Country in Transcaucasia. An independent kingdom for over 2000 years, it adopted Christianity in the 4th century ce while under Byzantine influence. It was invaded by the Mongols in 1234 and thereafter became subject to incursions by Arabs, Turks and Persians. It was annexed by Russia in the 19th century. After a brief period of independence (1918–20), it was renamed the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1921. With the collapse of the Soviet Union it declared itself an independent republic in April 1991.
LEAH DOLIDZE (I), CHRISTIAN HANNICK/DALI DOLIDZE (II), GRIGOL CHKHIKVADZE/JOSEPH JORDANIA (III)
The development of Georgian art music followed a course characteristic of many Eastern European schools of composition during the end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. A few decades saw a rapid advance from the first experiments in composition and an amateur musical culture to a thoroughly professional approach to composition in the context of increased musical activity in the concert hall and opera house. The evolution of Georgian music from the 1960s to the 90s had much in common with that of Western music in the late 20th century.
The incorporation of Georgia into the Russian Empire in 1801 created permanent links with European musical culture. In the second half of the 19th century, alongside the continuing oral medieval Orthodox tradition, conditions gradually emerged for a new art music in the European tradition. From 1851 Tbilisi, which had become the musical centre not only of Georgia but of the whole of Transcaucasia, staged productions of operas by Donizetti, Rossini, Bellini and Verdi, adding works by Russian composers from the 1880s onwards. During this period music-making reached beyond the aristocratic salons to other levels of society. A new musical culture sprang up in Tbilisi, a city at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, unique in its mingling of many different national styles. Melodies borrowed from Italian opera and Russian romances and mediated through Georgian traditional music took on exotic colouring from the eastern cultures represented in the city’s population. This complex folk amalgam later became a potent source for Georgian art music.
Georgian composers forged an independent style through a synthesis of Western music with national elements. Until the 1960s the latter consisted primarily of traditional music of various kinds. The period from the 1890s to the early 1930s was dominated by the first generation of composers, founders of the new era of professional music in Georgia: prominent among these were Meliton Balanchivadze, Dimitri Arakishvili, Viktor Dolidze and Niko Sulkhanishvili, with the figure of Zakharia Paliashvili occupying a special place.
These composers devoted themselves in particular to vocal music, especially opera, which developed along 19th-century Romantic lines. In 1897 an excerpt from Balanchivadze’s opera Tamar tsbieri (‘Perfidious Tamar’) was performed in St Petersburg (the opera was retitled Darejan tsbieri in 1937). In 1919, an important year for Georgian music, the first Georgian operas were performed at the Tbilisi Opera Theatre: Arakishvili’s lyrical Tkmuleba Shota Rustavelze (‘The Legend of Shota Rustaveli’), Paliashvili’s monumental operatic saga Abesalom da Eteri (‘Abesalom and Etery’) and Dolidze’s comic opera Keto da Kote (‘Keto and Kote’). Between these years Sulkhanishvili also composed choral music and Arakishvili and Balanchivadze songs. The first period of Georgian opera culminated in the 1920s with productions of operas by Paliashvili, Arakishvili, Dolidze and others. Among these Paliashvili’s Daisi (‘Twilight’) ranks with Abesalom da Eteri as one of the peaks of Georgian opera. Paliashvili’s operas draw on an international musical language, and their style established the general Western orientation of 20th-century Georgian composers.
In the decades after the establishment of Georgian national opera the symphony became the leading genre in Georgian music. Instrumental art music was developed by the second generation of Georgian composers, in parallel with a rapid growth in opportunities for performance. A symphony orchestra and a string quartet were formed early in the Soviet era (1924), but the first essays in instrumental music in Georgia, especially in the symphony, were modest. The leading representatives of the second generation of composers were Shalva Mshvelidze, who composed his symphonic poem Zviadauri in 1940, and Andria Balanchivadze, whose First Symphony (1944) represents a milestone in the history of the Georgian symphony. In their combination of Classical-Romantic symphonic principles with national traditions, Georgia’s second-generation composers showed an affinity with 19th-century Russian composers, above all The Five.
