Byzantine Music Days

Alternative Stage Founding Donor

Major Sponsor of the Greek National Opera

The Byzantine Music Days festival, titled “Genres and generations of contemporary psaltic art” and curated by performer and theologian Zaharias Karounis, presents four unique concerts at the GNO Alternative Stage at the SNFCC, highlighting the tradition of Byzantine music and its contemporary manifestations. On 21, 22, 23 and 24 October 2026, historic choirs, distinguished chief cantors, new voices, and female psaltic ensembles will showcase the wealth of a musical legacy that remains vibrant and creatively present.

The Festival’s central axis is the concept of “genre,” as expressed through the musical genres of Byzantine theory, the various psaltic schools and traditions that have evolved over the centuries, and modern approaches to psaltic art. Each day of the festival is organised around a major hymnological and theological axis of the Church’s worship experience. The four concerts – “Christmas Hymns” (21/10), “Hymns of the Divine Liturgy: Hymns from the Paraklesis and Salutations to the Most Holy Theotokos (Virgin Mary)” (22/10), “Hymns of Holy Week and the Resurrection” (23/10), and “Hymns of the All-Night Vigil” (24/10) – compose a polyphonic tableau of modern-day psaltic art.

The festival aspires to become a new meeting ground for the GNO Alternative Stage and the vibrant Greek musical tradition, and to expand Byzantine music's reach to a wider contemporary audience.

More specifically, the programme for the Byzantine Music Days festival is as follows:
♦ Christmas Hymns
21 October 2026 • Starts at: 20.30
“Kleida" Chanters' Choir, Choirmaster, monody: Dimitrios Galanis
Solo chanter: Grigorios Zarkos, Chief Cantor (Protopsaltis) at the Holy Church of Piraeus, Holy Church of the Holy Trinity  
Choir of chanters “The masters of psaltic art,” Choirmaster: Achilleas G. Chaldaeakes

Genres and generations of psaltic art

Opening address by Achilleas G. Chaldaeakes, Professor of Byzantine Musicology and Psaltic Art, NTUA, former Dean of the School of Philosophy

The first day of the festival is dedicated to Christmas, the “metropolis of all holy days,” as Saint John Chrysostom described it. Through the hymns of the Great Hours, Vesper, and Orthros, ecclesiastical hymnography contemplates the mystery of the Divine Incarnation. The choirs of chanters will perform works by prominent hymnodists and composers of the Byzantine tradition, such as Saint John of Damascus, Saint Romanos the Melodist, Saint John Koukouzelis, and Peter of the Peloponnese, highlighting the celebration's poetic and musical richness.

♦ Hymns of the Divine Liturgy
Hymns from the Paraklesis and Salutations to the Most Holy Theotokos (Virgin Mary)
22 October 2026 • Starts at: 20.30
Women's choral ensemble “Ouranisma”
Women's Byzantine Choir “Psaltries,” Choirmistress: Nektaria Karantzi
Girls’ Byzantine Choir “Nektar” 
Solo chanter Georgios Dovolos, Archon Maistor of the Great Church of Christ
Ainountes • Choirmaster Anastasios Stellas

Introduction to the Divine Liturgy

Opening address by f. Evangelos Papanikolaou, theologian, doctor, missionary at the Holy Church of Cameroon

The second day will focus on the Divine Liturgy, the heart of Orthodox worship, where the ecclesial body unites “in one mouth and one heart,” praising the Holy Trinity and participating in the mystery of the Divine Eucharist. The Byzantine Choir "Ainountes" will perform chants from the Divine Liturgy, highlighting the deep connection among speech, melos, and worship practices. Alongside them, women's choirs will chant hymns from the services of the Paraklesis and the Salutations to the Most Holy Theotokos.

♦ Hymns of Holy Week and the Resurrection
23 October 2026 • Starts at: 20.30
Children’s Choir of the School of Psaltic Art • Musical direction Konstantinos Bousdekis
“En Psaltirio” Choir  •  Musical direction Konstantinos Fotopoulos
Choir of the Association of Constantinopolitan Friends of Music in Athens • Choirmaster Kallistratos V. Kofopoulos
Athenian Byzantine Choir, Choirmaster Dionysios Thanasoulis
The Troparion of Kassiani – A Theological And Hymnological Approach

Opening address by Zaharias Karounis, performer - theologian

The third day of the Festival is dedicated to the most reverent and radiant period of the Orthodox Church’s liturgical cycle: Holy Week and Christ’s Resurrection. Through the tropária of these days, ecclesiastical hymnography traces the path to Christ’s “willful Passion,” the Crucifixion, and ultimately to the Light of the Resurrection. The choirs and solo chanters will perform hymns from the services of the Bridegroom, the Holy Passion, the Epitaphios Lament, and the Resurrection, highlighting the theological, poetic, and musical richness of the Byzantine psaltic tradition.
The concert is dedicated to the memory of the late Chief Cantor and Archon Hymnodist of the Great Church of Christ, Georgios Hatzichronoglou.

♦ Hymns of the All-Night Vigil
24 October 2026 • Starts at: 20.30
Greek Byzantine Choir “Lykourgos Angelopoulos” • Choirmaster: Georgios Konstantinou
Solo chanters Archimandrite Cherubim Tsinoglou, Fotios Ketsetzis Archon Protopsaltis  of the Holy Archdiocese of America, Vassilios Prassas
All-night Vigil. A Conceptual Approach

Opening address by f. Chrysovalantis Theodorou PhD in Liturgical Theology from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, vicar at the Holy Church of Theotokos’ Dormition, St. Stefanos, Attica,

The last day of the Festival is dedicated to the ritual and atmosphere of the Mount Athos all-night vigil, in which psaltic art is inextricably linked to nighttime prayer, silence, and the mystical experience of worship. Through the hymns of the all-night vigil and the distinctive Mount Athos psaltic style, a deeply experiential tradition shaped over the centuries within the monasteries of Mount Athos emerges. The choral melismatic developments, combined with the melodious performances of the solo chanters and the constant flow of psalmody,  transport the audience to the spiritual atmosphere of Mount Athos all-night vigils, where music serves as both prayer and an experience of collective reverence.