Konstantinos Pringos (1892 in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

– 1964 in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

) was a '' protopsaltes'' (leading

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

) in the

Great Church of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is headed ...

from 1939 until 1959. In this position, he succeeded

Iakovos Nafpliotis 200px, Iakovos Nafpliotis Iakovos Nafpliotis, (or Nafpliotis or Naupliotis or Naupliotes: ) (1864 in Naxos – December 5, 1942 in Athens) was the Archon Protopsaltis (First cantor) of the Holy and Great Church of Christ in Constantinople (Ist ...

, while Pringos himself was in turn succeeded by Thrasyvoulos Stanitsas.Pringos biography
at analogion.com Although the oldest existing recordings of the Patriarchal School of

Byzantine chant Byzantine music () originally consisted of the songs and hymns composed for the courtly and religious ceremonial of the Byzantine Empire and continued, after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, in the traditions of the sung Byzantine chant of East ...

are the 78

rpm Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

Gramophone record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The g ...

s of

,An article about Nafpliotis
at analogion.com Pringos was the first to be recorded performing live in the church, in a normal tempo, and with a "standard" completeness of interpretations (unlike the gramophone recordings of Nafpliotis that are known to be slower and simpler than his normal style of chanting). As a result of that, Pringos (together with Thrasyvoulos Stanitsas) is the main source of information and inspiration for those trying to chant in the ''Patriarchal Style''. The other reason why the recordings of Pringos might be preferred to that of Stanitsas, is that Pringos was substantially more conservative, and so closer to the original chanting tradition of the

Ecumenical Patriarchate The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen Autocephaly, autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. ...

. The melodies Pringos used for those parts of the service that were not notated traditionally (such as the responses to the supplications)Angelos Boudouris quotes on Konstantinos Pringos
from Analogion.com are also widely used in current practice as exemplary models.A concert performed by SEM Choir (Lebanon) and Idimelon Choir (Greece)
- a commentary to the tracks.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pringos, Konstantinos 1892 births 1964 deaths Performers of Byzantine music 20th-century Greek male singers Musicians from Istanbul Constantinopolitan Greeks