diff --git a/libs/ardour/wscript b/libs/ardour/wscript
index 831440f23e..31eab1cd0c 100644
--- a/libs/ardour/wscript
+++ b/libs/ardour/wscript
@@ -409,8 +409,7 @@ def build(bld):
         'DATA_DIR="' + os.path.normpath(bld.env['DATADIR']) + '"',
         'CONFIG_DIR="' + os.path.normpath(bld.env['SYSCONFDIR']) + '"',
         'LOCALEDIR="' + os.path.normpath(bld.env['LOCALEDIR']) + '"',
-        'LIBARDOUR="' + bld.env['lwrcase_dirname'] + '"',
-        'EVORAL_MIDI_XML=1',
+        'LIBARDOUR="' + bld.env['lwrcase_dirname'] + '"'
         ]
 
     #obj.source += ' st_stretch.cc st_pitch.cc '
diff --git a/libs/evoral/evoral/MIDIEvent.hpp b/libs/evoral/evoral/MIDIEvent.hpp
index 1ce7074788..e8320c3e35 100644
--- a/libs/evoral/evoral/MIDIEvent.hpp
+++ b/libs/evoral/evoral/MIDIEvent.hpp
@@ -26,10 +26,6 @@
 #include "evoral/Event.hpp"
 #include "evoral/midi_events.h"
 
-#ifdef EVORAL_MIDI_XML
-class XMLNode;
-#endif
-
 namespace Evoral {
 
 /** MIDI helper functions for an Event.
@@ -49,14 +45,6 @@ public:
 		: Event<Time>(copy, alloc)
 	{}
 
