About Cantico

Who we are, in brief

Cantico is a group of Catholic church musicians in Singapore providing sacred music for weddings and Funeral Masses, from a solo cantor to a full choir. We sing as a cantor, with an accompanist, as a small SATB ensemble or as a full choir, depending on the occasion and what the parish allows. Our singers and musicians serve alongside full-time work, and all of us sing regularly in parish liturgy.

What the name means

Cantico (KAN-tee-koh) is Italian for canticle: a song of praise drawn from scripture.

Three canticles are sung every day in the Church’s prayer, the Liturgy of the Hours. Zechariah’s Benedictus greets the morning. Mary’s Magnificat rejoices at a new life beginning. And Simeon’s Nunc Dimittis gives thanks for a life brought peacefully to its close.

A song at the beginning, and a song at the end. That is what we are for: music at the two moments a family most needs it. A wedding, where a new life together begins, and a funeral, where a life is commended to God.

Who sings with us

Cantico is a rotating group of church musicians. The singers and accompanists who join us for a wedding or a funeral are drawn from across Singapore’s parishes, and every one of them already sings regularly in parish liturgy. They know the Mass, they know how to lead a congregation, and they understand that the music is there to serve the prayer.

We don’t list individual members. The group changes from booking to booking, depending on the date, the arrangement and who is free, and many of our singers prefer to keep the focus on the music rather than on themselves. What stays the same is how we prepare: dedicated rehearsal for every occasion, the right music for each moment, and care in every detail.

Depending on what you need, we can come as:

• a cantor who sings and plays
• a cantor with an accompanist on piano, organ or guitar
• an SATB ensemble of four to six voices with an accompanist
• a full choir of sixteen to twenty
• a choir with additional musicians, by arrangement

If you sing in a parish choir and would like to join us occasionally, sing with us.

A note from Mark

I’ve sung with Caritas Christi Choir at the Church of the Transfiguration in Punggol since 2019. I’m a baritone, and depending on what the choir needs, I sing either the tenor or the bass line. Since 2023 I’ve also taught Confirmation classes in my parish.

Singing in the choir loft week after week, you see what music does at the big moments in people’s lives. A well-sung psalm at a wedding, or a familiar hymn at a funeral, can carry a family’s prayer when words aren’t enough. You also see how often couples and families struggle to find musicians for those moments, especially when their own parish choir isn’t available.

I started Cantico to help with that: to give couples and families sacred music that makes their wedding, a sacrament, truly memorable, and to offer the same care to families saying goodbye to someone they love. Cantico is my own initiative, and it sits alongside my parish commitments, not in place of them.

What we believe sacred music is for

Music that serves the liturgy.

We believe music should serve the liturgy, not compete with it. At a wedding or a funeral, the music’s work is to help the whole church pray: to lead the congregation in the psalm and the hymns, to give the quieter moments room to breathe, and to carry the prayers of the people gathered there. It is not a performance for guests to watch. When it’s done well, people don’t leave talking about the singers. They leave having prayed.

How we work with parishes

Every parish has its own customs and requirements, and we respect them. Before each celebration, we liaise with the parish music coordinator or wedding coordinator, confirm the music list, and fit around the parish’s rehearsal times and any guidance on hymns, instruments or equipment. Where a parish has its own musicians, we’re glad to work alongside them.

Cantico is an independent group of Catholic musicians. We are not a parish ministry or an archdiocesan body, and we are not endorsed by any parish. We come as guests, and we try to leave every church as we found it: with the liturgy well served.

Where we serve

We sing at parish churches across Singapore, and at funeral parlours, Catholic wake chapels, void decks and homes for wake services. Wherever your parish is, ask us.