Canticum Novum Singers – Harold Rosembaum, Musical Director
Reviews
May 7, 2007
Harold Rosenbaum's adventurous and expert chorus...
The New Yorker
December 29, 2005
Solid, colorful rendering of Host's suite by the orchestra and, offstage, by women of the Canticum Novum Singers.
Allan Kozinn, The New York Times
December 29, 2005
P.D.Q. Bach has become a durable industry, and Mr. Schickele's annual concerts have become ornaments of the holiday season as well... Mr. Schickele's roster of fine musicians included..., The Canticum Novum Singers, conducted by Harold Rosenbaum, ...all of whom contributed straight-facedly as Mr. Schickele made an art of tomfoolery.
Allan Kozinn, The New York Times
April 18, 2005
In its rousing climax, the composer's setting of Friedrich Schiller's "Ode to Joy," the combined efforts of the New York Virtuoso Singers, Canticum Novum Singers, and the University of Buffalo Choir, directed by Harold Rosenbaum, made the choral contribution a powerful one.
Bruce-Michael Gelbert, TheaterScene.net
April 18, 2005
The Brooklyn Philharmonic…celebrated its 50th anniversary… On Saturday evening at the Brooklyn Academy of Music… Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Mr. Christie's account of the Beethoven Ninth Symphony was brisk and generally solid... The combined New York Virtuoso Singers, Canticum Novum Singers and University at Buffalo Choir sang with a celebratory robustness.
Allan Kozinn, New York Times
May 19, 2002
The skilled choral conductor Harold Rosenbaum works with several groups, including the Canticum Novum Singers, who are particularly noted for their work in early music. Tomorrow night the singers present an interesting program...
Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times
April 27, 2001
Chamber choruses don’t come any better than The Canticum Novum Singers , directed by Harold Rosenbaum.
Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times
May 5, 2000
Harold Rosenbaum’s estimable and adventurous band of singers offers Britten, Isaac…
Bernard Holland, The New York Times
May 14, 1999
This chamber choir, directed by Harold Rosenbaum, typically gives well-prepared performances of programs that are interesting and diverse.
Allan Kozinn, The New York Times
December 18, 1998
Canticum Novum. In its annual holiday concert this finely polished chorus, directed by Harold Rosenbaum, offers six centuries of music…
Allan Kozinn, The New York Times
May 15, 1998
Finally, the big day. Here divided between afternoon and evening concerts, are no fewer than 11 of the 25 cantatas the chorus (Canticum Novum Singers) is
presenting this season to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Harold Rosenbaum conducts with an expert hand, and if the band of period instruments plays as well as the chorus sings, this should be all any Bach lover could want in one day, maybe more.
James Oestreich, The New York Times
December 19, 1997
The choir, conducted by Harold Rosenbaum, is one of several finely blended ensembles that keep New York City’s choral life lively and interesting.
Allan Kozinn, The New York Times
November 25, 1997
A fine chorus…Mr. Rosenbaum is an excellent chorus master, and he achieved a refined and restrained sound from his 26 singers.
James Oestreich, The New York Times
November 21, 1997
An elite chorus.
James Oestreich, The New York Times
September 7, 1997
An excellent chorus, directed by Harold Rosenbaum.
James Oestreich, The New York Times
1997
Although I have only worked with the Canticum Novum Singers once in my life, this was sufficient for me to decide that the choir is one of the best choirs, not only in New York, but in the whole of the Eastern United States.
Sir Charles Mackerras
December 28, 1996
Peter Schickele has been presenting his seminars on P.D.Q. Bach’s life, times and music since 1965 and is offering his latest findings at Carnegie Hall…Mr. Schickele shared the podium with Harold Rosenbaum, whose Canticum Novum Singers were disguised as the Okay Chorale and kamikaze Choir…”Two Hearts, Four Lips and Three Little Words”, an often gorgeous choral setting…Wilbur Pauley, Harold Rosenbaum and Peter Schickele sang “Art of the Ground Round” in a lowlight of the program.
