Χορωδίες Βυζαντινής Εκκλησιασιτικής Μουσικής / Byzantine Music Choirs
Note that it is often impossible to correctly classify a choir under one category.
Choirs evolve and change style with time or depending on the repertoire or the artistic
director of the time. With time we will describe the reasons for classifying each
choir and we will put choirs under more than one category. Some categories may disappear
and others will be added. A brief description about choirs in each category below
can be found under each heading.
This list is incomplete. Please
submit choirs that are missing.
Patriarchal
The left and right choirs of the Great Church (Ecumenical Patriarchate).
Lots of live recordings at cmkon.org
Athonite
Multi-numbered choirs of Athonite monks chanting primarily in monastic vigil services.
Athonite Choirs (live)
More recordings in Comparisons section
Athonite brotherhood choirs
Small-numbered choirs of Athonite monks that belong to the same brotherhood and
often have their own individual style.
Various recordings in Comparisons section
University style
Choirs consisting of academic teachers and students or taught by them.
University Byzantine Choir
(A. Alygizakis, University of Makedonia)
Maistores
Χορωδία Δήμου Ηρακλείου (Καθηγητής Γεώργιος Αμαργιαννάκης) / Choir of Heracleion
City (Prof. Georgios Amargiannakis) [html]
Choir of the Female Monastery of Ormylia (Chalkidiki, Greece)
Choir of the Female Monastery of Pantokratoros (Taou Penteles)
Choir of Kykkos Monastery
(Cyprus)
Conservatorium
Choirs representing a movement towards simple, unornamented chanting often
taught at conservatoriums.
Choir "Romanos o Melodos" (A. Belousis)
Choir of the Athens Cathedral (S. Peristeris)
Choir "Iakovos Nafpliotis"
(Argolis, G. Karagiannis)
Thessaloniki
Choirs following the characteristic style of Thessaloniki, influenced partly from
the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Byzantine Choir (H. Taliadoros)
Choir Ioannis Koukouzelis (M. Daskalakis)
Theodromoi (Eleftherios
Eleftheriadis)
Byzantine Choir (Eleftherios Georgiadis)
Byzantine Choir (L. Petridis)
Byzantine Choir (Th. Apostolopoulos)
Idymelon
Θεσσαλονικείς Υμνωδοί (Ι. Λιάκος) / Thessalonikeis Hymnodoi (I. Liakos) [html]
Karas' infuenced
Choirs implementing some or all of the teachings of Simon Karas
Choir of the Association for the Dissemination
of National Music (S. Karas)
Greek Byzantine Choir (L. Angelopoulos)
Orthodox Eccelsiastical Byzantine Choir (Michalis Makris)
Melodountes (K. Bilalis)
Hagiopolites (I. Arvanites)
Kalofonarides
(G. Remoundos)
Choir of Estia (T. Vasileiou)
Byzantine Choir (D. Galanis)
Byzantine Choir (K. Markos)
Byzantine Choir of Agrinio
(Agrinio, A. Lanaras)
Capella Romana (Portland, A. Lingas)
Romeiko (New York, G. Bilalis)
Byzantion (Basileus) Choir (Romania)
Choir of the Holy Monastery of Vatopedi, Mt Athos (K. Angelidis)
Hagios Niketas o Neos (I. Papachronis)
Moisey Petrovich (Serbian)
Kovilj monastery choir
(Serbian)
Saint Romanos choir (Bulgarian)
(for pieces of the above see the page on imitating the style of the Greek Byzantine
Choir [html])
Traditional style young choirs
Non-systematically trained choirs consisting and directed by young psaltai
Konstantinos Fotopoulos' choir
Youth Choir of St. Nicholas Church (Thessaloniki)
Choirs influenced by Thr. Stanitsas' choir
style
Choirs that follow the style of Thrasyvoulos Stanitsas' choir (often identified
by abrupt cuts between musical phrases and/or vertically harmonised isokratema)
Byzantine Choir (T. Stanitsas)
Ergasteri Psaltikes (A. Paivanas)
Byzantine Choir
of the Holy Cross seminary (F. Ketsetzis)
Pittsburgh Byzantine Choir
(Pittsburgh, N. Giannoukakis)
Friends of Constantinople Choir
(D. Paikopoulos)
Friends of Constantinople Choir
(G. Tsaousis)
Byzantine Choir (K.
Zorbas)
Byzantine Choir of the Ministry of Finance
(T. Vasilikos)
Byzantine Choir of Volos (Volos, M. Meletis)
Χορωδία Σωματείου Ιεροψαλτών ν. Ηρακλείου "Ανδρέας ο Κρήτης" (διάφοροι χοράρχες)
/ Choir of Association of Psaltai of Heracleion "Andreas from Crete" (various directors)
[html]
Χορωδία Ηρακλειωτών Ψαλτών (Ιωάννης Τσερεβελάκης) / Choir of Psaltai from Heracleion,
Crete (I. Tserevelakis) [html]
Western influenced choirs
Choirs that either are mixed (male/female), or consist of western-trained musicians
or have performed some westernised pieces or sometimes make regular use of western
intervals, have western artistic expression/vocal production or heavily vertically
harmonised isokratema.
Stoudion (France,
A. Atlanti)
Antiochian Orthodox
Boston Byzantine Choir (Boston)
Eikona (US)
Mixed Choir of St. Menas' Church (I. Damarlakis, Crete)
Choirs with vertically harmonised and mechanically
amplified isokratema
Choirs where isokratema often sounds like a moving second voice instead of a supporting
discreet drone.
Byzantine Choir (P. Fortomas)
Mt. Lebanon Choir (Lebanon)
Byzantine Choir (T. Vasilikos)
Other/Unsorted
Choirs that either we didn't have time to classify or we don't know which category
to put them yet.
Byzantine Choir (G. Kakoulidis)
Byzantine Choir (P. Kalampakas)
Byzantine Choir (A. Pettas)
Byzantino Echochroma (Patras, N. Pitsioungas)
Psaltic Association of Aegialeia
(Aigio, F. Oikonomou)
Choir of the Musical Syllogos of Munich
(Munich, P. Anagnostou)
Australian Byzantine Choir
(Sydney, G. Combis)
Friends of Byzantine Ecclesiastical
Music of South Australia (Adelaide, E. Fragkoulis)
St. Romanos the Melodist
Choir (Syria)
St. John of Damaskus Byzantine
Choir (Syria)
Choir of St George Rosebay (Sydney, Australia)