-#ifdef EVORAL_MIDI_XML
-	/** Event from XML ala http://www.midi.org/dtds/MIDIEvents10.dtd */
-	MIDIEvent(const XMLNode& event);
-
-	/** Event to XML ala http://www.midi.org/dtds/MIDIEvents10.dtd */
-	boost::shared_ptr<XMLNode> to_xml() const;
-#endif
-
 	inline uint8_t  type()                  const { return (this->_buf[0] & 0xF0); }
 	inline void     set_type(uint8_t type)        { this->_buf[0] =   (0x0F & this->_buf[0])
 	                                                                | (0xF0 & type); }
diff --git a/libs/evoral/evoral/MIDIXML.hpp b/libs/evoral/evoral/MIDIXML.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..982e203e55
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libs/evoral/evoral/MIDIXML.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+/* This file is part of Evoral.
+ * Copyright (C) 2008-2016 David Robillard <http://drobilla.net>
+ * Copyright (C) 2000-2008 Paul Davis
+ *
+ * Evoral is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the
+ * terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software
+ * Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later
+ * version.
+ *
+ * Evoral is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
+ * WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS
+ * FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
+ * with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
+ * 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA
+ */
+
+#ifndef EVORAL_MIDI_XML_HPP
+#define EVORAL_MIDI_XML_HPP
+
+#include "evoral/MIDIEvent.hpp"
+#include "pbd/xml++.h"
+
+namespace Evoral {
+namespace MIDIXML {
+
+template<typename Time>
+bool
+xml_to_midi(const XMLNode& node, Evoral::MIDIEvent<Time>& ev)
+{
+	if (node.name() == "ControlChange") {
+		ev.set_type(MIDI_CMD_CONTROL);
+		ev.set_cc_number(atoi(node.property("Control")->value().c_str()));
+		ev.set_cc_value(atoi(node.property("Value")->value().c_str()));
+		return true;
+	} else if (node.name() == "ProgramChange") {
+		ev.set_type(MIDI_CMD_PGM_CHANGE);
+		ev.set_pgm_number(atoi(node.property("Number")->value().c_str()));
+		return true;
+	}
+
+	return false;
+}
+
+template<typename Time>
+boost::shared_ptr<XMLNode>
+midi_to_xml(const Evoral::MIDIEvent<Time>& ev)
+{
+	XMLNode* result = 0;
+
+	switch (ev.type()) {
+	case MIDI_CMD_CONTROL:
+		result = new XMLNode("ControlChange");
+		result->add_property("Channel", long(ev.channel()));
+		result->add_property("Control", long(ev.cc_number()));
+		result->add_property("Value",   long(ev.cc_value()));
+		break;
+
+	case MIDI_CMD_PGM_CHANGE:
+		result = new XMLNode("ProgramChange");
+		result->add_property("Channel", long(ev.channel()));
+		result->add_property("Number",  long(ev.pgm_number()));
+		break;
+
+	case MIDI_CMD_NOTE_ON:
+		result = new XMLNode("NoteOn");
+		result->add_property("Channel",  long(ev.channel()));
+		result->add_property("Note",     long(ev.note()));
+		result->add_property("Velocity", long(ev.velocity()));
+		break;
+
+	case MIDI_CMD_NOTE_OFF:
+		result = new XMLNode("NoteOff");
+		result->add_property("Channel",  long(ev.channel()));
+		result->add_property("Note",     long(ev.note()));
+		result->add_property("Velocity", long(ev.velocity()));
+		break;
+
+	case MIDI_CMD_BENDER:
+		result = new XMLNode("PitchBendChange");
+		result->add_property("Channel", long(ev.channel()));
+		result->add_property("Value",   long(ev.pitch_bender_value()));
+		break;
+
+	default:
+		return boost::shared_ptr<XMLNode>();
+	}
+
+	return boost::shared_ptr<XMLNode>(result);
+}
+
+} // namespace MIDIXML
+} // namespace Evoral
+
+#endif // EVORAL_MIDI_XML_HPP
diff --git a/libs/evoral/src/MIDIEvent.cpp b/libs/evoral/src/MIDIEvent.cpp
deleted file mode 100644
index d03a3ff06a..0000000000
--- a/libs/evoral/src/MIDIEvent.cpp
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,109 +0,0 @@
-/* This file is part of Evoral.
- * Copyright (C) 2008 David Robillard <http://drobilla.net>
- * Copyright (C) 2000-2008 Paul Davis
- *
- * Evoral is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the
- * terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software
- * Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later
- * version.
- *
- * Evoral is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
- * WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS
- * FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for details.
- *
- * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
- * with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
- * 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA
- */
-
-#include <string>
-#include "evoral/Beats.hpp"
-#include "evoral/MIDIEvent.hpp"
-#ifdef EVORAL_MIDI_XML
-	#include "pbd/xml++.h"
-#endif
-
-using namespace std;
-
-namespace Evoral {
-
-#ifdef EVORAL_MIDI_XML
-
-template<typename Time>
-MIDIEvent<Time>::MIDIEvent(const XMLNode& event)
-  : Event<Time>()
-{
-	string name = event.name();
-
-	if (name == "ControlChange") {
-		this->_buf = (uint8_t*) ::malloc(3);
-		this->_owns_buf = true;
-		set_type(MIDI_CMD_CONTROL);
-
-		set_cc_number(atoi(event.property("Control")->value().c_str()));
-		set_cc_value (atoi(event.property("Value")->value().c_str()));
-	} else if (name == "ProgramChange") {
-		this->_buf = (uint8_t*) ::malloc(2);
-		this->_owns_buf = true;
-		set_type(MIDI_CMD_PGM_CHANGE);
-
-		set_pgm_number(atoi(event.property("Number")->value().c_str()));
-	}
-}
-
-
-template<typename Time>
-boost::shared_ptr<XMLNode>
-MIDIEvent<Time>::to_xml() const
-{
-	XMLNode *result = 0;
-
-	switch (type()) {
-	case MIDI_CMD_CONTROL:
-		result = new XMLNode("ControlChange");
-		result->add_property("Channel", long(channel()));
-		result->add_property("Control", long(cc_number()));
-		result->add_property("Value",   long(cc_value()));
-		break;
-
-	case MIDI_CMD_PGM_CHANGE:
-		result = new XMLNode("ProgramChange");
-		result->add_property("Channel", long(channel()));
-		result->add_property("Number",  long(pgm_number()));
-		break;
-
-	case MIDI_CMD_NOTE_ON:
-		result = new XMLNode("NoteOn");
-		result->add_property("Channel", long(channel()));
-		result->add_property("Note",  long(note()));
-		result->add_property("Velocity",  long(velocity()));
-		break;
-
-	case MIDI_CMD_NOTE_OFF:
-		result = new XMLNode("NoteOff");
-		result->add_property("Channel", long(channel()));
-		result->add_property("Note",  long(note()));
-		result->add_property("Velocity",  long(velocity()));
-		break;
-
-	case MIDI_CMD_BENDER:
-		result = new XMLNode("PitchBendChange");
-		result->add_property("Channel", long(channel()));
-		result->add_property("Value",  long(pitch_bender_value()));
-		break;
-
-	default:
-		// The implementation is continued as needed
-		result = new XMLNode("NotImplemented");
-		break;
-	}
-
-	return boost::shared_ptr<XMLNode>(result);
-}
-
-#endif // EVORAL_MIDI_XML
-
-template class MIDIEvent<Evoral::Beats>;
-
-} // namespace Evoral
-
diff --git a/libs/evoral/wscript b/libs/evoral/wscript
index 7649bb8000..2cea267c46 100644
--- a/libs/evoral/wscript
+++ b/libs/evoral/wscript
@@ -82,7 +82,6 @@ def build(bld):
             src/ControlSet.cpp
             src/Curve.cpp
             src/Event.cpp
-            src/MIDIEvent.cpp
             src/Note.cpp
             src/SMF.cpp
             src/Sequence.cpp
@@ -110,7 +109,7 @@ def build(bld):
     obj.use            = 'libsmf libpbd'
     obj.vnum           = EVORAL_LIB_VERSION
     obj.install_path   = bld.env['LIBDIR']
-    obj.defines       += [ 'PACKAGE="libevoral"', 'EVORAL_MIDI_XML=1' ]
+    obj.defines       += [ 'PACKAGE="libevoral"' ]
 
     if bld.env['BUILD_TESTS'] and bld.is_defined('HAVE_CPPUNIT'):
         # Static library (for unit test code coverage)
@@ -129,7 +128,7 @@ def build(bld):
             obj.linkflags      = '-lgcov'
             obj.cflags         = [ '-fprofile-arcs',  '-ftest-coverage' ]
             obj.cxxflags       = [ '-fprofile-arcs',  '-ftest-coverage' ]
-        obj.defines        = ['PACKAGE="libevoral"', 'EVORAL_MIDI_XML=1' ]
+        obj.defines        = ['PACKAGE="libevoral"']
 
         # Unit tests
         obj              = bld(features = 'cxx cxxprogram')
diff --git a/libs/midi++2/midi++/event.h b/libs/midi++2/midi++/event.h
index a75f4006f2..6f4df1f537 100644
--- a/libs/midi++2/midi++/event.h
+++ b/libs/midi++2/midi++/event.h
@@ -37,9 +37,6 @@
  */
 #define EVORAL_EVENT_ALLOC 1
 
-/** Support serialisation of MIDI events to/from XML */
-#define EVORAL_MIDI_XML 1
-
 #include "evoral/Event.hpp"
 #include "evoral/MIDIEvent.hpp"