Chanticleer

Chanticleer stands alone as the United States’ sole independent, full-time classical vocal ensemble. Formed in 1978, the group quickly earned widespread acclaim for its performances across an array of musical styles, while its distinctive bell-like timbre established a fresh benchmark for vocal ensembles. Although launched specifically to explore Renaissance vocal music, Chanticleer has since traveled the globe and produced more than twenty recordings. Its usual a cappella approach has been supplemented by singular ventures such as a fully staged opera, sessions of jazz standards alongside the Don Haas Trio, and collaborations with the Japanese dancers Eiko and Koma. The ensemble’s programming extends from Gregorian chant through twentieth-century popular songs.

In 1978 musicology graduate student Louis Botto, troubled by the scarcity of live presentations of sacred Renaissance vocal works, assembled singers to revive this overlooked literature. To honor the male-only practice of the Renaissance era, he recruited colleagues from the San Francisco Symphony Chorus and Grace Cathedral’s Choir of Men and Boys. Rehearsals led to an inaugural concert in San Francisco’s historic Mission Dolores, featuring pieces by Byrd, Ockeghem, Morley, Dufay, and Josquin—composers whose music would remain central to the group’s programs. The name Chanticleer, drawn from the clear-singing rooster in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, was proposed by baritone Charlie Erikson while he was reading the poem.

Between 1978 and 1990 the ensemble retained its Renaissance foundation yet began exploring other idioms; during this period membership fluctuated before stabilizing at twelve voices. A notable early milestone occurred in 1980 when the singers appeared at San Francisco’s Festival of Masses under Robert Shaw, who afterward described their standalone recital as “one of the most beautiful musical experiences” of his life. The arrival of countertenor Joseph Jennings in 1983 marked a decisive shift; fellow members soon invited him to serve as the ensemble’s first music director, and his luminous tone together with his inventive arrangements have since defined Chanticleer’s sound.

A 1984 appearance at a major scholarly conference in Belgium introduced the group to international early-music listeners. Shortly thereafter Chanticleer founded its own label and issued a tenth-anniversary recording in 1988. Over the following six years the ensemble released ten additional discs on that imprint; strong concert sales prompted Teldec Classics International to offer an exclusive contract in 1994, bringing the recordings to audiences throughout North America and overseas. Financial stability achieved by 1991 allowed all twelve members to become full-time employees, supporting expanded touring and broader artistic initiatives. Subsequent projects have included performances and recordings with the London Studio Orchestra, jazz pianist George Shearing, and the New York Philharmonic.

In 1994 the ensemble presented a widely praised staged production of Benjamin Britten’s Curlew River. Three years later it recorded Mexican Baroque works by Manuel de Zumaya and Ignacio de Jerusalem with an orchestra of period instruments. Numerous commissions have been awarded to leading late-twentieth-century composers, among them David Conte, Morton Gould, Bernard Rands, and Chen Yi, who served as composer-in-residence from 1993 to 1996. A compilation of these new pieces appeared on the 1999 release Colors of Love.