www.byzcath.org Forums Mysteries: The Life of Worship The Kliros A place for Cantors to talk about their ministry

Ruthenian cantors currently use a variety of source materials for worship based on eparchial directives, local practices, etc. Not all have the opportunity to attend Cantor's Institute sessions, but some might benefit by having an alternative place to gather to discuss their work for the Church.

What do Forum members think about having a seperate grouping for Cantors to use on the Forum? Could the Forum accomodate it?

I like the idea. From a technical standpoint I see no impediment.

Since most cantors in parishes are volunteers, it seems that sometimes their efforts are diminished by the view that they're only volunteers. It is a vocation that isn't always recognised as such. It seems almost as much a backlash from the days of professional/paid cantors who were held in high esteem.

As a cantor, I have had parishioners complain about my performance. Some days I am in good form some days i'm not. As a volunteer vocational cantor I endure the criticism. Other times I have heard praise for my role in worship which I humbly accept.

While we as cantors are not all perfect in pitch, diction, musical ability and sight reading, We chant because we want to maintain a tradition in our church and because "somebody" has to do it.


Steve

One of the things I have wondered about is the possibility of a week long Cantor's Institute. (say a Monday through Saturday once a year). Since many of us do not live anywhere near Pittsburgh, could the Metropolia sponsor such an event and have the parishes pay for their Cantors to go. The once a month program just isn't realistic for everyone!

My two cents -

Gordo, Cantor

Good chanters and good choir directors do the Church an immeasurably great service, all too often at their own personal expense - but then, as one of the more amusing cynics of our time often comments "no good deed ever goes unpunished"!
It's a pleasure to concur that more attention must be given to providing opportunities for chanters and choir directors to learn more and to compare notes (oops - sorry about that!) with one another; this should certainly be organized and even financed by the Church itself.
One suggestion occurs to me: it would be well to spend some time studying chant systems other than the one that the particular chanter normally uses. That will certainly broaden the chanter's knowledge of the Church's treasures and may very well help the chanter learn the Byzantine tradition better. Besides, a bit of cross-fertilization is often worthwhile.

Saint Romanos the Melodist, pray for us!

Incognitus

I set up an discussion group back several years back ( "Prostopinije", at groups.yahoo.com) for Byzantine Catholic cantors, as successor to the CANTOR-L list from the mid-90's. Several well-known Orthodox cantors and musicologists are also members, and we would certainly welcome discussion there of "how it works on the ground" (mostly we deal with questions of where to find melodies, etc.)

But I would have no objection at all to a cantor's forum here (or elsewhere) as well.

Yours in Christ,

Jeff Mierzejewski

But with limited budgets, how will the lawncare people and parish secretaries get paid? Ignoring eparchial statutes regarding cantor stipends, isn't the maintenance of our temples more important than what goes on inside them?

I am looking for a place where cantors can discuss their work, without necessarily discussing conflicts like the merits of one resource versus another within a parish.

Limited access could also help cantors be more candid with each other without having to worry about stepping on anyone's political toes.

Jim Sprinkle, Cantor
Gilbert, AZ

Good luck, my friend.

Well, even where a resource conflict is at work, there might be a cantor who had already encountered the problem, and had a way to fix it.

We even have directors of cantor institutes who rarely if ever use cantors at eparchial liturgies. Should we include 'choir' music in this too? Trying to "fix" what the church ignored and let go for so many years since they ordained the last cantor can be a challenge.

But I know you are up to it. You think positively and have hope. Have fun like the rest of us did. See you at the pub to discuss. The first three are on me.

Joe

Although I am not a cantor, I am an organist, and so understand music - granted, instrumental music much more so than vocal music. I would like to find resources to improve the singing in our liturgies. We have one talented part-time cantor, and others not so talented. However, there has to be some information out there somewhere that would be helpful.

Where there is Life, there is Hope.

ByzanTN, there are recordings on the Cantor Institute website that can be accessed for listening and downloading, and CDs have been available from the Byzantine Seminary Press. Now and again a parish produces a CD as a fund-raiser as well.

Sheet music resources include the Cantor's Institute as well as some parish websites, such as Patronage Church in Maryland.

As for instruction materials per se, I don't know of any. Voice lessons and academic music courses seem to be the only other alternatives, apart from reading the von Gardner books on the history of Russian church music.

And the first three are on me.

Joe

Caelum, I inquired a while back about a week long Cantor Institute, but received no response. Not sure why.