cantus

[ kan-tuhs ]

noun

, plural can·tus.

1. cantus firmus.

cantus

/ ˈkæntəs /

noun

1. a medieval form of church singing; chant
2. Also calledcanto the highest part in a piece of choral music
3. (in 15th- or 16th-century music) a piece of choral music, usually secular, in polyphonic style

Word History and Origins

Origin of cantus¹

From Latin, dating back to 1580–90; canto

Word History and Origins

Origin of cantus¹

Latin: song, from canere to sing

Example Sentences

“The Selipskys, Cantus and Steins are joining the Rave Green as the club enters a critical and exciting time in its history,” Hanauer said in a news release.

From Seattle Times

The most arresting and emotionally resonant work came first, “Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven,” Dove’s prayerlike ballet for six dancers, to Arvo Pärt’s spacious and somber “Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten.”

From New York Times

For a conversation with him based around an exchange of pieces of music, I chose the “Water Cadenza” from Tan Dun’s “Water Passion” as an amuse-bouche, followed by the first movement of “Cantus Arcticus” by Einojuhani Rautavaara.

From New York Times

The second piece I picked for you is the beginning of the “Cantus Arcticus” by Rautavaara, a Finnish composer who died in 2016.

From New York Times

The next day he pairs Britten’s “Fanfare for St. Edmundsbury” with Arvo Pärt’s “Cantus in Memory of Britten,” before concluding with Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, with the elegant pianist Gilles Vonsattel as soloist.

From New York Times