AcknowledgmentsWe thank Dr. Panagiotis Panagiotides, for his scientific contribution and his support in the implementation of this project. We also thank Mr. Demetrios Mavropoulos for the valuable information on the life and work of his great uncle Nikolaos Mavropoulos.

IntroductionThis project focuses on the 20th century byzantine music collection of manuscripts, of the Magister Domesticus of the Ecumenical Patriarchate Fr. Nikolaos Mavropoulos. The collection of byzantine music manuscripts has been digitized and available online through the digital repository of Library of the School of Music Studies of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The “Byzantine” music heritage of post-Byzantine and “modern” ecclesiastical chants are of fundamental importance for many fields of study. Through archival appraisal and adequate curation of the material, we share high quality images of eastern orthodox manuscripts. This important cultural heritage is preserved and disseminated online, assisting and supporting scholarly study. Such studies may lead to a deeper understanding of the song and practices of past generations, strengthen the bridges between the modern and ancient church music traditions, preserve our cultural memory and raise public awareness and respect for tradition.

Nikolaos Mavropoulos: life and workNikolaos Mavropoulos was born in Beykoz, North Bosphorus, Constantinople in 1888. He first studied Byzantine music and served as a Domestikos (Choimaster),  with the Protopsaltes (Archcantor),  Ioannis Vasiliadis. He chanted in various churches of Constantinople such as Panagia Kafatiani, Panagia Mouhliou, Dormition in Pringipos island (Buyuk Ada), St Eufimia in Chalkedon (Kadikoy), St John of Chios as a Lampadarios (left cantor) to Neleus Kamarados. In 1915 after the resignation of Demetrios Fokaeus, he served as a First Domestikos to the Archon Protopsaltes (Archon Archcantor) Iakovos Nafpliotis, at the Patriarchal Church of St.George.

After the WW I, he served as Protopsaltes at St John of Chios Church, until he emigrated to Patras, Greece in 1927 where he was appointed as a Protopsaltes at the Church of Pantanassa. In 1945 he moved to Athens where he was appointed as a Protopsaltes at the Cathedral of St Dionysius for 5 years.  In 1950 he was ordained as a priest and served at the Church of St. Paraskevi in Nea Smyrni, Athens. As a Protopsaltes, teacher and composer,  in Patras and in Athens, he is remembered as a great teacher and imitable interpreter of the musical compositions.

Project inspirationThe project was inspired by the need to preserve and disseminate the collection of 20th century byzantine music manuscripts kept at the Library, and a general interest for access to more musical sources, especially those concerning byzantine music. At the Library the two librarians and a scholar worked together to complete the first part of the project, which included all the relevant information, giving an overview, with free access for all those concerned.

Technical standardsDigitization Standards Two types of files are maintained in the image archive, a Master Archival image file and one of a lower resolution public use image file, for each record. Resolution

Master Archival Image File6000 pixels (600 pixels per inch) for a TIFF image 25 cm long

Public Use Image File4000 pixels (400 pixels per inch) for a PDF 25 cm long

Digital File FormatTagged Image File Format (TIFF)for Master Archival Image File,and Portable Document Format(PDF) for Public Use Image File Windows (PC) byte orientation

File CompressionNone

Metadata Standards (Dublin core)The Library collects and maintains cataloguing data as part of its collections management system. From this data, selected elements (metadata) are embedded in the digitized content using the best practice guidelines developed by the Library together with the Special Collections Department of the Central University Library. Mandatory embedded elements are: Document Title, Source, Creator, and Mode of the composition, celebrated feast or Saint, Poet of the hymn.

Free on line access to music manuscripts of Byzantine chant:

A means of documenting and promotingBazmadelis Aristeidis and Tsopani Sofia

Library of School of Music Studies, Faculty of Fine Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece)

ReferencesBarton, Louis W.G., Craig-McFeely, Julia, Terzopoulos, Constantine. “Online Access to Manuscripts

of Byzantine Music”. International Conference of the American Society of Byzantine Music and Hymnology, September 2007, Athens.

Donohue, Tim, Phillips, Scott, Salo, Dorothea. DSpace How-To Guide: Tips and tricks for managing common DSpace chores. DSpace, 2007. Web. 20 May 2015

Mavropoulos, Demetrios, A. Personal interview. May 2015

National Documentation Centre. Thesaurus of Greek Terms. Εθνικό Κέντρο Τεκμηρίωσης. http://www.ekt.gr

Oikonomou, Philippos. Vyzantine Ekklesiastike Mousike kai Psalmodia: Istorikomousikologike Melete. Aighio, 2001

Torake, Katerina, Hatzimari, Stella. “E tipopoiisi sten perigrafe kai diaheirise ton arheion kai e sumvole tou ISO kai tou ELOT”. Diethne Protipa Perigrafes: e efarmoge tous sten arheiake praktike. Hellenic Archive’s Society. 5-9 May 2015. Web. 22 May 2015

Voudoures, Aggelos, L. Mousikokritika. Athena: Evropaiko Kentro Tehnes, 1998

AuthorsBazmadelis Aristeidis: Music Librarian

Tsopani E. Sofia: Information and Library Management MA

“SOPHIA” digital repositoryOur online digital collection provides access to digitized material of about 70 Byzantine music scores, and a number of recordings, old and new ones. ‘Glory to the Lauds’ and ‘stichera of Vespers’ and ‘Matins’ of various Saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church are mostly included in the collection, which was acquired by the Library, from an antique store in Athens several years ago. A series of new recordings of various knowledgeable chanters, interpreting the music manuscripts of N.Mavropoulos is to be completed soon. Images and descriptions of these manuscripts are available online through the Library's dSPACE digital repository "Sophia" for study by musicians, scholars and the general public. Over time additional images and information may be added.

N. Mavropoulos archivehttp://bit.ly/mavropoulos

Library of School of Music Studies, Faculty of Fine Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece)E-mail: library@mus.auth.gr, tel: +30 2310 99182, fax: +30 2310 991816

More information on this and related projects can be obtained at http://www.mus.auth.gr