About Us: Saint Alexander Choir was founded by Ioannis Kottoros, Cantor at Saint Alexander’s Church in Palaion Faliron, in 1943 and conducted by him until 2006. However, the existence of a primary form of the Choir conducted by Agesilaos Papantoniou and then Ioanni... moreSaint Alexander Choir was founded by Ioannis Kottoros, Cantor at Saint Alexander’s Church in Palaion Faliron, in 1943 and conducted by him until 2006. However, the existence of a primary form of the Choir conducted by Agesilaos Papantoniou and then Ioannis Kottoros in succession is traced in 1930s.
Since its foundation the Choir has had an exclusive and leading position in the parish ecclesiastical music, and, like Saint Alexander’s Church, follows the eastern orthodox doctrine and comes under the Holy Metropolis of Nea Smyrni. Both the Choir and the former conductor Ioannis Kottoros have been awarded several times;
recently, in 2005, they were honoured with the Golden Cross of Apostle Paul by His Beatitude the late Archbishop of Athens and all Greece, Christodoulos.
The Choir consists totally of men and performs the choral part during the Divine Liturgy in Saint Alexander’s Church every Sunday (10.20 a.m. - 12.00 p.m.) of its operational year, which begins on the first Sunday of November and lasts until mid-April. Additionally, it sings the “Hymn by Kassiani” of Holy Wednesday Matins (Sequence of Bridegroom, Holy Tuesday, approx. 20.30) every two years.
The main feature of the Choir is non-instrumental (a capella) polyphonic music for male voice, four-part (TTBB) and rarely three-part (TTB), created in the 19th and 20th centuries by Greek and Russian composers for orthodox worship ceremonies, e.g. the Divine Liturgy and the Rites of Baptism (Christening), Wedding, Funeral, etc. Its activity is incorporated in the 200-year Athenian tradition of Greek polyphonic ecclesiastical music as one of the last representatives of this particular kind of music. The regular and honorary members are amateur musicians, who believe in continuation of the local music tradition expressed through the Athenian school of polyphonic ecclesiastical music.
Saint Alexander’s Choir has 32 regular, normally non-paid members, except guest participations by members of other choirs.
Repertoire
Saint Alexander’s Choir performs musical work classified into the three following groups:
1. Ecclesiastical – liturgical repertory
It includes musical work composed by musicians, who belong into:
a. the School of Athenian Polyphonic Ecclesiastical Music, e.g.
Amongst the musical works presented by Saint Alexander’s Choir during the Divine Liturgy in Saint Alexander’s Church in Palaion Faliron, one may notice the significant contribution of the music production by Panagiotis Georgiou (Athens 1915-1984), composer and professor of Byzantine music at the Conservatoire of Athens.
Georgiou composed two complete polyphonic Divine Liturgies and harmonized the melody of the “Hymn by Kassiani” written by Ioannis Sakellarides into a polyphonic composition for a four-part male voice choir and a solo soprano (March 1961). Earlier (1951) he composed and presented the short oratorio “Apostle Paul”, which is totally lost, except the introduction and last choral section. Generally speaking, he harmonized several Byzantine melodies into polyphonic pieces, in order to be sung by Saint Alexander’s Choir.
The scheduled operations of the Choir for the liturgical year 2011-2012 (Divine Liturgies by Saint John Chrysostomos and by Basil the Great) involve almost exclusively performing pieces of music by Panagiotis Georgiou, since the first voluminous critical edition (editio princeps) of his Complete Works (opera omnia) is planned to be released in Greek under the title “Panagiotis Georgiou, Polyphonic Music” (Παναγιώτη Γεωργίου, "Πολυφωνική Μουσική") within 2012.
b. other national Schools of orthodox ecclesiastical polyphonic music.
Even though originally composed for the Orthodox Churches of East as regards the language of lyrics, a portion of these choral opuses has been adapted to the Greek lyrics of the Divine Liturgy within the 19th century; more precise information about when and by whom the adaptation was carried out is unknown. Dominant Russian and Ukrainian composers are:
• Dmitry Bortniansky (1751-1825)
• Pyotr Ivanovich Turchaninov (1779-1856)
• Gavriil Yakimovich Lomakin (1812-1885)
The polyphonic compositions mentioned above apart, Saint Alexander’s Choir sings also:
c. Byzantine monophonic compositions featuring pedals and
transcribed into Western (European) musical notation. Monophony practice focuses on excellent elocution, rhythmic accuracy, and tonal stability.
The ecclesiastical - liturgical repertory described above is performed exclusively in the second Divine Liturgy in Saint Alexander’s Church, Palaion Faliron, as the choral part of it during the Choir’s operational year (i.e. from November until April). It is likely presented in other churches as well, whenever the Choir is invited to during the rest of the liturgical year (i.e. from May until October).
2. Religious repertory
It is comprised of religious musical works by composers of any nationality and language that can be staged at concert halls. They may originate among all periods of Western a capella music over and above musical works by Greek composers from Renaissance until nowadays. In general, they are all usually considered famous masterpieces composed for mixed a capella choirs and many of them have been arranged for male voice choirs either four-part, five-part, or even six-part.
3. Secular repertory
It refers to all kinds of secular music from the Golden Age of Polyphony (15th and 16th ce less
Additional names: Χορωδία Αγίου Αλεξάνδρου (Ανδρική Πολυφωνική)
Location: 14, St. Alexander str. & Alkyonis str., 175 61 Palaion Faliron, Athens, Greece , Greece [map]
4,138 views - added November 27, 2012 - admin of this choir page is George Arvanitis
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