John Anthony McGuckin
Psaltes (Cantor)
DIMITRI CONOMOS
One of the minor clerical orders in those Orthodox Churches that employ monophonic chants. The chief cantor, the protopsaltes, initiates choral performances by intoning a conventional formula or, more frequently, by singing one or two starting notes to establish the pitch. The earliest testimonies to a solo cantor are from Constantinople (second half of the 4th century) where, in the responsorial execution of scriptural verse – especially psalmody – the cantor sang refrains which were repeated by the congregation. In Byzantium there were two choirs, each with its own leader: the protopsaltes for the right choir and the lampadarios for the left.