byzantine music

A compendium of Byzantine music resources on the net

Tuesday, July 20, 2004

Byzantine Music


Greek Ecclesiastical Music
Byzantine Music Resources

Dimitri Koubaroulis PhD, DipByzMus
Sydney, 2004

Last updated: 28 Apr 2004





Greek Ecclesiastical Music, also called Byzantine Music, is the musical system traditionally used in most parishes of the Greek Orthodox Church. It is transmitted from generation to generation through written and oral means. In these pages, we present issues and resources related to Greek Ecclesiastical Music.

Special interest:

Now contains the pdf paper proceedings!!

[Contains rare recordings from the abbot of the monastery of St John Prodromos in Gortynia, Greece]
  • An encyclical of the Holy Synod of Greece on Byzantine Music
  • An older encyclical by the Archbishop of Greece

"We know specifically that three Athonite scriptoria - at the Great Lavra, at Vatopedi, and at Iviron - produced manuscripts with musical signs well before the first quarter of the 11th century and these manuscripts constitute some of mankind’s very earliest specimens of musical notation at all - whether in the East or in the West" (Dimitri Conomos, extract from this paper)
  • The Byzantine music notation characters according to the Three Teachers (c. 1814) (By Fr C. Terzopoulos)
  • The last two tracks (7 and 8) are Lord I have cried and Let my prayer by Iakovos Protopsaltis in first mode chanted by Archimandrite Paisije from Hilandar monastery.

Contents:

Typikon (Order/Content of Services)

The international discussion group on Typikon
The Protheoria of the Violakis Typikon in English (Fr Konstantinos Terzopoulos)
The Typikon of the Agrypnia (Vigil) (Archim. Dositheos)
Musical Style ('Yphos')

Musicological debate in cmkon.org
Patriarchal style described at cmkon.org
Patriarchal style described by M. Hatzigiakoumis

My own description:
Patriarchicon yphos is a musical expression influenced by the Patriarchal chanters. In brief, it consists of the following elements:
  • Practical and theoretical excellence in the art of Byzantine Music
  • Chanting of mainly old/traditional melodies and a focus on preserving (and extending) the tradition of the Orthodox church.
  • Well defined rhythm, appropriate for each chanting style (heirmologicon sticheraricon, papadicon)
  • Spiritual/Ecclesiastical attitude (as opposed to layman singing)
  • Exhibition of the meaning of the text rather than the vocal qualities of the chanters
  • Knowledge of the Typikon, both written and unwritten
  • Experience listening to older Patriarchal chanters in order to learn the traditional analysis of the old musical signs/theseis.
Liturgical Texts

Greek (Fr. Leo Schefe)
Greek
English (goarch.org)
Psaltai (chanters, performers)

Patriarchal

Iakovos Nafpliotis (Patriarchate)
Konstantinos Priggos (Patriarchate)
Leonidas Asteris (Patriarchate)
Thrasyvoulos Stanitsas (Patriarchate) (more samples)
Vasilios Emmanouilides (Patriarchate)
Ioannis Xariatides (Patriarchate) (more audio samples)
Demosthenes Paikopoulos (Patriarchate) (interview)
Andreas Petroxeilos (Patriarchate) (dedicated site)
Vasilios Nikolaidis (Patriarchate)
Fr Georgios Tsetsis (Patriarchate) (more audio samples)
N. Danielides (Patriarchate)
Fr Panagiotis Tsinaras (Patriarchate)

Archons

L. Angelopoulos (Athens)
Athanasios Karamanis (Thessaloniki)
Harilaos Taliadoros (Thessaloniki) (more info, and audio samples)
L. Petrides (Thessaloniki)
Nikolaos Nikolaidis (Stokholm)
Antonios Parizianos (Constantinople)
Avraam Efthimiades (Thessaloniki)
Georgios Tsatsaronis (Athens)
Konstantinos Panas (Patras)

Mt Athos

Fr Daniel Danielides
Fr Thomas (Thomades)
Fr Stephanos Danielides
Fr Maximos Vatopedinos
Fr Dionysios Firfiris
Fr Antypas Dochiarites
Fr Amfilochios Dochiarites
Fr Gabriel Magavos
Fr Pateleimon Kartsonas
Fr Spyridon

