Philokallia is a vocal ensemble and a non-profit organization that has been showcasing music inspired by the Orthodox tradition of various countries since 2005. It has also been dedicated to presenting new works of contemporary classical music inspired by Orthodox spirituality. Our goal is to introduce the Czech audience to a musical tradition that is an important and integral part of European culture and Czech history. Listeners thus have the opportunity to hear unique compositions, including world premieres by Czech composers or Czech premieres by foreign composers, performed by outstanding artists. At the same time, we encourage research and interesting discoveries in the field of musicology (e.g. Byzantine music in the opera of B. Martinů, the relationship between J. Mysliveček and M. Berezovzky, etc.), which we subsequently present at our festival of Orthodox music Archaion Kallos and at concerts of the Philokallia Ensemble.
Once again, the Philokallia Association invites you to the Archaion Kallos International Festival of Orthodox Music. Join us for a beautiful spiritual and musical experience. In its literal sense, the Greek expression “archaion kallos” means “ancient beauty,” but in the vocabulary of the Holy Fathers of the Eastern Christian Church, “archaion kallos” speaks of a certain archetype, an “original beauty;”
The Sacred Music Workshop is a project of the Philokallia Society which offers annual workshops, mainly of Byzantine music, but also of other types of sacred music, such as Gregorian chant or contemporary sacred music. The workshops are led by internationally renowned lecturers such as Maria Alexandru, Ivan Moody and Petros Papaemmanouil, as well as leading Czech artists and musicologists such as Barbora Kabátková, Slavomír Hořínka and Jan Baťa.
After the great international success of the Ars Nova East and West conference organized by the Philokallia Society back in 2016 in cooperation with the International Society for Sacred Music (ISOCM) and Charles University, the academic committee of the conference decided to organize this conference again in Prague. The International conference Sacred Music East and West is a prominent project of the Philokallia Assosiation, which explores European sacred music and the interrelation of the cultural heritage of Western and Eastern Christianity.
Archaion Kallos festival friends club…
Do you enjoy Eastern Orthodox sacred music and would you like to help it flourish in our country? If so, we would love to invite you to join the Archaion Kallos Friends’ Club. One of the great things about friends is they help each other — and if you accept our invitation, you will help the festival a lot. And the festival will help you in return. By becoming a friend of the festival, you not only support it, but will also gain many benefits.
PHILOKALLIA