Cantor Resources

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Cantor Resource List

We are pleased to present three bibliographies to assist cantors in deepening their ministry and spirituality.

List #1 is intended for cantors who are either beginning in their ministry or embarking on initial study in it.
List #2 is a more comprehensive bibliography and is intended for more experienced cantors and those who complete the first list.
List #3 is an extensive listing of articles published in the Pastoral Musician Magazine.

Advent Psalms • Year B Three psalms and one New Testament canticle are sung during the liturgy of the Word on the four Sundays of Advent in Year B of the Lectionary for Mass. They include three laments (Psalms 80, 85, and 89) and a song of the early Church placed on the lips of the Blessed Mother (Luke 1).

Many of these entries are taken from the bibliographies of two excellent books on the cantor's ministry: James Hansen's Cantor Basics (The Pastoral Press) and Diana Kodner's Handbook for Cantors (Liturgy Training Publications). Other entries are from the DMMD bibliography for NPM cantor-music directors seeking DMMD certification.

We certainly do not wish to imply that all cantors must read all of these books in order to be effective in their ministry. Rather, these publications represent ways to deepen your understanding and commitment to your role as a cantor and a person of faith. Learning is a life-long process and we can only begin it from where we are now. As the ancient Chinese saying goes, "the longest journey begins with but one step." Similarly, we do not wish to imply that this list is by any means complete. It should be considered a work in progress and will be edited and updated periodically.

There is no particular order for approaching these lists. Simply choose readings in whatever topic interests you and let the lists take you from there. However, as a suggestion, you may wish to begin with one or selections from books on the cantor's ministry to help orient your further exploration. We plan to eventually provide annotations to each entry to make the list more user friendly.

We hope that you find these lists useful and will return to them often in your formation as a cantor.