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]

Simon Karas style
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 Ecclesiastical 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)
Stavropoleos Choir, Dir. Arhid. Gabriel Constantin Oprea, Romania [YouTube]
Archdiocesan Byzantine Choir of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Dir. Archdeacon Panteleimon Papadopoulos [Official site] [Facebook]