Cantors

[Marian_Lutheran]

When I watch the Daily Mass on EWTN, the cantor is the only person I hear singing. When I watched the Mass of Thanksgiving for Cardinal Rigali last night, all I heard was the cantor singing, completely drowning out the organ/choir/congregation. When I attend Mass (I don’t receive the Eucharist) at the local parish, I can’t sing because the cantor is belting it out at the top of her lungs and is out of tune. Being a cantor myself, I can certainly understand intoning the Kyrie, Gloria, etc… (I do it every Sunday) but why must they sing with the microphone on and blot out everyone else during hymns? Maybe it’s my Lutheran upbringing, but when singing hymns, I want to hear the organ/choir/congregation, not the cantor.

 

[SimonDodd]

We have one cantor in particular—alas, at a service I don’t usually attend—who I think gets it exactly right. And I say that recognizing that Cantors have a tough billet: They have to lead without dominating. They have to lead the congregation somewhere that it can go (which is particularly difficult for cantors with atypical ranges: basses and sopranos in a world where most congregants are mezzos, tenors, and baritones). And they have to make the most of material that is, frankly, sometimes wanting.

The advantage of the cantor is that there’s a focal point for everyone to follow. Not everyone in the congregation is particularly musical; those who are sometimes take for granted being able to sight-sing (more or less) the melody line, to swap octaves as needed, to lock in with the instruments. Still, I take your point that if the cantor is off in pitch, or out of sync with the accompaniment, that would throw everyone off. If it happens, though, I’m not sure it’s a problem to be remedied by killing the microphone—assuming that it’s set at an appropriate level: lead, not dominate—so much as it is to be carefully addressed with the cantor and musical folks.

 

[Catholicben]

When I watch the Daily Mass on EWTN, the cantor is the only person I hear singing.

Being a geek myself, the issue with EWTN may be a practical one: the cantor has a mic leading directly to the TV feed, and the congregation doesn’t. As far as I know, the cantor’s mic may not be even amplified in the church, just used for TV audio, but that’s only a speculation.

When I watched the Mass of Thanksgiving for Cardinal Rigali last night, all I heard was the cantor singing, completely drowning out the organ/choir/congregation. When I attend Mass (I don’t receive the Eucharist) at the local parish, I can’t sing because the cantor is belting it out at the top of her lungs and is out of tune.

As the above post said, it’s a fine balance. Out of key and out of sync though… not good. At our parish, the cantors really only use the mic for the psalm, and talking (petitions, hymn numbers, etc…) the rest of the time, the put it away.

 

[HCC]

When I watch the Daily Mass on EWTN, the cantor is the only person I hear singing. When I watched the Mass of Thanksgiving for Cardinal Rigali last night, all I heard was the cantor singing, completely drowning out the organ/choir/congregation. When I attend Mass (I don’t receive the Eucharist) at the local parish, I can’t sing because the cantor is belting it out at the top of her lungs and is out of tune. Being a cantor myself, I can certainly understand intoning the Kyrie, Gloria, etc… (I do it every Sunday) but why must they sing with the microphone on and blot out everyone else during hymns? Maybe it’s my Lutheran upbringing, but when singing hymns, I want to hear the organ/choir/congregation, not the cantor.

Amen! Glad to get an outside opinion. And the pitch is generally so high, most people, women certainly included here, cannot possibly hit the same range. I sing baritone, so imagine. There was one parish I attended for a while where the male cantor would sing falsetto. It was just plain freaky.

[edited]

Please don’t let bad liturgy be your reason for not joining the Church. There are many very good liturgies out there. The Church needs your voice to speak up for these things.

 

[InspiritCarol]

Are Lutherans taught to sing this way or is it just something you intuited?

I can assure you that Catholics are NOT taught to Cantor in such self-aggrandizing fashion; but, alas, the opposite is not taught either.

I’ve been cantoring in the Catholic Church for over 30 years now, and I’d say the inherent flaw is that we hire trained, paid musicians; NOT necessarily “Catholic” musicians. In fact, in my experience in large cities, the musicians are usually not Catholic.

What does this mean? The musicians are there for themselves, for a paycheck, for glory; but certainly NOT for God.

