What is "cantus"

n. 1 (context music English) A melody or song, particularly ecclesiastical. 2 (context music English) The principal voice.

A cantus ( Latin for "singing", derived from cantare), is an activity organised by Belgian, Dutch, French, Baltic and Afrikaans student organisations and fraternities. A cantus mainly involves singing traditional songs and drinking beer. It is governed by strict traditional rules. The use of this dates back a few centuries and was inspired by German student organisations; however some of the songs that are sung date back to the Middle Ages. Cantus probably shares same roots with Commercium, Sitsit and Tableround.

Cantus is a nine-member male vocal a cappella ensemble based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

Cantus may refer to:

• Cantus, an activity organised by Flemish and Dutch and Baltic student organisations and fraternities
• Cantus (database), a database for Latin ecclesiastical chant
• Cantus (vocal ensemble), a nine-member a cappella ensemble in Minnesota
• Cantus firmus, a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition
• Cantus Records of Madrid, Spain
• Cantus the Minstrel, a character from Fraggle Rock
• Cantus may refer to the uppermost voice in medieval music manuscripts
• Cantus Verkehrsgesellschaft, a railway company in Germany
• Cantus (software)
• Cantus In Memoriam Benjamin Britten, a composition by Arvo Pärt
• Cantus (Norwegian female choir)
• Cantus, a song by 'Faith and the Muse' from their 1996 album Annwyn, Beneath the Waves

Cantus is a Norwegian female choir founded in 1986. It consists of around 30 amateur singers, and is based in Trondheim. Their director is Tove Ramlo-Ystad.

Despite being an amateur choir, they keep holding a very good international standard, and have shown this through winning several competitions through the years.

Cantus won the 1st Xinghai Prize International Choir Championships in Guangzhou, China (2012), and is ranked as number 1 in their class, and 8th best in the world, on the webpages of interkultur.com.

In 2013, Cantus appears on the soundtrack of the Disney animated movie Frozen, with a Sámi inspired piece written by Frode Fjellheim and movie composer Christophe Beck