Petros Peloponnesios

Petros Peloponnesios (“Peter the Peloponnesian”) or Peter the Lampadarios (c. 1735 – 1778) was a cantor, composer and teacher of Byzantine and Ottoman music. He served as second domestikos between his arrival about 1764 until the death of Ioannes Trapezountios, and it is assumed that he became lampadarios (leader of the left choir) between 1770 and 1778 at the Great Church of Constantinople, after Daniel the Protopsaltes became Archon Protopsaltes. Large parts of the monodic chant sung in several current traditions of Orthodox Chant are transcriptions of his compositions. He wrote these as a teacher of the “New Music School of the Patriarchate”. Life Petros was born at Tripolis, Rumelia Eyalet between 1730 and 1740. According to Georgios Papadopoulos he was educated in monastic communities of Smyrna. In 1764 he came to Constantinople to study with Ioannes Trapezountios, the Archon Protopsaltes, while Daniel like Ioannes student of Panagiotes Halacoğlu was Lampadarios at the Great Church of Constantinople. Petros could serve there as second domestikos who was usually in charge to notate the versions sung by the cantors with the higher ranks. Between 1770 and 1778 he served as lampad