There are lovely workshops offered by OCP and other resources that help steer singers and musicians straight regarding the fact that the WORDS of the psalms are most important, not how beautiful they sound etc, etc. There are a lot of us that take this advice to heart and try to not only express God’s word more fully in like fashion but also strive to include the congregation as fully as possible. It takes a LOT of extra preparation to include the congregation; especially the reluctant singers. I take more pride from a well engaged congregation, than I do from the most stunningly delivered solo. For the solo, I can say: “Been there, done that” and save it for the weddings and funerals; but for Sunday Mass, it is SO much more challenging and rewarding to hold back- to pass the baton and see if others can run with it, than to blast them out of their seats as in a performance.

 

[Sirach2]

I have cantored for many years on a rotating basis in our parish. There is an adjustable setting for the microphones in use by the cantor, so when the person with the strong voice is scheduled, Father would reduce the setting so she would not overpower everyone. But he would forget to turn the setting back to normal for the next cantor, who really had to struggle from the diaphragm to project the voice.

I certainly agree with you though, that after the lead parts are intoned - for instance in the Gloria - the cantor should not dominate or overpower, but assist the congregation.

You really hit a sore spot with me, OP - whenever the cantor on EWTN begins to sing, I mute my remote. After years of listening to him, it has become like sandpaper to me. And yet, he has a very good voice and carries the tune well. Maybe it’s just a case of over familiarity. I welcome it when another cantor beisdes him is at the ambo.

 

[benedictgal]

When I watch the Daily Mass on EWTN, the cantor is the only person I hear singing. When I watched the Mass of Thanksgiving for Cardinal Rigali last night, all I heard was the cantor singing, completely drowning out the organ/choir/congregation. When I attend Mass (I don’t receive the Eucharist) at the local parish, I can’t sing because the cantor is belting it out at the top of her lungs and is out of tune. Being a cantor myself, I can certainly understand intoning the Kyrie, Gloria, etc… (I do it every Sunday) but why must they sing with the microphone on and blot out everyone else during hymns? Maybe it’s my Lutheran upbringing, but when singing hymns, I want to hear the organ/choir/congregation, not the cantor.

There might be something that folks could be forgetting. When the Mass is broadcast on TV, we should take into account that the sound settings (microphones and such) will be amplified in different areas. In some real-life settings, the cantor does provide guidance to the faithful, but, the cantor does not necessarily overwhelm nor overpower the people in the pews. Even the Sistene Chapel choir has to be miked up for the Papal Masses. If you were to listen to a Papal Mass on Vatican Radio, for example , you might think that the choir is really going full blast; however, they are the ones miked up, not the faithful.

Because the EWTN chapel is small, you only hear the sound amplification for the cantor and not necessarily for the faithful. I imagine the same probably held true for the other Mass that you saw on TV.

 

[elgar]

When I watch the Daily Mass on EWTN, the cantor is the only person I hear singing. When I watched the Mass of Thanksgiving for Cardinal Rigali last night, all I heard was the cantor singing, completely drowning out the organ/choir/congregation. When I attend Mass (I don’t receive the Eucharist) at the local parish, I can’t sing because the cantor is belting it out at the top of her lungs and is out of tune. Being a cantor myself, I can certainly understand intoning the Kyrie, Gloria, etc… (I do it every Sunday) but why must they sing with the microphone on and blot out everyone else during hymns? Maybe it’s my Lutheran upbringing, but when singing hymns, I want to hear the organ/choir/congregation, not the cantor.

Amen brother/sister! The whole cantor phenomenon is a mystery to me aside from Psalm alternatum with the congregation. The cantor role has morphed into that of “Song Leader”.

Traditionally in the Protestant church–and most certainly in the Lutheran church–the organ leads the singing. These churches typically seek out qualified musicians and pay them for their services whether they are members of the congregation or outside. Singing has traditionally been robust in these churches and one feels encouraged to participate because people around you are also, so you never feel alone. I also give credit to consistency within the denominations on deciding on well put together hymnals that last for many years before revising. This however is changing as more “feel good” contemporary (really not the right adjective but how it is described today) songs are introduced because someone sold the pastor the formula for growth and attracting young people which isn’t working.

Very often when my wife and I attend Catholic Mass and decide to participate in the singing, people stare at us as we seem confident reading the music and I must admit we may be on the loud side since we are both trained musicians. Afterwards come comments of praise for such lovely voices. I’m a humble person and just wish everyone would sing out so we wouldn’t have to make spectacles of ourselves. Catholics have alot to learn from Protestants and visa versa when it comes to what works and what doesn’t musically.

 

[rick43235]

Catholics have alot to learn from Protestants and visa versa when it comes to what works and what doesn’t musically.