Others

Dimitri Magouris (Constantinople)
Georgios Karakasis (Damascus)
Elias Bogdanopoulos (Patras)
Leonidas Sfikas (Athens, Chios)
Dimitri Kalomoiris (Athens)
Dimitri Houpas (Athens)
Pavlos Fortomas (Athens)
Katerina Makiej (US)
Ioannis Arvanitis (Athens)
Fotis Ketsetzis (US)
Vasilios Katsifis (Athens)
Simon Karas (Athens)
Georgios Remoundos (Athens)
Konstantinos Bilalis (Athens)
Konstantinos Papathanassiou (Athens)
Georgios Bilalis (New York)
Chrysanthos Theodosopoulos (Thessaloniki)
Konstantinos Zarakovites (Athens)
Georgios Hatzihronoglou (Athens) (more audio samples)
Theodoros Vasileiou (Athens)
Theodoros Vasilikos (Athens) (audio samples)
Stamatios Kissas (Athens)
Theodoulos Kallinikos (Cyprus)
Mathaios Tsamkiranis (Kavala)
Emmanouel Xatzimarkos (Volos)
Dimitrios Angelopoulos ()
Xatzis Staikos ()
Nikolaos Konstantinopoulos ()
Konstantinos Lagouros (Canada)
Nikolaos Miliones (Larissa)
Athanassios Vourlis (Athens)
Petros Patras (Athens)
Fr Chris Christodoulou (Piraeus)
Stylianos Tsilivides ()
Nikolaos Tyrovolis ()
Kallistratos Kofopoulos
Spyridon Maidanoglou ()
Marie Keyrouz (Syria)
Eleftherios Georgiades (Constantinople)
Savvas Avramides ()
Athanassios Petas (Piraeus)
Spyridon Peristeris ()
Georgios Sarris ()
Georgios Syrkas (Athens)
Konstantinos Kalampokas (Chios)
Stelakis Perpiniadis (Constantinople)
Xristos Kromydas (Constantinople)
Xristos Spiliopoulos (Patras) (one of his manuscripts)


Choirs

Simon Karas Choir (Athens, S. Karas)
Greek Byzantine Choir (Athens, L. Angelopoulos) (A typical concert program) (audio samples)
Capella Romana (Portland, A. Lingas)
Romeiko (New York, G. Bilalis)
Maistores (Athens, G. Stathis) (more info) (audio samples)
Melodountes (Athens, K. Bilalis)
Hagiopolites (Athens, I. Arvanites)
University Choir of Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki, A. Alygizakis)
Choir of Thessaloniki (H. Taliadoros)
Choir of Herakleion Crete (Herakleion, I. Tserevelakis)
Choir of the Musical Syllogos of Munich (Munich, P. Anagnostou)
Byzantine Choir (Athens, T. Vasilikos) (audio samples)
Byzantine Choir (Athens, A. Paivanas) (more samples)
Byzantine Choir (Athens, K. Zorbas)
Byzantine Choir (Athens, G. Kakoulidis)
Byzantine Choir (T. Stanitsas)
Byzantine Choir of the Ministry of Finance (Athens, T. Vasilikos)
Byzantine Choir of the Athens Cathedral (Athens, S. Peristeris)
Byzantine Choir of Agrinio (Agrinio, A. Lanaras)
Byzantine Choir of Volos (Volos, M. Meletis)
Pittsburgh Byzantine Choir (Pittsburgh, N. Giannoukakis)
Orthodox Byzantine Choir (Athens, Μ. Makris)
Kalofonarides (Athens, G. Remoundos)
Australian Byzantine Choir (Sydney, G. Combis)
Friends of Byzantine Ecclesiastical Music of South Australia (Adelaide, E. Fragkoulis)
Friends of Constantinople Choir (D. Paikopoulos)
Friends of Constantinople Choir (G. Tsaousis)
Choir of the Holy Monastery of Vatopedi (Christmas Album)
Patriarchal Choirs Live (Instanbul, L.Asteris)
Athonite Choirs Live (Various)
St. Romanos the Melodist Choir (Syria)
St. John of Damaskus Byzantine Choir (Syria)
Antiochian Orthodox Boston Byzantine Choir (Boston)
Holy Cross Theological College Choir (Boston, F. Ketsetzis)
Choir Ioannis Koukouzelis (M. Daskalakis)
Choir of Zoe Brotherhood (Athens)
Choir of Estia (Athens, T. Vasileiou)
Choir of St George Rosebay (Sydney, Australia)
Choir of the Female Monastery of Ormylia (Chalkidiki, Greece)
Ensemble of the Holy Monastery of Docheiariou (Mr Athos)
Byzantine Music Ensemble (Athens, K. Bilalis-K. Papathanassiou)
Byzantion (Basileus) Choir (Romania)
Georgian Choir ()
Bulgarian Choir ()
Coptic Choir ()
History

