Our rich, centuries-old church music tradition, from the time of the Byzantine Empire, the years following the Fall of Constantinople down to the present time, has bequeathed to us music codices and writings on music theory, memorable works of culture by renowned composers: maïstores, protopsaltes, lampadarii, domestiki, didaskali. Thousands of pages of music are looking for the appropriate concern and study, so that they can be made use of and brought to light.

The musical creations of the cantor’s art, of the art of liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox Greek Church, derived mainly from the Great Church of Christ, Constantinople, and the Holy Mountain of Athos, cover all phases of development of Byzantine and post-Byzantine music and are the object of research and the cultivation of music.

It is with the intention of drawing attention to this heritage of music that all the associates of the TROPOS Byzantine Choir and the Centre for Studies of the Cantor’s Art work for the revelation of traditional chant, a deeper knowledge and understanding of the structures and style of the composition and skills of the composers at various periods, and a more complete acquaintance with all the constituent features which are necessary for the musical expression and interpretation of the chants.

A host of compositions await their performance in all the nocturnal and daytime services with consistency in the observance of the rubrics. The musicological research and scholarly approach of traditional cantors serve as the safest signposts towards a handling which is as correct as possible of the church music repertory.