The Bible and Music

During our last class (1/19), Cantor Giora Sharon visited us as a guest speaker and told the class about his life as a cantor.  I’m not sure what I thought this experience would be like, but it exceeded all my expectations.  The way Cantor Sharon presented his life’s work allowed me to relate to something I didn’t even know about prior to this class.  He put it into terms that made sense to me.  For example, he talked about the importance of a cantor being able to convey a feeling.  At a wedding the songs should feel up-beat and happy to match the mood, but at a funeral they should be more humble and sad.  He also shared some funny stories of cantors who were not aware of what they were saying and ended up conveying the wrong feeling.

The humor that Cantor Sharon wound into his presentation allowed me to absorb more information.  It kept me entertained and made me pay attention to what he was saying about the more serious parts of being a cantor.  One thing I found very interesting was the amount of studying that goes into being a cantor.  I didn’t realize that there were specific schools dedicated to producing cantor’s.  They aren’t just someone who has a good voice.  Cantor’s have to know what they are signing about and how to best engage their audience.

Overall, I really enjoyed hearing Cantor Sharon’s story.  It gave me a new and better perspective on the profession than if I had just listened to cantor’s signing.