As one who grew up in the Lutheran Church, I miss the powerful organ leading the congregation in song. At the parish where I attend mass, the singing (or lack thereof) is terrible. Thank goodness we have a few good cantors who are willing the function as “song leaders,” and a priest who has a beautiful, strong voice. A few weeks ago, however, the cantor didn’t show and our priest was on vacation. The substitute priest wasn’t much of a singer, so the hymns just faded away after a few bars. Even the parts of the liturgy that are sung just petered out. The priest was obviously frustrated and annoyed. In fact, it was so uncomfortable that I ducked out about half way through the (perfectly excruciating) communion hymn.

Give me a “performance” cantor anytime.

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

I am partial to hearing the congregation sing but I think that part of my Byzantine side showing. I hate Masses with chiors as they seem to want to dominate and I have had the experience described by the OP.

Actually I had to stop attending a certian Mass at a parish I used to attend because of the badly used vibrato which would actually make me physically sick to my sotmach.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

As others have said, the Masses you see/hear on TV probably have the cantor or choir miked loudly on purpose. At an ordinary parish Mass it may be several issues–the cantor may be showing off, the cantor may not know how to use the mic properly, the pastor may have asked them to sing loudly, or perhaps the congregation just isn’t singing.

Catholics are notorious for not singing at Mass for a hunderd and one reasons. If the cantor is doing a reasonably good job staying on key and the congregation just won’t sing (embarrased, don’t like to, don’t know the hymn, whatever) there is really nothing to be done.

It may be that the person with the powerful “showy” voice was chosen specifically because they do sing loudly since that congregation doesn’t sing at all.

 

[Sarabande]

When I watch the Daily Mass on EWTN, the cantor is the only person I hear singing. When I watched the Mass of Thanksgiving for Cardinal Rigali last night, all I heard was the cantor singing, completely drowning out the organ/choir/congregation.

With a television broadcast, one thing to be aware of is that in real life, the cantor may not be actually drowning out anyone. I don’t really know the lingo, but the way the microphones are set up for the television, it may only pick up the voice of the cantor and no one else. Believe me, at those big mass events, everyone sings and no one particular voice is heard unless the cantor is intoning, singing the psalm, etc. I’ve been to enough of them to notice that and also heard the same masses on recording, etc. to see how a broadcast can really change the “experience”. That’s not to say, though, that there are cantors who blast into the mic.

When I attend Mass (I don’t receive the Eucharist) at the local parish, I can’t sing because the cantor is belting it out at the top of her lungs and is out of tune.

That is definitely a problem in some parishes. It is hard to sing when the cantor is drowning everyone else and can’t sing in tune.

Being a cantor myself, I can certainly understand intoning the Kyrie, Gloria, etc… (I do it every Sunday) but why must they sing with the microphone on and blot out everyone else during hymns? Maybe it’s my Lutheran upbringing, but when singing hymns, I want to hear the organ/choir/congregation, not the cantor.

There are a lot of factors - some can be 1. the cantor’s fault, 2. the sound system’s fault, 3. the music director’s fault and 4. some can even be the priest’s fault.

1. In regards to the cantors, there are those who don’t know how to step away from a microphone if they know they have a large voice. They also sometimes don’t think about how they don’t need to be heard over everyone. For instance, I have a large voice, so I make sure to keep away from the microphone. I hold my music so that I don’t have to put it on the stand and be too close. I want to be able to hear the congregation singing over me. If they need help on a hymn, then I get a little closer to the mic in order to help them feel more comfortable with the hymn or to learn it better by rote. If the mass parts are something they know by heart, I won’t stand close to the mic either. As a professional musician and cantor, who has worked in many parishes throughout many states as a freelance musician, I have known and worked with other Catholic and non-Catholic paid and volunteer cantors/instrumentalists. I can say there are self-aggrandizing, self-praising, egotistical volunteer and paid cantors, as well as humble, respectful ones who are doing it for the right reasons. Some of the most catty, prima donnas I’ve met were actually those Catholic volunteers who looked at being a cantor as an opportunity to become a star in their own heads as they either never made it as a professional in the outside world or something else. (That’s not to say I haven’t worked with egotistical professional ones either). But my point is that one can’t assume anything. I take each one on an individual basis.
2. Sometimes the sound system is just bad or the acoustics are so live that no matter what you do, it’s going to blare out. In these kinds of places, if I can get away with it from the director or the pastor, I won’t use a microphone at all. If I’m forced/requested to use the mic, I stand as far away as possible. That’s the nice thing about cantoring weddings/funerals - I usually am not required to use a microphone except for the psalm and gospel acclamation. I can just do everything with the natural voice and no enhancements.
3. The music director/organist will sometimes if not often (depending on the director) dictate how the cantor should stand at the ambo/podium, how close he/she should be at the mic, and even how one should use their hands and arms which is a pet peeve of mine as I’m not one who likes to be showy at all and some of these director act like you have to be like you’re in a show with choreographed arms and hands. When I’m the congregation, I think it looks ridiculous and when I’m cantoring, I feel ridiculous. If I can, I just won’t do it.
4. And sometimes, the priest will want the cantor to sing into the microphone even if you don’t want to. I’ve had priests ask me to sing closer to the mic because they wanted my voice to be louder than the rest of the congregation. And that’s really counter-intuitive for me, but he’s the boss. What I try to do is just sing more full without being close to the mic because doing exactly how he asks just makes me stand out when I’m trying to blend in while I’m cantoring. You do also get the priests who turn down the system really low, which is fine with me. haha!