Georgios Papadopoulos, A Historical Overview of Ecclesiastical Music (in Greek)
History information
On the history of Byzantine music (P. Procopiou)
Byzantine Chant: Past and Present (D. Conomos)
Introduction to Byzantine Music History (K. Fotopoulos)
Technology and GEM

A recording studio specialising in Byzantine music (Euripides Moudanidis, Sydney, Australia)
Byzantini Kalamos
Electronic reading and writing of Byzantine music (EM Polytechnic Greece)
A computer system that does optical Byzantine character recognition and a computer font set to write it:
Attempt to reproduce Byzantine music scales with electronic organ
Ephesios Byzantine music fonts
Fonts for byzantine music
Isocrates

A manuscript for the Romanian monastery of Putna
Bibliography

Many Byzantine Music publications at the on-line bookstore www.mathisis.com
A detailed list of published old Byzantine music books
A History of Byzantine Music and Hymnography. Second Edition, Egon Wellesz, Oxford University Press (Clarendon Press), 1997 (reprint of 1949 edition).
Bilbiography (G. Anastasiou)
Learning resources

Byzantine music tutorial (David, Melling, in English)
Antiochian tutorial on Byzantine chant with piano
Byzantine chant theory and audio files and sheet music in English/western notation
Reading psalmodia (part_A part_B)
Using technology to teach Byzantine chant
Learning Byzantine music in London (UK)
Research

L. Boulton Collection of Byzantine Chants (Harvard)
Institute of Byzantine Musicology (Athens, Greece)
Byzantine music resources of the MMB Copenhagen
Znameny Chant (Old Russian chant) research
Old (1930) recordings of Byzantine music (Melpo Merlie)
Musicologist Kaiti Romanou
Monuments of Ecclesiastical Music recording series (more info)
"Epefanes Simeron" is written in Fourth Mode but most psaltai sing it in Third or in Fourth Plagal. Here is a version in Fourth (Legetos) Plagiazonta
The research work of the Greek Byzantine Choir (by M. Adamis)
Biography: Musicologist Mixalis Adamis
Byzantine musicology professor Anthony Alygizakis (Thessaloniki)
Ionian University: Polyphony in Byzantine music (audio samples)
Traditional Greek music department of Ionian University (Corfu, Greece)
Article on Byzantine and post-Byzantine music manuscripts by G. Stathis (in Greek)
A nice collection of old manuscripts from the monastery of Putna in Romania.
Images of old Byzantine music manuscripts
Mount Athos Manuscripts Digital Library
Musicologist Diane Touliatos (article)
Gregorios Stathis: Articles on Byzantine music from the magazine of the Church of Greece (in Greek) (partA partB)
Archiving project of Athens University (G. Amargianakis)
Article: On the ekphonetic notation
Old (1924-1930) recordings of Byzantine music (to buy)
Personal profile of Ioannis Arvanitis
The hymonographic contribution of the Antiochian Church in the 6th and 7th centuries
Conference Presentation: Konstantinos Protopsaltes (Fr C. Terzopouloulos)
Musicological debate about theoretical and practical issues in cmkon.org
Acrticle about music manuscripts by Gregorios Stathis
Conference Paper: Here (I. Papathanassiou)
Glossary of many terms (including many related to Byzantine Music, in Greek)

