October 2019

A Short History of the Cantorate

  You may be interested in how the Cantorate evolved, and so I would like to give you a very brief history here.  There is, of course, much more to this topic, so I will just provide a short overview.

  After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Jews needed a prayer leader to recite the prayers on their behalf, and so, prayer leaders were identified and utilized.  A sheliah tsibbur (literally, an emmissary of the congregation) was designated to lead, and we still use the term today, to refer to one who leads but may not have been trained professionally.  That was actually my title many years ago when I began leading services, and before I attended cantorial school. 

  The first Cantors, or Hazzanim, chanted the prayers and beautified the music with interpretive renditions.  Worshipers delighted in the melodic and aesthetic quality of prayer, and the Hazzan became the sweet singer of Israel (as we call King David!).  Nowadays the title is reserved for one who became ordained with full training.

  The first reference to a Hazzan occurred around the 6th century.  There are Talmudic references to prayer leaders and Hazzanim which state that the person must be “fit” for the position, being of good character and possessing excellent skills.

  The modern cantorate dates back to the 1700s, when the services became more formal and emulated the Christian tradition.  As choral music was re-introduced, several composers’ work for choir entered the service, and we still use those melodies and arrangements today. 

  Whereas training was largely an oral tradition a long time ago, today there are cantorial schools which offer a mix of musical studies and liturgy, pastoral skills, homiletics, and more.

  One of the first books I was required to read in cantorial school was Mark Slobin’s Chosen Voices: The Story of the American Cantorate.  If you would like to delve into this topic further, you may want to read this volume.