Cantus: A Database for Latin Ecclesiastical Chant - Inventories of Chant Sources
Cantus is a database of the Latin chants found in manuscripts and early printed books, primarily from medieval Europe. This searchable digital archive holds inventories of antiphoners and breviaries -- the main sources for the music sung in the Latin liturgical Office -- as well as graduals and other sources for music of the Mass.
New phases of the project include adding chant melodies to existing records, and indexing other types of chant manuscripts, including processionals, pontificals, and sources that contain sequences.
The Cantus Database is a part of the Cantus Index network of chant databases.
For our full catalogue of chants as well as access to the integrated network of partner databases, see Cantus Index (Catalogue of Chant Texts and Melodies).
Funding for the development and maintenance of the Cantus Database and Cantus Index is provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada through the Partnership Grant (895-2023-1002) held by the Digital Analysis of Chant Transmission project administered at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia (Principal Investigator: Jennifer Bain). The Cantus Database website is hosted on the Digital Research Alliance of Canada. Access to the Cantus Database and Cantus Index is free, in accordance with the aims of the International Musicological Society’s Study Group Cantus Planus which include the exchange of data in electronic form.
Following the Tri-Agency Statement on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), the Cantus Database, while committed to excellence in research and research training, recognizes that achieving a more equitable, diverse and inclusive Canadian research enterprise is essential to creating the innovative and impactful research necessary to advance knowledge and understanding, and to respond to local, national and global challenges. The Cantus Database will work with those involved in the research system to develop the inclusive culture needed for research excellence and to achieve outcomes that are rigorous, relevant and accessible to diverse populations.