The Byzantine Music Days festival, titled “Genres and generations of contemporary psaltic art” and curated by performer and theologian Zaharias Karounis, offers a four-day musical and cultural pilgrimage through the world of Byzantine music, highlighting the vibrant continuity of psaltic art and the many manifestations of a tradition that remains creatively alive to date.

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