In all, I agree with you, for congregational singing, I want to hear everyone - not just the cantor.

oh… one more problem… I think we Catholics have been so used to hearing amplified voices that we (I mean “we” in general) expect our cantors to overwhelm everyone else or at least be heard more than the congregation. And it actually isn’t just a Catholic phenomenon either. Because of amplification - which is a wonderful thing for many things - most people aren’t used to hearing a voice in the “natural” form when in a large or small room. They automatically think it is necessary to have the voice miked.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on this.

 

[Don9of11]

When I watch the Daily Mass on EWTN, the cantor is the only person I hear singing. When I watched the Mass of Thanksgiving for Cardinal Rigali last night, all I heard was the cantor singing, completely drowning out the organ/choir/congregation. When I attend Mass (I don’t receive the Eucharist) at the local parish, I can’t sing because the cantor is belting it out at the top of her lungs and is out of tune. Being a cantor myself, I can certainly understand intoning the Kyrie, Gloria, etc… (I do it every Sunday) but why must they sing with the microphone on and blot out everyone else during hymns? Maybe it’s my Lutheran upbringing, but when singing hymns, I want to hear the organ/choir/congregation, not the cantor.

I’m a cantor that has a “loud showy voice” as some would say or a “beautiful strong voice” as others have said. In my old parish it was not necessary for me to use a microphone because the acoustics of church were superb and very near amphitheater quality. I had no problem projecting my voice. We had an old Austin - 3 counsel pipe organ and the choir loft, from where I cantored, was behind the congregation and up about 20 or so feet. The organ was quite capable of over powering me and the choir. My point is they don’t build churches like they used too.

I agree with others who have said that TV sound and microphones are all amplified and could result in your observations. Modern churches built today do not have the acoustic qualities that older churches do. It could be that the cantor is singing to close to the microphone and needs to back away a little or it could be they have a headset microphone and simply doesn’t need one. The organist may be playing softer than need be and therefor the cantor is out of tune because he/she can’t hear the note, or it could be they go flat when singing loudly. There could be a dozen reasons.

 

[OrganistRob]

The problem with any televised Mass (and radio Masses too) is that the TV broadcast only has a certain number of sound (name removed by moderator)uts available for use and therefore you only hear the cantor broadcast as the dominant sound, even though the cantor may be singing well below any level on congregational song. There are also other areas such as the sound system being used, and even the genre of music being sung.

In my church, we replaced our aging sound system a few years ago and the new system still has a multitude of kinks we are trying to work out so my cantors only use the microphone to announce the hymn number and for the Psalm verses. And what I’ve noticed is that a majority of the time when we are singing hymns, my cantors really pull back, some even step away from the microphone to not dominate the sound. Yes occasionally on hymns the congregation is unfamiliar with the cantors will sing into the microphone for the first few verses until the congregation has heard the melody enough times to sing it on their own.

A problem that many places can run into with modern Liturgical music, is that simply a majority of the literature used in Masses today were not written nor intended to be a full congregational hymn. In the Protestant tradition, nearly all that is found in means of Liturgical music is traditional hymnody for congregational singing. In a lot of Catholic churches, the hymn has been replaced by a verse-refrain style song which gives the congregation an “easy” refrain part to sing. Unfortunately, a lot of the “easy” refrains are many times more difficult to sing because of vocal range and/or rhythmic elements.

