Vocalist.org archive


From:  Cindi Waters <musicteachky@y...>
Date:  Mon Mar 3, 2003  7:55 am
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] Re: the purpose(s) of liturgical singing


Peggy wrote, <<So beauty of voice is desirable in a Cantor, but not required>>

Rarely have I heard a Cantor sing off key.

<<(however, I would expect a Rabbi or untrained singer who leads a
service to do so in a manner consistent with his/her vocal abilities, e.g.,
if they don't sing well, do it faster and with little or no
ornamentation).>>

Maybe Rabbis off-key, but not Cantors. But then the congregation would not
expect a trained singer. But I see your point and as you said, the Rabbi or
Cantor should be the leader or moderator, part of the service, and not someone
who is admired as far as vocal ability goes.

<<So when I sing in a Christian church service, I approach it with Ruach
- by sincerely expressing the sacredness and faith of the hymn or
anthem in relation to my religious beliefs. I believe it's all the same God,
even if I don't subscribe to the writings of the "New Testament" or
believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah or my personal Savior>>

The "ruach" would be a little different if you don't share the faith. But that's
my opinion, and sometimes opinions are like noses -- everybody has one!

<<For example, I was once in attendance at a High Holy Day service at a
small congregation that did not have a full-time cantor and had hired a
guest cantor for the holidays. This is a long and difficult service,
and the cantor had a nice sounding voice, but he could not stay on
pitch.>>

Hard to say he was enjoyable to listen to! To me, that mitigates a nice-sounding
voice.

<< That is, he would start a tune in one key and by the time he
finished, he'd be a whole step, or even more, flatter than when he started!>>

oy yoi yoi. Or, as my mother would say, "Oi vey!"

<<This made it very difficult to sing with him when he led congregational
singing, and painful to listen to him in the long stretches where it's
the cantor only (for example, the Kol Nidre prayer at the start of the
Yom Kippur eve service is chanted by the Cantor alone, is repeated
three times and can take as long as a half-hour to complete - fortunately,
I wasn't there when he chanted that service).>>

He should have asked for forgiveness for himself. ok a little joke. Enjoyed your
post. Cindi from Kentucky



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