cantor

cantor
/kan"teuhr, -tawr/, n.
1. the religious official of a synagogue who conducts the liturgical portion of a service and sings or chants the prayers and parts of prayers designed to be performed as solos.
2. an official whose duty is to lead the singing in a cathedral or in a collegiate or parish church; a precentor.
[1530-40; < L: singer, equiv. to can(ere) to sing + -tor -TOR]

* * *

In Judaism and Christianity, an official in charge of music or chants.

In Judaism the ḥazzan (cantor) leads liturgical prayer and chanting. In medieval Christianity the cantor had charge of a cathedral's music
specifically, of supervising the choir's singing. The term also designated the head of a college of church music.

* * *

▪ ecclesiastical official
(Latin: “singer”),also spelled  Kantor,  also called  Chanter,  Hebrew  Ḥazzan (“overseer”),  also spelled  Ḥazan, Chazzan, or Chazan,  

      in Judaism and Christianity, an ecclesiastical official in charge of music or chants.

      In Judaism the cantor, or ḥazzan, directs liturgical prayer in the synagogue and leads the chanting. He may be engaged by a congregation to serve for an entire year or merely to assist at the ceremonies of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Cantors in many American congregations also act as religious-school directors.

      In former times the duties of the Jewish ḥazzan ranged over a broad area: he had overall care of the synagogue, announced the beginning and the end of the sabbath, removed the Torah scrolls from the ark of the Law and replaced them after the service, cared for the sick and the needy, and saw to the religious education of children. His knowledge of music and Hebrew gradually transformed his role of assistant to the reader into that of director of the chanting during liturgical services.

      In medieval Christianity the cantor was an official in charge of music at a cathedral. His duty, later undertaken by the organist, was to supervise the choir's singing, particularly the singing of the psalms and the canticles. (In responsorial chants—those divided between a choir and a soloist—the term cantor still refers to the soloist.) The term was also used for the head of a college of church music—e.g., the Roman schola cantorum of the early Middle Ages and the singing schools founded by Charlemagne.

      In German Protestant churches of the 17th and 18th centuries, the cantor was the choirmaster and organist of a school or college subordinate to the rector; J.S. Bach held this post at the Thomasschule in Leipzig.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • CANTOR (G.) — Source de nombreux paradoxes depuis l’Antiquité, l’infini a toujours été un sujet de préoccupation et d’inquiétude pour les mathématiciens qui cherchaient à l’appréhender. La nécessité d’asseoir le calcul infinitésimal sur des bases solides avait …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Cantor — may refer to:In general* The Latin word for singer, e.g. the main singer of a cantus * Hazzan , in Judaism, the English name for a professional singer who leads prayer services (Kantor is a frequently noted Jewish patronym) * Cantor (church), an… …   Wikipedia

  • cantor — [ kɑ̃tɔr ] n. m. • v. 1900; all. Kantor « celui qui dirige la chapelle »; lat. médiév. cantor ♦ Hist. Mus. Chantre; maître de chapelle et maître de chœur. J. S. Bach fut cantor à la Thomaskirche de Leipzig. ● cantor nom masculin (allemand Kantor …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Cantor — ist der Name von Bernard Gerald Cantor (1916–1996), US amerikanischer Unternehmer und Kunstmäzen, Firmengründer der Cantor Fitzgerald Eddie Cantor (1892–1964), US amerikanischer Entertainer Eric Cantor (* 1963), US amerikanischer Politiker Georg… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Cantor — • The chief singer (and sometimes instructor) of the ecclesiastical choir, called also precentor Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Cantor     Cantor      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • cantor — CÁNTOR, cantori, s.m. (reg.) Cântăreţ de biserică; psalt, dascăl (3). – Din lat. cantor, germ. Kantor. Trimis de valeriu, 11.02.2003. Sursa: DEX 98  CÁNTOR s. v. cântăreţ, dascăl, diac, paracliser, psalt, ţârcovnic. Trimis de siveco, 13.09.2007 …   Dicționar Român

  • cantor — cantor, ra adjetivo,sustantivo masculino y femenino 1. [Persona] que canta por oficio o por afición: los niños cantores de la catedral de Sevilla. Jorge es cantor en el coro del Liceo de Barcelona. adjetivo 1. [Ave] …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

  • Cantor — Can tor, n. [L., a singer, fr. caner to sing.] A singer; esp. the leader of a church choir; a precentor. [1913 Webster] The cantor of the church intones the Te Deum. Milman. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • cantor — 1530s, church song leader, from L. cantor singer, poet, actor, agent noun from stem of canere to sing (see CHANT (Cf. chant)). Applied to the Hebrew chazan from 1893 …   Etymology dictionary

  • cantor — cantor, ra (Del lat. cantor, ōris). 1. adj. Que canta, principalmente si lo tiene por oficio. U. t. c. s.) 2. Zool. Se dice de las aves que, por tener la siringe muy desarrollada, son capaces de emitir sonidos melodiosos y variados; p. ej., el… …   Diccionario de la lengua española

  • Cantor — (lat.), 1) Sänger; 2) Vorsänger in einer Kirchengemeine; 3) in den Domcapiteln der 4. Domherr, im Range nach dem Senior (Scholasticus), der mit ihm gewöhnlich den Gottesdienst besorgte u. bei den Domschulen Unterricht ertheilte; dessen Prälatur… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”