Here is a cantor!

[John Ainslie]

During a service with Pope Francis at the Ground Zero Memorial in New York City, Cantor Azi Schwartz delivered a haunting rendition of the Jewish prayer to the fallen.

Here it is: https://youtu.be/EQ6QItyQnGY

[gwyn]

Many if not all of the other Papal Liturgies during his American visit were musically toe-curling mainly due to the over-use of cantors:
* singing hymns via a microphone from the ambo even though a perfectly adequate choir is singing.
* singing every single Vesper psalm verse into an ambo mic even though a choir were singing the verses (possibly delightfully) from their stalls.
Painful.

Despite this the visit seems to have been well received.

[High Peak]

I was very uncomfortable with one person taking the both the ministry of cantor AND the ministry of animator. I just didn't look right with her singing the Missal Kyrie and then conducting the congregation for their part.

[alan29]

Its a shame that the bishop in that clip was unable to remain more centred.

[VML]

Oooops!
(Sorry oopsorganist, -not you).

We are very short of cantors in our parish, and I have frequently sung the psalm, as well as playing the organ for some of the Mass and/or hymns, and leading the singing, though not conducting.
Needs must.
At least that is all under the music ministry. It gets difficult when various instrumentalists leave their place to go and cover the children's liturgy, to read, or to be extraordinary ministers of Communion.

[High Peak]

In our parishes we can, indeed, be short of skilled, willing volunteers and many of us will have had to have multi-tasked. But I can't imagine that that was the situation for a Papal Mass! I really don't think it looked good; wrong combination of ministries.

[alan29]

In our parishes we can, indeed, be short of skilled, willing volunteers and many of us will have had to have multi-tasked. But I can't imagine that that was the situation for a Papal Mass! I really don't think it looked good; wrong combination of ministries.

I agree. That sort of thing reminds me of the sing-along at the end of the Good Old Days .... "All together now ......"
And it makes him/her too much the centre of attention.

[VML]

True, true, both.

[High Peak]

.........That sort of thing reminds me of the sing-along at the end of the Good Old Days .... "All together now ......"
And it makes him/her too much the centre of attention.

My feeling exactly.