In Celebration of the Human Voice - The Essential Musical Instrument

Cantemus Children's Choir

Group.

Cantemus was formed in 1975 as a primary school choir and continues to be the school choir of the Zoltan Kodaly primary school in Nyiregyhaza in Hungary. Like other school choirs the eldest members leave and new members join every year as part of the normal progression of the state school education system. While the school specialises in music due to its name it does this within the normal curriculum and the choir members have to learn and rehearse their music in addition to normal lessons.

Cantemus has however become a special choir because the standards and successes it has achieved have given it a national and international reputation. They have also led to the creation of two other choirs which have established their own international success and reputations. The first of these - Pro Musica - was formed for older girls who had left the primary school choir and it began its individual career by wining the GRAND PRIX of the Bartok Bela International Choir Competition in Debrecen in 1986. More recently the Cantemus Mixed Choir has been established for both male and female voices under the direction of Szabo Soma and this has also achieved major success at international level. The vocal sextet Banchieri has also been formed from choir members and again has travelled extensively, competed successfully at international level and recorded many CDs. Links to the web sites of these other groups are provided on the front page of this site.

Cantemus has been the foundation for all of these groups which have built on the achievements of the thirty years for which Cantemus has been in existence. The choir is as fresh and alive today as it ever has been and the best way to see this is at a formal concert, competition or even impromptu street entertainment when travelling abroad. We look forward to that meeting.

Discography

Displaying 1-3 of 3 items.

Cantemus Children's Choir : Bartok Choral Works

Review: Bartok's two- and three-part choruses for children's and female voices, his best-known choral cycle worldwide, appears at first sight to be distinct from the rest of his oeuvre. It is a textually inspired composition, whose arrival might seem unexpected in the period when he composed large instrumental works in the consolidated classical style, such as the String Quartet No. 5 (1934), the Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (1936), and the Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion (1937). Yet it sits easily in relation to his oeuvre as a whole.

Songlist: Tavasz, Ne Hagyj Itt, Joszag-igezo, Level az Otthoniakhoz, Jatek, Leanynezo, Hejja, Hejja, Karahejja, Ne Menj El, Van Egy Gyurum, Karica, Senkim a Vilagon, Ciposutes, Huszarnota, Resteknek Notaja, Bolyongas, Lanycsufolo, Legenycsufolo, Mihalynapi Koszonto, Leanykero, Keserves, Madardal, Csujogato, Banat, Ne Lattalak Volna!, Elment a Madarka, Parnas Tancdal, Kanon, Isten Veled!

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Cantemus Children's Choir : Choral Music of Kodaly 7

Review: Hungary's most famous and innovative composer, Zoltan Kodaly explains his artistic mission thus: "One must write original works, whose point of departure, in their texts and melodies, is the child's soul and the child's voice." One of Kodaly's main interests was the teaching of singing in schools, and conductor Denes Szabo has followed that path, beginning at Primary School No. 4 in Nyiregyhaza in 1969. He directs the school's Cantemus Children's Chorus in 21 of Kodaly's compositions for children's, youth and female choruses, like "See the gypsies," "Evening song," "Seven easy children's choruses," "Hippity hoppity," "Honey, honey," "Gypsy lament," "St. Gregory's Day," "Angels and Shepherds" and "Epiphany." Spirited, award-winning Cantemus, directed by Szabo, is the perfect choice to sing this difficult, beautiful material. "Choral Music of Kodaly 7" is a treat!

Songlist: See the gypsies, Evening song, Seven easy children's choruses, Dancing song, Stork song, Hippity, hoppity, Six humorous canons, Honey, honey, King Laszlo's men, Gypsy lament, Cohors generosa, Horatii carmen, Greeting on St John's Day, St Gregory's Day, Geneva Psalm CL, A Christmas carol, Hymn to St Stephen, Angels and shepherds, Epiphany, Whitsuntide

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Cantemus Children's Choir : Lajos Bardos

Review: Hungarian master composer Lajos Bardos (1899-1987) was an outstanding figure of the prominent generation of students of Kodaly and Bartok who, inspired by their ideas, did much for Hungarian musical culture. As with Kodaly and Bartok, after becoming a master, Bardos taught generations coming after him and was an active choral conductor (for the Cecilia Chorus, the Budapest Chorus and others) for decades. His work as a composer is represented on this disc by a selection of choruses for children's and female voices. Denes Szabo directs the Cantemus Children's Choir and Pro Musica in these 27 lively choral works: "Cantemus!," "On Sunny Roads," "Awake You, Youth," "Blow the Pipe," "Three Choruses for Children," the dramatic "Recruiting Song of the Hussars," "Breeze," "Hey, Put It Right!," the 2-part "The Bride," "To Ferenc Liszt," "In Memory of Bartok," "Summer-Sunday," "Gold-Winged Angel," and the sacred songs "Ave Maris Stella," "Ave Maria" and "The Blessed Virgin Mary." There is piano accompaniment on a few tunes. The high, bright voices of the children go perfectly with this material by a man whose life and work remain a gift to Hungary and to the world.

Songlist: Cantemus!, On Sunny Roads, Awake You, Youth!, Fairy Song, Blow the Pipe, Kutamen - Three Choruses for Children, Recruiting Song of the Hussars, Breeze, Hey, Put It Right!, Rika, Rika, High is the Rue Tree, The Bride, Tavunga, To Ferenc Liszt, In Memory of Bartok, A Tale of Miracle, Summer - Sunday, St. Cecilia, Gold - Winged Angel, Ave Maris Stella, Ave Maria, The Blessed Virgin Mary

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