Allan Kozinn, The New York Times
December 18, 1995
Sir Charles Mackerras and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s marched to their own drummer on Saturday night at Carnegie Hall with Berlioz’s kindest and gentlest choral work, “L’enfance du Christ.”…The Canticum Novum Festival Singers made handsome work of Berlioz’s choruses. The men alone were cohesive and burnished, and the women’s unseen Angels, heard in crystalline tones floating down from Carnegie’s rear balcony, were, well, angelic.
Shirley Fleming, The New York Post
December 18, 1995
The performance Sir Charles Mackerras led with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the Canticum Novum Singers at Carnegie Hall on Saturday night was serene, literate and deeply satisfying. The Canticum Novum singers (Harold Rosenbaum, director) sang with full ness and clarity.
Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times
November 13, 1995
And now for something completely different: Max Bruch’s “Odysseus”…No one but the indefatigable Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra would have dusted off this Hellenic curio…I liked Botstein’s affectionate and committed performance of “Odysseus”, the spirited contributions of the Canticum Novum Festival Singers, and the warmly expressive singing of Jeffrey Kneebone and Mary Ann McCormick.
Peter G. Davis, New York Magazine
November 13, 1995
Mr. Botstein’s forces, The American Symphony and the Canticum Novum Singers, had the sprawling score (Max Bruch’s oratorio “Odyssseus”) well in hand. “Odysseus now really belongs on records. It would be nice if these performers could put it there.
James R. Oestreich, The New York Times
January 16, 1995
The Canticum Novum Festival Singers showed the benefit of Harold Rosenbaum’s training here (Bruckner’s Psalm 146) and in two sentimental bits of Bruckneriana for male chorus, “Germanenzug” and Abendzauber”.
James R. Oestreich, The New York Times
October 1, 1994
The opening concert of the American Symphony Orchestra season at Avery Fisher Hall celebrated the origins of impressionism in music with excerpts from Offenbach’s “La Vie Parisienne” and the rarely performed one-act opera by Bizet, Djamileh”…Harold Rosenbaum’s Canticum Novum Festival singers did very well by the choruses. Sunday’s concert attracted a large and enthusiastic audience.
Raoul Abdul, New York Amsterdam News
September 29, 1994
The Canticum Novum Festival Singers (Harold Rosenbaum, director) performed with gusto both as crowds of Parisians and as the carousing friends of an Egyptian slaveowner. The audience, refreshingly diverse, gave the performers a prolonged ovation.
Anthony Tommasini, New York Newsday
May 5, 1994
Harold Rosenbaum, the Canticum Novum Singers, and the New York Virtuoso Singers brought Bach’s B-minor Mass to Alice Tully Hall on Saturday night…an excellent combined choir and first-rate soloists…the sequence Et incarnates est-Crucifixus-Et resurresit was beautifully sustained. Slow tempos explored the wonders of Bach’s use of keys within keys. The progress from darkness to light was well thought out and deeply felt.
Bernard Holland, The New York Times
December 23, 1993
Harold Rosenbaum led his Canticum Novum Singers in an unusually varied collection of Christmas works on Saturday evening…It was sweetly sung, as were the chamber choir’s accounts of Marenzio’s…”Throw the Yule Log On, Uncle John” was brightly polished, and Honegger’s “Cantata de Noel” had a hearty, invigorating reading.
Allan Kozinn, The New York Times
December 28, 1991
It’s P.D.Q. Bach and his merry band back at Carnegie Hall. Where else would we hear a Safe Sextet or an onslaught of outrageous choruses? These were sung by Harold Rosenbaum’s Canticum Novum Vocalizers, an extraordinary cabal.
Bert Wechsler, Daily News
October 31, 1990
For this listener, the most moving composition on the program was (Berio’s) “Canticum Novissimi Testamenti,” an a cappella choral work performed by the Canticum Novum Singers, under the direction of Harold Rosenbaum.
Tim Page, Newsday
October 31, 1990
Only a choir as careful in intonation and as superbly drilled as Harold Rosenbaum’s Canticum Novum Singers could be expected to clarify its intricate textures (Berio’s Canticum Novissimi Testamenti).
