Γεννήθηκα στὴν Ἀθήνα, τὴν 5η Μαΐου τοῦ ἔτους 1969, πρωτότοκος γιὸς τοῦ Γεωργίου καὶ τῆς Εὐαγγελίας Χαλδαιάκη· τὴν καταγωγὴ ἕλκω ἀπὸ τὴ νῆσο Αἴγινα. Ὁ πατέρας μου Γεώργιος (10.2.1931-10.4.2012) ἐργαζόταν «στὴ θάλασσα», ὡς μηχανικὸς τοῦ ἐμπορικοῦ ναυτικοῦ, ἡ δὲ μητέρα μου Εὐαγγελία (γεν. 27-11-1945), τὸ γένος Νικολάου Σακελλίων, ἀσχολεῖται μὲ τὶς οἰκιακὲς ἐργασίες· ὁ μικρότερος ἀδελφός μου Νικόλαος (γεν. 5-2-1974), συμπληρώνει τὴ σύνθεση τῆς οἰκογένειας.

Ἔχω τέσσερα τέκνα: Εὐαγγελία (γεν. 19-7-1991), Γεώργιος (γεν. 15-5-1993), Μιχαὴλ (γεν. 13-8-1996) καὶ Κυριακὴ (γεν. 15-4-1998).

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Μιὰ συνοπτικὴ βιογραφία μου καταχωρίσθηκε καὶ στὴν τρίτη ἔκδοση (2008) τῆς ἐγκυκλοπαίδειας τοῦ Who is Who στὴν Ἑλλάδα. Σημειωτέον ὅτι καὶ στὸν διαδικτυακὸ τόπο τοῦ Grove Music Online ἔχει συντάξει ἀνάλογο ἄρθρο γιὰ μένα ἡ συνάδελφος Καίτη Ρωμανοῦ [1].

[1] Παραθέτω ἐδῶ, γιὰ τὴν ἱστορία τοῦ πράγματος, ἀντίγραφο τοῦ σχετικοῦ ἄρθρου της:

Chaldaiakēs (Chaldaeakes), Achilleas G. [b Athens, 5 May 1969]

Greek musicologist specialised in byzantine music, university professor, chanter and chorus conductor. Chaldaiakēs studied theology at the University of Athens. Due to his music talent and vast knowledge of church music, he was employed, since 1992, in the newly established music department of the same university, to assist professor Gregorios Stathēs, the first to teach byzantine music in the department. In 1998 he got a PhD degree in byzantine musicology, and in 1999 he was elected a faculty member of the music department of the University of Athens. Chaldaiakēs is a diligent and ingenious researcher, having already over 150 publications in Greek and foreign languages on byzantine and post byzantine music and musicians. His modesty, generosity and scientific competence are well reflected in the voluminous collection of Stathēs’ writings that he edited in 2001. Aiming at a closer communication between Greek and Western musicologists, Chaldaiakēs is collaborating with a number of them (in USA, England, Austria, Denmark and Russia). For the Vienna Academy series “Corpus Scriptorum de Re Musica”, he is preparing the critical edition of a theoretical work by the sixteenth century monk Pachōmios Rousanos. Besides his scholarly pursuits, Chaldaiakēs is a highly esteemed chanter, who regularly participates in church services in some central Athenian churches.  Also, he is the creator and director of the choir “Masters of Psaltic Art”, with which he has given over 400 performances in Europe, Asia, America and Australia. In his teaching Chaldaiakēs combines theory and practice, convinced that they enhance each other.

WORKS (selection)

  1. “Tradition and Innovation in the Person of Petros Bereketes”, Tradition and Innovation in Late-and Postbyzantine Liturgical Chant. Acta of the Congress held at Hernen Castle, the Netherlands, in April 2005, Peeters- Leuven 2008, 191-223.
  2. “The figures of composer and chanter in Greek Psaltic Art”, Composing and Chanting in the Orthodox Church. Proceedings of the second International Conference on Orthodox Church Music. University of Joensuu, Finland 4-10 June 2007, (Finland) 2009, pp. 267-301.
  3. “Daniel the Protopsaltes (+ 1789): his life and work. A preliminary paper”, Revista Muzica 3 (2010), pp. 39-53.
  4. “From the Ritual of the Matins Servise: The insertion of poetic texts in the chant of the Polyeleos”, Journal of the Institute of Musicology of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts 11 (2011), pp. 75-101.
  5. “The ‘woman figure’ in Byzantine Melopoeia”, Neue Studien zur Byzantinischen Musik: Festschrift für Gerda Wolfram, Herausgegeben von Nina-Maria Wanek, Wien 2011: Praesens Verlag, pp. 65-100.
  6. “Yet another contributor to the exegesis’ issue: Georgios-Eutychios Ugurlus”, ГИМНОЛОГИЯ/Hymnology 6 (2011), 76-108.
  7. “ ‘All master composers of Greek ecclesiastic music’: An initial step on a new History of Greek sacral music”, Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre-Lithuanian Composers Union, 10th International Music Theory Conference; Vilnius, October 20-22, 2010; Principles of Music Composing: Sacred Music, Vilnius 2010, pp. 126-137.
  8. “ ‘…old wine into new bottles…’ The continuity of the Tradition in the Contemporary Composition Practice of Byzantrine Music”, Lithuanian Academy of Music and Treatre-Lithuanian Composers’ Union, 11th International Music Theory Conference; Vilnius, October 9-21, 2011; Principles of Music Composing: National Romanticism and Contemporary Music. Dedicated to the 100th anniversary of M.K.Čiurlionis’ death, Vilnius 2011, pp. 90-112.
  9. “The story of a composition or ‘Adventures’ of written melodies, during the Byzantine and post-Byzantine era”, Tradition and Innovation in Late-and Postbyzantine Liturgical Chant II. Proceedings of the Congress held at Hernen Castle, the Netherlands, 30 October-3 November 2008, Peeters- Leuven 2013, 261-289.
  10. “Singingantiphonally: Unity or Variety?”, Unity and Variety in Orthodox Music: Theory and Practice. Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Orthodox Church Music. University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland, 6-12 June 2011, (Finland) 2013, pp. 139-163.

  • The Axion Estin Foundation, Inc. A non-profit organization for the promotion of Byzantine Music in America, First (2006) Axion Estin Conference: Identifying Byzantine Music Teaching Methodologies Most Appropriate for America [DVD and audio CD, tracks 2, 3, 6]