What is a Cantor?

What is a “Cantor?”

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

July 20, 2014

Since the recent announcement that I have accepted the position of Cantor at Gustavus Adolphus College, effective August 1, several members of the First Lutheran congregation have approached me and asked “Why that title?  I though the cantor is the person who leads the Psalms on Sunday mornings.”

The confusion is understandable.  For many years, “cantor” has been the title designated to the assisting minister who leads the responsive singing of the Psalms and other sung portions of the worship liturgy.   However, as an official title, the word has been part of the language of the church for quite some time – since the Middle Ages at least.    Its root is Latin, based upon the verb “to sing,” and it denotes the chief responsibility of the title holder to lead the song of the congregation.   This emphasis upon singing asserts the primary need of a congregation to raise its voice together as one body in worship.  The “cantor” facilitates the song, in many and various ways.  Thus, a musician skilled at the organ or piano, guitar or percussion, or any other musical instrument, can be considered the “cantor” if the responsibility is to lead the communal song.

Herbert Neuchterlein provides this historical perspective in his article in “Key Words in Church Music.”[i]  The title historically has enjoyed a strong connection with both church and academia.   In Medieval times, the Cantor was the official responsible for the music in monastic, cathedral, and collegiate settings.  At this time, the ability to lead the choir, as a singer, was the most important skill of the Cantor.  Administrative duties included selecting appropriate music (mostly choral) and organizing the choir.  Prior to the Reformation, the cantor was likely a member of the clergy, but societal changes in the sixteenth-century transformed that expectation and other components of the job.  Cantors became responsible for teaching (often Latin) and were employed not by the church but by a municipality.  Johann Sebastian Bach is perhaps the best known “Cantor;” he was employed by the city of Leipzig to oversee the music at four city churches and to teach in the Latin school.  Employers at this time considered not only musical ability, but “educational qualifications, teaching experience, religious beliefs, and personal conduct.”[ii]

Lutherans have often preferred the term Cantor to describe the church musician.  This may be an historical nod to the precedent set by musicians such as Heinrich Schütz and J. S. Bach. For an academic setting such as Gustavus, the term Cantor is quite appropriate, considering Neuchterlein’s observation “because of his dual role in the school and the church, the German cantor provided an important liaison between the clergy and the teaching staff.”[iii]  Lutherans have also respected the term because of the theological importance designated to music as a primary means to proclaim the Word of God.  

Last, a couple of quips from the poster “The Role of the Cantor,” produced by the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians.  One, “the cantor uses whatever musical resources are available, using them in a manner appropriate to the talents of those serving and the needs of the people who are served.”[iv]  Two, “the cantor leads the earthly assembly in a foretaste of John’s vision of the heavenly assembly in which all creatures give praise, honor, glory and power to the Lamb.”[v]

---

[i] Herbert Neuchterlein, “Cantor,” in Key Words in Church Music, ed. Carl Schalk, Revised and Enlarged Edition (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2004), 71 – 73.

[ii] Ibid., 72.

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] “The Role of the Cantor,” poster produced by the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, www.alcm.org

[v] Ibid.