From serene to silly, Cantus is in top form for annual Christmas concert

What kind of caroling would you like to hear this Christmas? Would you prefer it festive and fun, in order to raise your spirits after a difficult couple of years? Or do you seek something more reflective and wistful, calming and meditative?

The 2021 edition of "Christmas with Cantus" features all of the above, and throws in three engaging stories that match the moods of the music around them. The eight-man vocal group launched a 10-venue, 12-day tour of the Twin Cities metro area (plus a Rochester stop) midday Friday at its home base of Minneapolis' Westminster Presbyterian Church. And it proved the most exquisitely curated Christmas concert Cantus has presented among the dozen-plus I've experienced.

It was also extraordinarily well sung. As reverent as hymnody, as playful as Dr. Seuss, and sometimes swinging with the cachet of Mel Torme or Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, it was as joyful a celebration of the season's spirit as any caroling party you're likely to attend this year.

Cantus has centered its holiday programs around stories before, with members of the group taking turns reading passages while harmonies blend beautifully beneath and between them. This year's trio of tales are Gloria Houston's "The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree"; Cantus member Chris Foss' fresh creation, "Dakota and the Snow Phoenix"; and Dr. Seuss' delectable "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

Houston's popular children's book about an Appalachian family awaiting its patriarch's return from World War I is presented in such a lilting, lovely way that it might be the ideal bedtime story (and soundtrack) for restless kids when an online stream of this program becomes available on Dec. 17.

If it's calming you seek, there are beautiful arrangements of Elizabeth Poston's "Jesus Christ the Apple Tree" and "Silent Night." But tempos take an upward turn on a jazz-flavored "I Saw Three Ships" and a "Go Tell It on the Mountain" rooted in early 20th-century Southern gospel.

Longtime Cantus bass Foss deserves kudos for writing a new story song for the occasion in "Dakota and the Snow Phoenix." The surprise for me was that the piece was stronger lyrically than musically. Indeed, Foss has written a text that could find great success as a children's book, one about a freezing flock of geese, a wise grizzly bear and a message of eschewing others' judgment and finding your own identity.

But the group saved the fun for last, as the singers took turns flamboyantly channeling Seuss' legendary villain, the Grinch. They dropped in a couple of tunes from the animated TV special – "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" was a smile-inducing showcase for the lower voiced members – as well as a comical quartet version of "Must Be Santa" that inspired Friday's audience to violate the directive to hold their applause until the story was done.

And Sara Bareilles' "Love is Christmas" was lent a tender arrangement ideal for the Grinch's heart-enlarging epiphany, providing a soft landing after the Seuss-inspired frolicsome flights of fancy.

"Christmas with Cantus"

When and where: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, 12650 Johnny Cake Ridge Road, Apple Valley; 3 p.m. Sunday, Trinity Lutheran Church, 115 N. Fourth St., Stillwater; 7:30 p.m. Monday, Fridley High School Auditorium, 6000 W. Moore Lake Drive N.E., Fridley; 11 a.m. Thursday, Colonial Church of Edina, 6200 Colonial Way, Edina; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 17, Ordway Concert Hall, 345 Washington St., St. Paul; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18, Zumbro Lutheran Church, 624 Third Ave. S.W., Rochester; 3 p.m. Dec. 19, Hamline United Methodist Church, 1514 Englewood Ave., St. Paul; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 20, St. Bartholomew Catholic Church, 630 E. Wayzata Blvd., Wayzata; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 21, Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas, N. Cleveland Ave. and Laurel Ave., St. Paul.

Tickets: $5-$42, available at cantussings.org.

Streaming: Available Dec. 17-Jan. 2 at cantussings.org.

Rob Hubbard is a freelance Twin Cities classical music critic. Reach him at wordhub@yahoo.com.