cantor, 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.