There is nothing inherently incorrect about verse-refrain form, after all we use it in the Psalm and its the basic form of the introits and communions which have been used in Catholic Masses for centuries. The problem lies in how the structure of the piece is put together, the vocal range and rhythmic elements can truly make or break a piece of music in the Liturgy. An example is a comparison of the melody range of Hyfrydol (Alleluia Sing to Jesus) and “I am the Bread of Life” (Toolan). Hyfrydol’s melodic range encompasses a perfect 5th (F to C) for the most part with a 6th (D) added in the final line of the hymn. Toolan’s hymn starts off in a very low register (A below middle C) and by the end of the refrain you are up in the rafters singing E’s and F#'s. So basically you can fit three Hyfrydol ranges into Toolan’s little gem. This happens all too often and Hymnal editors always put a stress on hymn ranges in their editorial notes, yet unfortunately do not seem to listen to their own advice when actually compiling the hymnal.

For a baritone cantor, a range of an octave and a half is not uncommon at all, however for a soprano cantor the beginning of “I am the Bread of Life” will have them complaining about how low it is yet at the same time, a majority of the congregation will either be in the low end or the upper end of the spectrum. The functionality and role of the cantor is rather difficult because there is no happy medium, to someone you will always sound too loud, and to someone else in the room you will not be able to be heard. The architecture of modern Churches does play a role in that a lot of them have “dead” spaces and the attempts to use amplification to fix the problem result in unbalanced speakers throughout the entire building. Also, cantors sing, where are lectors and even Priests only speak a majority of the time and singing in general simply has more volume than a spoken voice.

 

[Cat]

Amen brother/sister! The whole cantor phenomenon is a mystery to me aside from Psalm alternatum with the congregation. The cantor role has morphed into that of “Song Leader”.

Traditionally in the Protestant church–and most certainly in the Lutheran church–the organ leads the singing. These churches typically seek out qualified musicians and pay them for their services whether they are members of the congregation or outside. Singing has traditionally been robust in these churches and one feels encouraged to participate because people around you are also, so you never feel alone. I also give credit to consistency within the denominations on deciding on well put together hymnals that last for many years before revising. This however is changing as more “feel good” contemporary (really not the right adjective but how it is described today) songs are introduced because someone sold the pastor the formula for growth and attracting young people which isn’t working.

Very often when my wife and I attend Catholic Mass and decide to participate in the singing, people stare at us as we seem confident reading the music and I must admit we may be on the loud side since we are both trained musicians. Afterwards come comments of praise for such lovely voices. I’m a humble person and just wish everyone would sing out so we wouldn’t have to make spectacles of ourselves. Catholics have alot to learn from Protestants and visa versa when it comes to what works and what doesn’t musically.

In our United States culture, corporate singing has changed immensely in the last 50 years.

People used to sing together for pleasure and recreation. People gathered around the piano in the parlor to sing along. Children used to play “singing games” on the playground (eg. Ring Around the Rosy, or “Uncle John.”). Men used to sing corporate songs, or military songs. Teens could join “glee clubs” in the schools, which were choirs for those kids who just liked to sing, even if they weren’t very good at it.

The Protestant “singspiration” services came out of this culture.

But in the last several decades, we have become a nation that doesn’t sing, but just listens. Only in a few camp-out situations do people sing along. Otherwise, we listen to one singer or a singing group.

Even the extremely popular show GLEE is not about a “glee club” the way they used to be. GLEE is a show about a competition choir in which all the singers are amazing. Not exactly an encouragement to sing for all the teens with average voices.

So it’s no wonder that cantors appear to be “performers.” *No one else is singing! * (except the ex-Protestants and Protestants in the congregation).

If everyone in the congregation joined in and sang lustily, in a full voice, not making excuses for their range, but instead, singing the appropriate part (Sop, Alto, Ten, Bass, Treble)–the cantor wouldn’t seem so predominant. When I say, “in a full voice,” I’m NOT talking about blasting anyone or singing in a loud, garish voice. I’m talking about singing with the full voice, not down in the throat or through the nose. This can and should be done even during quiet songs.

But that’s about as likely to happen as replacing Haugen songs with Gregorian chant. I’ll believe it when I see it. Sigh. I’m sorry to be a gloomy gus, but I don’t think it will happen because the culture does not support it. I was hoping that GLEE would promote corporate singing and start a trend, but it does just the opposite. Sigh again.

