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Cantor-concert in the Vienna ''Stadttempel'' synagogue

A 'hazzan', 'chazzan' or 'khazn' (Hebrew for "cantor," "עברית: "חזן) is a Jewish musician trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the synagogue in songful prayer.
There are many rules relating to how a cantor should lead services, but the idea of a cantor as a paid professional does not exist in classical rabbinic sources. The Jewish prayer services have their own entry; the prayers in these services are collected in a prayerbook known as the siddur.
The person leading the congregation in public prayers is called the ''shaliach tzibbur'' (Hebrew for "emissary of the congregation"). Traditional Jewish law restricts the role to Jewish males over the age of 13; the non-Orthodox Jewish movements allow women over the age of 12 to have this role as well. Reform Judaism, Conservative Judaism, and Reconstructionist Judaism invest both men and women cantors as full clergy.
In theory, any lay person can be a ''shaliach tzibbur''; most synagogue attending Jews will serve in this role every now and again. In practice, those with the best voice and the most knowledge of the prayers serve much more often.

Contents

Growing importance of the office

Qualifications

Cantors as a profession

The golden age of ''hazzanut''

See also

External links

Article

Recordings

Cantorial organizations

More info

Growing importance of the office

The office of the ''hazzan'' increased in importance with the centuries. As public worship was developed in the Geonic period, and as the knowledge of the Hebrew language declined, singing gradually superseded the didactic and hortatory element in the worship in the synagogue.
This is not necessarily true today, particularly in the world of Orthodox Jews where the role of the ''hazzan'' has diminished substantially. Where congregants are more fluent in their ability to read the text, understand the words and perform the most basic melodies, the position of ''hazzan'' increasingly has become seen as superfluous. Some feel that this has led to a "dumbing down" of the artistic presentation of the Orthodox worship service. Artistic synagogue music was once the hallmark of Jewish culture and artistry. It has been substituted with communal folk singing, much of which totally ignores the traditional prayer modes, which have been the backbone of authentic Jewish prayer for centuries.
Others argue that the focus of the Synagogue service should be on the prayers of the congregants and not on cantorial, concert performances, especially when the latter may be distracting to the former.

Qualifications

Even in the oldest times the chief qualifications demanded of the ''hazzan'', in addition to knowledge of Biblical and liturgical literature as well as the prayer motifs (known as "steiger"), were a pleasant voice and an artistic delivery; for the sake of these, many faults were willingly overlooked. The ''hazzan'' was required to possess a pleasing appearance, to be married, and to have a flowing beard. Sometimes, according to Isaac of Vienna (13th century), a young ''hazzan'' having only a slight growth of beard was tolerated. Maimonides decided that the ''hazzan'' who recited the prayers on an ordinary Sabbath and on week-days need not possess an appearance pleasing to everybody; he might even have a reputation not wholly spotless, provided he was living a life morally free from reproach at the time of his appointment.
But all these moderations of the rule disappeared on holidays; then an especially worthy ''hazzan'' was demanded, one whose life was absolutely irreproachable, who was generally popular, and who was endowed with an expressive delivery. Even a person who had once litigated in a non-Jewish court, instead of to a Jewish court, in a disputed question could not act as ''hazzan'' on those days, unless he had previously done penance (Shulkhan Arukh, Orah Hayyim, 581). However many authorities were lenient in this regard and as long as a cantor was "merutzeh l'kehal" desired by the congregation, he was permitted to lead the prayers even on the holiest of days.
Today, a ''hazzan'', particularly in more formal (usually not Orthodox) synagogues, is likely to have academic credentials, most often a degree in Music or in Sacred Music, sometimes a degree in Music Education or in Jewish Religious Education or a related discipline. The Doctor of Music degree is sometimes awarded to honour a ''hazzan''.
Although traditionally cantors were always men, women equally serve this role in the more liberal branches of Judaism. Betty Robbins was possibly the first female cantor in 1955 [1] though Barbara Ostfeld is usually given that distinction since her investiture at the Hebrew Union College in 1975.[2] As of 2006, HUC had invested 174 women cantors.[3]

