Cantor
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Le Chantre | The Cantor
A master-cantor ("Dessin du maître-chantre", drawing by Henri Julien, Journal le Montérégien, https://journalmonteregien.com).
The chantre, or cantor acted as a singer during religious services. The French word chantre comes from the Latin cantare, to sing. From an etymological point of view, a cantor is therefore a "singer".
In a place of Catholic worship, the role of the cantors has long been considered necessary to make the divine word heard, according to a tradition that goes back to ancient times. The cantor sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. His status can be that of clergy but also of laity.
In New France, most parish churches had a musical component, even if it was limited to individuals (as opposed to instruments) for a long time. Early churches normally had two cantors. One would take the lead role of “grand cantor”, “master cantor” or “first cantor”. As numbers increased, a “choir of cantors” or secondary cantors were added, normally meaning a small number of altar boys supported by a few adult cantors. At first, cantors were placed in the choir stalls, then on the “bancs de chantres” (cantors’ benches) and finally in the organ gallery.
In a sense, the main cantor was the priest’s “double”. On one hand, the priest led the liturgy through speech, while on the other hand the cantor took up the word of god by singing it, interpreting it in his own way.
The cantor was normally a man with a certain status within the community. He could read, write, and count. He was also paid for his services as a cantor. He could possible derive other benefits: a free bench at church (most parishioners had to pay for a family bench), as well as a burial and a tomb within the church building, paid for by the parishioners.
Known men who had this occupation: Louis Ango des Maizerets, Joseph Badeaux, Michel Campeau, Joseph de la Colombière, André-Louis de Merlac, Jean Girard, Charles Glandelet, Pierre Hazeur de l’Orme
Sources:
Jean-Pierre Pinson, “Le chantre et la société paroissiale du Québec au XIXe siècle : la musique du lutrin et son temps”, Les cahiers de la Société québécoise de recherche en musique, vol. 2, no 1, p. 29-39, http://www.sqrm.qc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Le-chantre-et-la-societe-paroissiale-du-Quebec-au-XIXe-siecle-la-musique-du-lutrin-et-son-temps.pdf.
“Chantre”, Portail lexique du Centre national de ressources textuelles et lexicales, https://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/chantre.