 

[FrancisB]

I’ve heard plenty of congregations join in and sing, but mostly with the more traditional music. I don’t think progressive musicians realise how much Glory and Praise music alienates people and actually discourages singing. And why do we sing so many hymns anyway? The “gathering hymn” replaced the song we’re supposed to sing at the start of mass (the introit), and the offertory and communion hymns also replaced the songs that we’re supposed to sing in those places (called, unsurprisingly, the offertory and communion chants). I guess there might be time enough for hymns at offertory and communion after the chants have been sung, but I have never heard this done. Parishes that are traditional enough to use the chants are generally traditional enough to use motets in those places.

When it comes right down to it, hymns are not a major part of Catholic musical tradition. Sure, there are some, and they were generally used at the end of mass or at services other than mass (the Divine Office, for example). They just basically don’t belong in mass, and while there’s room to squeeze two or three in without interrupting things, they aren’t the central focus of the mass, or even the musical part of the mass. That belongs to the ordinary of the mass: the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Credo (how often do you hear that sung anymore?!), the Sanctus, and the Agnus Dei. And honestly, I hear the most congregational singing when we chant them using the simple chants from Jubilate Deo (most of those tunes coming from the Requiem, but not exclusively so).

 

[Sarabande]

When I watch the Daily Mass on EWTN, the cantor is the only person I hear singing. When I watched the Mass of Thanksgiving for Cardinal Rigali last night, all I heard was the cantor singing, completely drowning out the organ/choir/congregation. When I attend Mass (I don’t receive the Eucharist) at the local parish, I can’t sing because the cantor is belting it out at the top of her lungs and is out of tune. Being a cantor myself, I can certainly understand intoning the Kyrie, Gloria, etc… (I do it every Sunday) but why must they sing with the microphone on and blot out everyone else during hymns? Maybe it’s my Lutheran upbringing, but when singing hymns, I want to hear the organ/choir/congregation, not the cantor.

I just watched part of that mass for the Cardinal on-line just to see it and I can pretty much say that it’s not the cantors overpowering the congregation and everyone else, but I believe it is what’s being used for the televised mass. If you notice, at least in the beginning of the mass, you can also hear the Cardinal Rigali along with the male cantor above everyone else and I think it is because of the microphone output for the video. The female cantor didn’t have a big voice and her own natural output of sound wasn’t that large. My main critique is that she shouldn’t have been emoting facial expressions during the psalm ike she was on a stage performing a show. I’m sure she didn’t mean it like that and she looks and sounds young so she might be new at this, but I’m surprised that someone didn’t instruct her with that.

 

[Sara753]

Hello,
I have been a cantor for about 35 years now. Our congregation is fickle, sometimes they sing like angels and other times they are just silent. It does not seem to matter who is leading. I have visited other Masses in different parts of the country. Most people sing to high heavens… It does not matter what level the cantor sings. They want to sing praise.
I have been told by one man, you cantors dont get it. Your just supposed to get the congregation started, then fade out in unison. Well, if no one is actually singing out there, your alone. When that happens, my voice fails me. Its not supposed to be like Im it. So back at the congregation.

If you have been a cantor for many years, you already know that its a ministry, its a spiritual experience, its a communion of sorts with the heavens. Using your talents not to show off as some say, but to commune as one congregation with the Almighty in love and honor of the Father. Just because a Cantor can sing well, or she or he can do so effortlessly, is that a reason to stop singing? Odd that people read "Sing praises to teh Lord, and then go mute. Why must there be such critics, when that person is trying to connect with you and our Father in song?
Secondly, I haven’t met a cantor yet that was anything more than a volunteer. Its a very difficult job which obviously is taken for granted, and or everyone out there wants to pick them apart. Just saying.

Personally, I think there is too much music in Mass. Im a Cantor.
Go figure. The music should not overshadow the priest in his duty to teach the word.
Where is the preparation for Mass? I usually come into the mass 30 mn prior. Prayer, and figure out our music that has been prepared for me. Our organist doesn’t show up till five min before Mass. The Organist chooses the music.
I get it just before Mass, so I have to be there early. When people arrive, they just talk. They arent praying.

Maybe Im sounding off here. Thats because the parish counsel asked me to go sing for a protestant church as a favor. I knew that was not right. I didnt want to. But I have been ambushed into it. The church has borrowed their director for we needed an organist. Well, I am confused now…I thought it was against the rules. No they didnt pay the other director. Well, Im tied up for a few more weeks now…and Im not happy.