Donal Henahan, The New York Times
June 5, 1990
The Canticum Novum’s well-conceived and wide ranging concert of English music…a superbly controlled yet expansive performance. The “Amen” at the conclusion of the Gloria (Byrd’s Mass for 5 Voices) was a model of balance and tuning…Both Britten works received strong performances...Mr. Rosenbaum can put together an interesting and demanding program, and on this occasion his forces met the challenge admirably.
James R. Oestreich, The New York Times
June 30, 1989
The evening offered at the 92nd Street Y by the Canticum Novum Singers and Orchestra so ably conducted by Harold Rosenbaum, was the kind of evening you enjoy and relish to the fullest and remember forever. It is not surprising to learn that this group under Mr. Rosenbaum, its founder, is now in its sixteenth season and has been hailed by critics and audience everywhere it has appeared…This was an evening I will never forget.
Lillie Rosen, Jewish Journal
June 17, 1989
Handel’s oratorio “Samson” was given a rare hearing Wednesday in the 92nd Street Y by the Canticum Novum Singers and Orchestra under Harold Rosenbaum. The performance in all facets was very fine, and authentic Baroque musical practices were observed.
Bill Zakariasen, Daily News
June 17, 1989
The Canticum Novum Singers seem never to be far from one of New York City’s concert stages. Besides its own series at Merkin Concert Hall, the group is regularly heard in larger productions that require a chamber chorus…This year’s undertaking was Handel’s oratorio “Samson,”…The choir, in “Samson,” serves as both the Philistine and Israelite crowds, and Mr. Rosenbaum made the most of the differences in the music Handel gave each side. As the Israelites, the choir produced a rich, velvety, beautifully blended sound. And while the blend was never sacrificed in the Philistine sections, Mr. Rosenbaum elicited a more direct, lusty tone…All told, Mr. Rosenbaum led his charges through a musicianly, communicative performance.
Allan Kozinn, The New York Times
June 16, 1989
Handel’s oratorio “Samson” received a stirring, dynamic performance Wednesday night by the Canticum Novum Singers at the 92nd Street Y…very fine chamber choir…Canticum Novum was a solid presence throughout this concert. Entrances were secure, matters of phrasing, dynamics and balance were well in hand. Ensemble sound was beautifully focused, with a lovely, glistening top that never veered from straight, true tone.
Susan Elliott, New York Post
November 3, 1988
The performance ended with the first American performances of five exquisitely harmonized choral works by Ravel. The Canticum Novum Singers put the works forth with a sweet, lush sound.
Allan Kozinn, The New York Times
November 2, 1988
The programming was most intriguing, as exemplified by the first integral U.S. performance of Maurice Ravel’s Five Works for Chorus and Orchestra…These works are simply gorgeous. The performance featuring the Canticum Novum Singers, seemed ideal.
Bill Zakariasen, Daily News
November 2, 1988
The Riverside Symphony premiered four early unpublished works by Maurice Ravel at Alice Tully Hall on Monday evening. The chorus was well-prepared and well-balanced.
Joan Kretschmer, New York Post
September 27, 1988
James Galway, wielding his golden flute and a pair of concertos, brought a measure of sprightliness and virtuosity to the opening concert of the Brooklyn Philharmonic’s 35th season last Friday evening at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. For the opening and closing works, the Brooklyn ensemble was joined by the Canticum Novum Singers. The choir’s contribution to Bach’s mournful Cantata No. 118, “O Jesu Christ Mein’s Lebens Licht,” was beautifully polished.
Alan Kozinn, The New York Times
June 6, 1988
One of New York’s finest small choruses – founder-conductor Harold Rosenbaum’s Canticum Novum – celebrated its 15th anniversary Saturday night with an all-Bach concert in Merkin Hall. All of the elements of superior choral work were here: precision entrances and cut-offs; an egoless blend; melismatic phrases delivered as if in one lone, continuous breath. Throughout the program the singers maintained an admirable straight, pure tone. The sopranos had a particularly ethereal sound.
