“WORLD CHRISTMAS – Incessant Doxology”

Psalmody of the Orthodox East the HolyTwelve Days of Christmas

For consecutive year, the Municipality of Volos, in his Christmas celebrations, continuing the excellent cooperation with Metropolis Dimitriados will offer to residents of the city an excellent event, inspired by precious treasures of Orthodox ecclesiastical Psaltic art, also known as Byzantine Music.

This year’s event is co-organized with a new collaborator of our city, still unknown, Sector of Chanting Arts and Musicology of Volos Academy for Theological Studies, whose Chairman is the well known theologian and musicologist, Konstantinos Har. Karagounis , assistant professor of Byzantine music of Higher Ecclesiastical Academy of Athens. The newly established foundation has excellent partners, distinguished musicologists of our region (Basiliki Goussis, Costas Drygianakis , Christos Kotopoulos, Dr.Xanthoula Papapanagiotou Constantinos Saitis , Tigkas Achilles ), and also has an excellent cooperation with the local local choir of Volos “John Koukouzelis”, whose new President is  Mr. Efstathios Grammenos institutional member of the foundation.

This Christmas event  will be the first official appearance of  Sector of Chanting Arts and Musicology of Volos Academy for Theological Studies (remind that Director of the Academy for Theological Studies is Theologian Dr. Pantelis Kalaitzides). Sector has participated in many activities in Volos, Greece and abroad, with participations of his members in international musicological conferences.

The event is titled “WORLD CHRISTMAS. Incessant Doxology – Psalmody of the Orthodox East the Holy Twelve Days of Christmas”will be held Saturday January 4, 2014 in the theater of old electric and begin at 7:00 pm, exactly.

The originality of the event is that will be heard Byzantine and Post Byzantine hymns of the Holy Twelve Days of Christmas in different languages. That’s why invited Greek and foreign Orthodox priests, monks and cantors, who will chant in their own language, known for us  ecclesiastical hymns of Christmas and Epiphany, in their traditional Byzantine musical text.

In the  program will be added, short, theological and musicological texts and slides (custody by Xanthoula Papapanagiotou) and  will be heard also old vintage pieces of vinyls, gramophone’s discs and interpretations of new chanters selected by the Internet (Options: Konstantinos Drygianakis). Purpose of this event is to to bring out the greatness of Byzantine music and culture as received our days and become a global musical heritage of Orthodoxy. In our days the worldwide Orthodox community wishes and take care to insert in their worship Byzantine psalmody. The main objective of this event is to create an devout atmosphere, which will guide the audience in Incessant Doxology of the Holy Triune God.

(English translation: Konstantinos Saitis)