Iakovos
NAFPLIOTIS
1864-1942 

Psaltopedia

FREE
Multilingual
Psaltic

(including
Gregorian chant)
TEACHING center
presented by

Stylianos
TSOLAKIDIS
 +1987

The LAST
great and Majestuous
Archon Protopsaltis of the
Holy and Great
Church of Christ
in Constantinople

Protocanonarchos
and helper Domestichos
during the Protochantry of
Iakovos NAFPLIOTIS
(until 1925)

Resurrection of our Lord and God and Saviour, Jesus CHRIST

Prophet, King and hymnod (Psalter),
DAVID

Orthodox Christian Church
Monastery of Our Lady
Pantanassa(the Queen of all)  
(Mystras, Peloponnesos,
Hellas [Greece]

Psaltic Notation

(examples of its evolution)

O Crux, ave, spes unica
O Croix, salut, notre unique espérance
Hail, O Cross, our only hope
Reliquary with Holy Cross fragments offered by Justin II,
Emperor of Byzantium (New Rome),
to Ste. Radegonde,
Queen of  the Francs
and nun.
(Constantinople - Poitiers, FRANCE year 569)

Objective 1:
To PRESERVE traditional PSALTIKI

(so-called “Byzantine Music” by those who know little of,
or who REFUSE its LITURGICAL FUNCTION,
and thus attempt to
either DISSOCIATE it from prayer
or ASSOCIATE it as much as possible
with instrumental music
by using such traditionally INEXISTENT names...)

against the depredation it suffers from its
innumerable detractors,
who, under the pretence of

either some palaeographical chicken-scratching
or some calumniously imitated  “hyphos” chanting,

have, in the past one hundred years,

completely DESTROYED this beautiful patrimony,

by making it sound,
in their TOTAL lack of traditional learning,
as

either EFFEMINATE

or DRUNKEN SAILOR
singing
(both of which are NOT = chanting).

Objective 2:
To contribute
to the RE-ESTABLISHMENT
as well as to the PRESERVATION
of traditional LATIN PSALMODY,
(so-called “Gregorian Music”)
which is nothing other than the
Ecphonetic counterpart of PSALTIKI
which was once used in Constantinople,
which found its new home in Rome,
which was (and still remains)
WELL conserved in written form
but unfortunately NOT so in its oral form,
and which is still partly in use
in the Liturgical Ecphoneseis
of the higher clergy
of the Eastern Church.

Objective 3:
To CONVINCE
both Occidental and Oriental Church
clergy and praying followers
that
traditional PSALTIKI,
once PURGED and HEALED of the contemporary
either EFFEMINATE
or DRUNKEN SAILOR
singing PANDEMIC 
(which is NOT = chanting),

will CONTINUE to excel in its original function
as a SOURCE of LIFE and RESURRECTION
through the PRAYER it helps inspire,
and thus,
of the RESPONSABILITY that lays upon them
to PRESERVE
TRADITIONAL PSALTIC PAEDAGOGY.

This traditional paedagogy is in
COMPLETE opposition
to the means and methods as well as to the Contemporary interpretations
provided

on one hand
by some supposedly competent
paleographeo-ornitho-skalismatologists
(paleographic "chicken scrathers")
who were taught and continue to teach
auto-innovated SPECULATIVE MUSIC,
which is both
INVERTEBRATE and INSIPID,

and
on the other hand
some autoproclaimed
"patriachiko-hyphologists"
("patriarchal style" singers)
who, in their lack of
AUTHENTIC and SUFFICIENT
psaltic paedogogy,
infest the chuch echos with borborygms,

each adding to an ongoing list of
a type of SINGING
which is NOT = chanting
and which is
TOTALLY INAPPROPRIATE
as to the Resurrectional "élan vital" = vital drive
which Church chant should provide to PRAYER.

and many others,

including the paedagogical tape recordings of the late
EXCEPTIONAL teacher
Constantinos KATSOULIS
whose recordings of the Anastasimatarion as well as the entire Heirmologion
in both melos and parallage (psaltic "melody" and "solfegio")
are available from his son:
Lambros KATSOULIS
Agiou Georgiou 78
Neo Psychiko
15451 Athens
Tel. +30 210-6710-368
lambrostms@yahoo.gr

Please help develop this site and to complete the table below
(I’m no web specialist…).
Don’t hesitate to correspond for any psaltic matter.
Contact Georgios K. MICHALAKIS at:
g_michalakis@yahoo.fr

JOIN the
Psaltopedia discussion forum

Download the FREE Psaltiki editor

Psaltikographos
Ψαλτικογράφος

Help complete the pre-positioned font!!!

Welcome to

PSALTOPEDIA

Iakovos NAFPLIOTIS was the last great chanter of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, in the turn of the 20^th century.

He grew up in the Patriarchate ever since a young age,
and was the LAST psaltis
to have gone through ALL the psaltic “offikions” = grades,
so as to become
Protopsaltis.

He knew palaeography, YET implemented traditional methodology
of “singing along by heart” so as to transmit this age-old tradition.

There are about 5 hours’ worth of
Iakovos NAFPLIOTIS
recordings on old 78 rpms:
(mentor:  Dimitrios KOUBAROULIS, Ph.D.,
www.analogion.com)

Stylianos TSOLAKIDIS was First canonarch when Constantinos Priggos was Domestichos. 
Stylianos TSOLAKIDIS’ disciple,
Georgios K. MICHALAKIS (GKM),
as well as a very few other psaltis,
fight for the SAFEKEEPING of this tradition.

During the past century, many deviations from traditional psaltiki have led to the formation of “schools” which today GREATLY outnumber the few traditional psaltis.

So that the voice of the latter few might be heard
amidst the present psaltic chaos,
some affirmative action is necessary.

IF
the name does NOT appear
on the above list,
then
you SHOULD NOT be listening
to its singing
IF
you are REALLY interested in
AUTHENTIC psaltiki,

REGARDLESS
of degrees, diplomas, titles, hats...
and other such paraphernalia,
which only attest to the
CONTEMPORARY derision
of PSALTIKI.

This page is intended for those
who DO NOT know
or
who wish to know MORE
about Psaltiki, as it was transmitted by
Iakovos NAFPLIOTIS,
who was the last great psaltis of the Patriarchate of Constantinople,
and hence the purest recorded voice of the so-called
Patriarchal Style (Hyphos)
which is the most serious
and well-balanced
chanting appropriate for
Orthodox Church prayer.

Because I do not have enough time to complete the table, please go to the following site for many traditional hymns (Kallophonikos Heirmos, Cheroubikons, Koinonikons, Canons including Theia Metalipsis, as well as hymns from the pre-schismatic Western Church Gradual, Offertorial, etc…)

Lots of Psaltiki at:

http://graeca.canto.ru/upload/MontrealPsaltiki/

Γεώργιος Μιχαλάϰης
(τοῦ Κωνσταντίνου ϰαὶ τῆς Σωτηρίας)
Λαϰεδαίμον τῇ καταγωγῇ,
ἐϰ νῆσου Μοντρεάλ, Καναδᾶ.
Πρωτοϰανονάρχου μαϑητής.

Ἐγεννήϑη εἰς τὴν νῆσον Μοντρεάλ, ὄπου εἰσείχϑη