Cantata Singers (New York, N.Y.)

The Cantata Singers was an amateur choir born out of professional scholarship and a desire to recreate authentic performances of the music of Bach and his predecessors with an emphasis on chamber chorus, chamber orchestra, and the acoustics of a stone-walled church.

Cantata Singers was founded in 1934 as Cantata Society of New York by Paul Boepple (1896-1970) as an adjunct of the Dalcroze School, of which Boepple was then director, and changed to Cantata Singers in 1936. The Cantata Singers was one of the first groups in the United States to attempt authentic performances of Baroque music and set a standard for basing performances on expert direction supported by methodical research. The story of the Cantata Singers is in large part the story of those scholars who directed the ensemble over time, such as: Paul Boepple, Arthur Mendel (1905-1979), Alfred Mann (1917-2006), Robert Hickok and Kenneth Cooper (1941- ). Kenneth Cooper was to be the last of the Cantata Singers' conductors taking over for the 1969-1970 season. The Cantata Singers were incorporated in Dec. 1941, with their stated purpose "to stimulate public interest in the performance of choral music, particularly that of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, in the style of its period; and to offer the public an opportunity to hear this music and its membership the opportunity to sing it and thereby to contribute to the education of the musical public." Over time the Cantata Singers' repertoire was expanded to include works from the Baroque all the way up to and including music of the 20th century. During 1969-1970 the organization faced the ongoing challenge of meeting expenses and now had difficulty attracting and retaining members, especially with filling the sections of men's voices. The organization to all intents and purposes ceased to exist after June 1970. Its only activity during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1971, was to try to raise money from members and friends to pay off some of the debts it had incurred.

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