Susan Elliott, New York Post
June 6, 1988
Mr. Rosenbaum’s readings are often remarkably eloquent. The choir was at its best in the motet “Jesus Meine Freude,” and Mr. Rosenbaum put his group’s finely blended sound to the service of elucidating the building and subsiding harmonic tensions in the nine sections Bach put between the simple hymn settings that begin and end the work.
Allan Kozinn, The New York Times
May 19, 1987
“Joshua,” one of the lesser known Handel oratorios, was performed most ably by the Canticum Novum Singers and Baroque Orchestra at the 92nd Street Y on Saturday evening. Harold Rosenbaum, the conductor, drew wonderful sounds from his chorus – energetic, expressive, clear, and sunny are the adjectives that come most quickly to mind. When the text read “the nations tremble at the dreadful sound,” their voices trembled and sounded full of dread, and when it read “Heav’n thunders, tempests roar, and groans on the ground,” there was a nice bit of groaning. Mr. Rosenbaum showed off a dramatic sensibility, adopting brisk tempos and pacing movements nicely.
Michael Kimmelman, New York Times
October 1985
What was meant to be, and was, the high point of the (annual American Guild of Organist) convention was the all-Handel program presented by Harold Rosenbaum and his Canticum Novum Singers. Quite frankly, this reviewer cannot recall when he last heard singing as good as this from both soloists and the ensemble, at an AGO convention.
Joseph Fitzer, The American Organist
August 19, 1985
The Canticum Novum Singers pull off a wonderful feat; their ravishing purity of tone is combined with a robust quality of expression that avoids the anemic and arty sound that used to be associated with early music groups. Their performance of one of the Bach motets was a high point of the concert season for me.
Peter Schickele
June 19, 1985
The solid and visionary director, Harold Rosenbaum, conducted. All should be well commended without exception.
Diario de Noticias, Madeira, Portugal
May 11, 1984
Canticum Novum is the chorus for me. We’ll do a lot more together. Thanks for all the fantastic work. —Lukas Foss
March 19, 1984
It may be that the time is ripe for the canonization of Charles Ives…For nearly 12 contagious hours the performers came and went, distinguished names ranging from Jan Gaetani and Paul Sperry to Canticum Novum and The American Composers Orchestra.
Edward Rothstein, The New York Times
February 1984
The wonderful Canticum Novum Singers
The Village Voice
December 21, 1983
The Canticum Novum Singers, under the direction of Harold Rosenbaum, sang with its customary clarity and graciousness, with chords and voices balanced and individual lines attended to without the ensemble being slighted…Henry Purcell’s “Magnificent and Nunc Dimitis” was elegantly songful. The soloists emerging out of the ranks of the chorus demonstrated why the chorus as a whole sounds musically acute because its members are.
Edward Rothstein, The New York Times
1983
The performers…were unequivocally superb, and notable especially for their welcome accenting of all opportunities for human expression.
Bill Zakariasen, Daily News
December 6, 1982
The Canticum Novum Singers were beautifully prepared by their director, Harold Rosenbaum. There was much love in these performances…Elegantly songful.
Bernard Holland, The New York Times
November 3, 1982
The adventurous Bel Canto Opera presented on Saturday the United States premiere of Johann Christian Bach’s 1772 “Temistacle.”…The Bel Canto Opera rightly realized that if only one cause could be served in this production it should be that of Bach’s music. As a result, the casting was highly professional…The Canticum Novum Singers brought focus and energy to the choral passages.
Tim Page, The New York Times
June 14, 1982
Harold Rosenbaum, the conductor of the Canticum Novum Singers, is a gifted musician and an excellent technician. His singers are well trained and respond enthusiastically with vibrant performances of a most skillfully selected, varied repertory. This group is a valuable addition to our concert life.
William Schuman
March 9, 1981
At the end of February, in Alice Tully Hall, Continuum presented a concert devoted to the late music of Debussy. It was good to hear vocal and choral works, and the famous Charles d’Orleans settings, incisively done by the Canticum Novum Singers.