Cantor

CANTOR: A name applied in the early Church to those who were specially set apart to conduct the singing. They are mentioned as a special class in the Apostolic Constitutions and in the 402canons of the Council of Laodicea (365), and were set apart by the clergy with a particular rite. In the later Western Church the name was also applied in cathedrals and collegiate churches to one of the canons who had the oversight of the musical instruction of the younger members and led the musical part of the service; called also precentor. It is sometimes used quite generally for specially designated singers, whether clerical or lay, who intone or begin the psalms, antiphons, and hymns.