Hazzan and Qahal: Responsive Chant in Minhag Ashkenaz

Drawing upon textual references in minhag books, siddurim and mahzorim, the article proves that responsive form, the musical interaction between the hazzan and the congregation, was a significant element in synagogue worship in minhag ashkenaz, the liturgical rite of Southwest and South Germany. Even after the rise of virtuoso hazzanut in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, the responsive form, in contrast to the practice in Eastern Europe, continued in many German communities.