the group will also tour the country in December with stops in New York, Chicago, Louisville and Los Angeles (Dec 2–9 & 13). A performance of “Silent Night” from 2020’s virtual Christmas concert can be seen here.
Music Director Tim Keeler explains:
“’Labyrinths’ is about the twists and turns we take in our lives – some expected, some unexpected. Everybody’s labyrinth is different, and this program offers us a chance to explore those unique trajectories across cultures and time. Chanticleer’s repertoire is vast, and one of the things I cherish most about the ensemble is its ability to explore similar themes across the centuries and across genres. Our Christmas program, for instance, always features incredibly diverse styles of music that all tell the Christmas story in their own unique way.”
Chanticleer’s President and General Director, Philip Wilder, who began his career as a countertenor with the ensemble, praises the group’s hometown audiences:
“As we approach the opening of Chanticleer’s 45th anniversary season, we are especially grateful for the enormous support we have received from our friends in our San Francisco Bay Area home. Since our first concert on June 27, 1978, at the San Francisco Mission, thousands of people across the Bay Area have been stalwart supporters of Chanticleer’s mission – allowing us the space to explore new repertoire and to be one of the most prolific commissioners of new choral works in the world. We continue that important work this season with our new Composer-in-Residence Ayanna Woods and are extremely proud to share the staggering artistry and virtuosity of our current ensemble throughout this anniversary year.”
Chanticleer’s Bay Area concert venues encompass some of the most magnificent acoustical and architectural spaces in the region. From landmarks like First Church Berkeley and San Francisco’s St. Ignatius Church to the historic Carmel Mission and Mission Santa Clara, and even the magnificent Beaux Arts Green Room at San Francisco’s War Memorial Opera House, each of the venues lends its own unique character to the group’s distinctive blend.
Prior to the pandemic, the twelve-voice ensemble – performing repertoire that spans ten centuries, from Gregorian chant, Renaissance polyphony and Romantic art song to contemporary music, jazz, spirituals and world music – kept up a schedule of approximately 100 performances a year around the world, cultivating an enormous and unswervingly loyal global family. Chanticleer’s latest album, Chanticleer Sings Christmas, released late in 2020 when live performances were out of the question, was lauded by Classics Today for “the beauty and sumptuous blend the choir achieves … and the seasoned performance style that brings each selection to its fullest expression.” The album joins a catalogue of more than 40 titles, released over four decades, which have sold well over a million copies.
About Chanticleer
The Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer is known around the world as “an orchestra of voices” for its wide-ranging repertoire and dazzling virtuosity. Founded in San Francisco in 1978 by singer and musicologist Louis Botto, Chanticleer quickly took its place as one of the most prolific recording and touring ensembles in the world, selling more than one million recordings and performing thousands of live concerts to audiences around the globe.
Rooted in the Renaissance, Chanticleer’s repertoire has been expanded to include a wide range of classical, gospel, jazz and popular music and to reflect a deep commitment to the commissioning of new compositions and arrangements. The ensemble has dedicated much of its vast recording catalogue to these commissions, garnering Grammy Awards for its recordings of Sir John Tavener’s Lamentations & Praises and the ambitious collection of commissioned works entitled Colors of Love. Chanticleer is the recipient of Chorus America’s Dale Warland Singers Commission Award and the Chorus America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming. During his tenure with Chanticleer, its Music Director Emeritus Joseph H. Jennings received the Chorus America Brazeal Wayne Dennard Award for his contribution to the African American choral tradition.
Named for the “clear-singing” rooster in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Chanticleer continues to maintain ambitious programming in its hometown of San Francisco, including a large education and outreach program, and an annual concert series that includes its legendary holiday tradition, “A Chanticleer Christmas.”
High-resolution photos can be found here.
chanticleer.org
twitter.com/ChanticleerSF
facebook.com/ChanticleerSings
youtube.com/channel/Chanticleer
instagram.com/chanticleersf
Labyrinths
Sep 18 at 5pm
Sacramento, CA
St. John’s Lutheran Church
Sep 20 at 7:30pm
Berkeley, CA
First Church Berkeley
Sep 22 at 7:30pm
Santa Clara, CA
Mission Santa Clara
Sep 23 & 24 at 7:30pm
San Francisco, CA
Green Room, War Memorial Opera House
A Chanticleer Christmas
Dec 2 & 4 at 8pm
New York, NY
Church of St. Ignatius Loyola
Dec 6 & 7 at 7:30pm
Chicago, IL
Fourth Presbyterian Church
Dec 9 at 7:30pm
Louisville, KY
Cathedral of the Assumption
Dec 11 at 6pm
Oakland, CA
Cathedral of Christ the Light
Dec 13 at 8pm
Los Angeles, CA
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Dec 16 at 5pm & 7:30pm
Petaluma, CA
St. Vincent de Paul
Dec 17 & 18 at 8pm
San Francisco, CA
St. Ignatius Church
Dec 20 at 8pm
Sacramento, CA
Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament
Dec 21 at 6pm & 8:30pm
Carmel, CA
Carmel Mission
Dec 22 at 4pm & 6:30pm
Santa Clara, CA
Mission Santa Clara
Dec 23 at 7:30pm
Berkeley, CA
First Church Berkeley