Cantors as a profession

The role of ''hazzanim'' (Hebrew plural of ''hazzan'') as a respected full-time profession has become a reality in recent centuries. In the last two centuries Jews in a number of European communities, notably Germany and Britain, came to view professionally trained ''hazzanim'' as clergy and the ''hazzan'' as the deputy rabbi. After the enlightenment, when European nations gave full citizenship and civil rights to Jews, professionally trained ''hazzanim'' were accepted by the secular government as clergy in the same way that accepted rabbis as clergy.
In an interesting turn of events, the United States government recognized cantors as the first Jewish clergy, even before rabbis were recognized.
In the USA there are three major organizations for professionally trained ''hazzanim'', one from each of the major Jewish denominations.

★ American Conference of Cantors - Reform Judaism [4]

★ Cantors Assembly - Conservative Judaism [5]

★ Cantorial Council of America - Orthodox Judaism [6]
The Reform Seminary where cantors are trained in a five-year program along with rabbinic and education students is
Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, School of Sacred Music (New York) Reform. (www.huc.edu)
The curriculum for students in these programs generally include, but are not limited to:

★ Hebrew: modern, Biblical (Torah), and liturgical (Siddur)

★ Learning ''nusach'' (liturgical tradition)

★ Learning the laws and traditions pertaining to Jewish prayer service

★ The history and content of the ''siddur''

★ Music theory, sight-reading sheet music

★ Learning an instrument, usually a piano or guitar

★ Singing technique

★ Cantillation - tropes for the liturgical chanting of biblical books

★ Choral Conducting

★ Jewish history

★ Tanakh (Bible)

★ Jewish music history

★ Pastoral care and counseling

★ Theology

The golden age of ''hazzanut''

The period between the two World Wars is often referred to as the "golden age" of ''hazzanut'' (cantorial performance). Some of the greats include Moshe Koussevitzky, Abraham Davis, Zavel Kwartin (1874-1953), Jan Peerce, Joseph "Yossele" Rosenblatt (1882-1933), Gershon Sirota (1874-1943), Yitzchak Eshel (1912-2006), Abraham Lopes Cardozo (1914-2006), Pierre Pinchik, David Werdyger, Moshe Ganchoff, Leib Glantz, Moshe Stern and Leibale Waldman.
Some well-respected modern cantors include Isaac Azose, Naftali Hershtik, Alberto Mizrahi, Yitzchak Meir Helfgott, Israel Rand, Joseph Malovany, Moshe Stern, Moshe Schulhoff, Benjamin Muller and Yossi Muller.

See also

★ Rabbi

★ Judaism

★ Siddur

★ Jewish services

External links

Article

★ Jewish Music Forum - Article on Chazzanut today.

Recordings

★ Virtual Cantor - Free MP3 recordings of nearly the entire Ashkenazic liturgy.

★ פיוט Piyut - Large collection of Piyyutim.

★ Sephardic Pizmonim- www.pizmonim.org- Middle Eastern Pizmonim Recordings for Sephardic Cantors.

★ Chazzanut Online - a wealth of detailed information and recordings.

★ Cantorial Music Page of Cong. Emunath Israel, NYC - MP3's of Ashkenazic nusach (liturgy)

Cantorial organizations

★ Academy for Jewish Religion of California (non-denominational seminary - Rabbinical, Cantorial, and Chaplaincy programs)

★ Academy for Jewish Religion (non-denominational seminary - Rabbinical and Cantorial programs)

★ Cantors World (Orthodox)

★ The Cantors Assembly (Conserative/Masorti)

★ American Conference of Cantors (Reform)

★ Cantorial Council of America (Orthodox)

★ Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute (Orthodox)

★ Chazzan Index & Chazzan Job Portal (Orthodox)

★ The Jewish Ministers Cantors Association of America (Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform)

More info

★ [7] (Hazzan)