Gloriæ Dei Cantores is a 40 voice choir based in Orleans, Massachusetts, under the direction of Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Richard K. Pugsley.
History
"Gloriæ Dei Cantores" was founded in 1988 by Elizabeth C. Patterson, who served as its Director/Conductor until 2012. It is based at the Church of the Transfiguration in Orleans, Massachusetts. The "Gloriæ Dei Cantores Schola" specializes in Gregorian chant. The choir sings in 18 languages, and has appeared on the concert stage and in recordings with such artists as Gerre Hancock, Keith Lockhart, John Williams, Samuel Adler, Mark O'Connor, Stephen Cleobury, George Guest, Daniel Pinkham, and Margaret Hillis. It has toured in 23 countries in Europe, Asia, and North America. Highlights of the choir's career under Conductor Emeritus Elizabeth Patterson and current Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Richard K. Pugsley include three invitational tours of Russia, the opening of the 900th anniversary of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, Italy, live radio and television broadcasts with the BBC, film soundtracks, and the tree-lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Plaza. The choir's collaborative ventures have included ten Holiday Tours with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Orchestra, a sixteen-city US tour of Mozart's Requiem with Philippe Entremont and the Munich Symphony Orchestra, and performances of Mozart's Requiem with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic in Russia. In October 2017, the choir and its associated Elements Theatre Company presented at the Church of the Transfiguration, Vaughn Williams' opera, The Pilgrim's Progress, to celebrate 500 years of the Protestant Reformation. Recent concerts have featured Walton's The Twelve, Poulenc's Gloria Durufle's Requiem, Mozart's Mass in C minor, and Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem, in collaboration with soloists Andrew Nolen and Jossie Pérez. "Seamless ensemble, seductive phrasing", Los Angeles Times. "Lovely, pure and radiant", Gramophone; "Rapturous a cappella passages", Chicago Tribune.
Discography
The choir has released a number of recordings on their Paraclete Recordings label. Gordon Myers was Chairman of the Music Department, Columbia College, Columbia, South Carolina, from 1965 to 1968. He wrote a 90-minute choral work, "God’s Trombones by James Weldon Johnson" as his doctoral thesis, subsequently published by Eastlane Music Corporation. In 1996, Paraclete Press, the publishing house of the Community of Jesus, acquired the copyright. It was recorded by "Gloriæ Dei Cantores" in the mid 1990s. Using the masters, Paraclete Records prepared them for re-release in 2018. The Gloriæ Dei Cantores choir serves as chorus to Myers' baritone. C. Michael Bailey, writing for "All That Jazz" recommended the recording calling it, "...a very listenable collection of Bible tales..." "Alan Hovhaness: From the Ends of the Earth" received a favorable review from Music Web International's Dan Morgan, who noted the acoustics of the Church of the Transfiguration. In reviewing Mozart Rare Choral Works, Michael Cookson said, "...although there are episodes of unsteadiness and one or two uncomfortable vibratos it is hard to find too much fault with their performances." Gregorian chant
