The performance of sacred song often involves the talents of cantors, chanters, precentors, and criers--also known as chantres, djaky, psalom-shchniki, hazanim, protopsalti, and muezzins. The present volume explores this unique class of musicians from a variety of perspectives to offer the first survey of its kind. Folklorists join with ethnomusicologists, cantors, and enthusiasts to illuminate the many facets of this rich, living tradition.