On the correct analysis/expression of the Byzantine Music notation

S. Karas/L. Angelopoulos examples of analyses of the musical signs
Book: D. Nerantzis, Contribution to the Correct Interpretation of the Ecclesiastical Melos

Polyphony/Western influences in the Greek church

The melos of the Zakynthian church (M. Dragoumis)

The Millenium Celebration of the Holy Monastery of Xenophon, Mt Athos, 1998.
Published in a double CD, see photos and music samples

Frs Daniel, Stephanos and Thomas chanting at that service
(photo source: http://inathos.gr)
Greek Ecclesiastical Music in Australia

Sydney : Australian Byzantine Choir (G. Combis) (While the official site is under construction, see photos and music samples, more music samples here)
Adelaide: Association of Friends of Byzantine Ecclesiastical Music of South Australia (E. Fragkoulis)
Psaltai Societies and Schools

Society of Psaltai of Thessaloniki
Psaltai's Association of Messologi, Greece
Montreal School of Byzantine chant
Americal Society of Byzantine Music and Humnology
Munich Chanter's Association
Pages on Byzantine Music

Fr Konstantinos Terzopoulos
Pavlos Papadakis
Giannis Spirakis
Nectarios Joannou
External (non-Ecclesiastical) Music

Comparison of maqams/modes
Greek folk music & dance resources
Greek-Cypriot folk music resources
Byzantine carols
Laments for the fall of Constantinople (A. Giakoumakis)
Byzantine Music Conferences

1st Byzantine Musicology Conference Athens, 2000
2nd Byzantine Musicology Conference Athens, 2003
Iasi Byzantine Music Conference Series
Byzantine Music in Different Languages

Greek Russian Serbian Arabic Bulgarian American English Georgian
Serbian Orthodox Chants and Carols
Soeur Marie Keyrouz
Fairuz (Coptic music)
Download Byzantine music samples from various traditions (Greek, Arabic)
Audio Samples

Friends of Music of Constantinople
Byzantine music at the site of the church of Greece
Byzantine music at the site of the Greek Orthodox church of America
Download some Byzantine music files
Apostoliki Diakonia of the Church of Greece
Bookstores

Many Byzantine Music publications at the on-line bookstore www.mathisis.com
Nektarios Panagopoulos Booskstore, Athens, Greece
Bookstore of the Apostoliki Diakonia, Athens, Greece
Tertios Publishing House, Athens, Greece
Agion Oros Bookstore, Athens, Greece


A manuscript decoration drawing of the "wise parallagi (sign reading)" of St. Ioannis Koukouzelis
Various Resources

A brief (nonetheless interesting) overview of Byzantine Music in Greek by Fr Christos Kyriakopoulos & K. Markos
Article: On Byzantine Music (S. Despotis)
Short article on Byzantine chant
Article: on Byzantine chant (Archim. Athanassios Tsiamakis)
A 8th year student essay on Byzantine music (in Greek)
Article: Byzantine music as an educational means (in Greek) by A. Vourlis
Article: on Byzantine music (Fr Thomas Bambinis)
Live recordings from Mount Athos (to buy)
K. Zorbas discography (to buy)
Reconstructions of secular Byzantine Music (Christodoulos Chalaris) (to buy)
Holy Monastery of Vatopedi (Mt Athos) Some of its CD collection (CD1 CD2 CD3)
Fr Konstantinos Terzopoulos: Byzantine music in Western notation
Audio samples (serbian, greek) (more chants)
Audio samples (romanian, greek)
Audio samples (romanian)
Ivan Moody: A wealth of links related to Ecclesiastical music of various traditions
Harmonised Byzantine Music (St John Theologian Choir)

Kalophonic Heirmos Damianou Monaxou En Sinaio To Orei page_1 page_2
Kratema Petrou Lambadariou page_1 page_2 page_3 page_4 page_5 page_6