During the war years (1941–5) Georgian symphonies became predominantly heroic and epic in tone, a trend that predominated up to the end of the 1950s. In the immediate postwar years a third generation of Georgian composers emerged, continuing in the direction taken by Mshvelidze and Balanchivadze. The aesthetic and technical principles of the Georgian national school held sway in their work in the major genres: symphony, concerto, symphonic poem, chamber music, ballet, opera and oratorio. The shared ideals among composers of the second and third generations makes it natural to view Georgian music composed between the 1930s and the 50s as forming a single stylistic period.
Between the 1930s and the 50s socialist realism dominated every aspect of art in the Soviet Union. Art music was systematically ‘democratized’, and composers were required to create music that was national in form and socialist in content. The hero of this new art was the Soviet people, and personal feelings were replaced by those of ‘the people’ as a whole. This principle was profoundly inculcated into all aspects of Georgian music. Most works composed during the period 1930 to 1960 had national and popular foundations, manifested primarily through the extensive use of traditional music. Composers either quoted folktunes directly or composed melodies in the style of folksongs and folkdances. At the same time, Georgian composers drew increasingly on the Romantic symphonic tradition, using its schemes and structural principles with some freedom and variety.
The most notable Georgian compositions from the 1930s, 40s and 50s include Mshvelidze’s symphonic poems Zviadauri and Mindiya, Andria Balanchivadze’s first and second symphonies and Third Piano concerto, Alexi Machavariani’s Violin Concerto and ballet Otello, Otar Taktakishvili’s First Piano Concerto and opera Mindia, David Toradze’s ballet Gorda and opera Chrdiloetis patardzali (‘Bride of the North’), the symphonic piece Sachidao by Revaz Lagidze, A. Chimakadze’s cantata Kartlis guli (‘The heart of Kartli’) and Sulkhan Tsintsadze’s miniatures for quartet and Fourth String Quartet. However, with these few exceptions, the music composed in Georgia during this period has merely local significance.
The 1960s and 70s saw an intensive upsurge in all genres as Georgian art music engaged fully with 20th-century ideas. This development arose directly from the cultural liberalization following the 21st Party Congress of 1959. Increased contacts with other cultures enabled musicians to take part in international festivals of contemporary music. The freer social climate and access to contemporary European music provided a stimulus to Georgian composers. The history of Georgian music during these years shows the speed with which Georgian composers assimilated the major innovations of 20th-century music. New ideas were especially striking in the work of younger composers, Bidzina Kvernadze, Giya Kancheli, Nodar Mamisashvili, Natela Svanidze, Sulkhan Nasidze and Nodar Gabunia, and later Felix Glonti, Vazha Azarashvili, Mikhail Shugliashvili, Teimuraz Bakuradze, Ioseb Bardanashvili and Tengiz Shavlokhashvili. All these composers wrote primarily in instrumental genres, and their works display a new emotional and intellectual complexity, eschewing the neo-Romanticism characteristic of the preceding decades.
The high level of performers graduating from the Tbilisskaya Gosudarstvennaya Konservatoriya (Tbilisi State Conservatory), founded in 1918, significantly contributed to Georgia’s musical development. There were several orchestras active in Tbilisi at this time, the foremost of which was the Georgian State SO. A number of Georgian singers, instrumentalists and conductors gained worldwide reputations. Choral music, which had the richest of traditions in Georgia, developed greatly.
From the beginning of the 1960s Georgian composers began to separate into three distinct groupings. The first of these, associated with the work of the composers of the second and third generations, remained within the traditions of the Georgian Romantic school. One of the achievements of this period was the creation of a national style of declamation in both vocal and instrumental music, rooted in the stresses and cadences of folk music. Works that exemplify this development are the oratorios Rustavelis nakvalevze (‘In the steps of Rustaveli’) and Nikoloz Baratashvili and the cantata Guruli simgerebi) (‘Gurian Songs’), by Otar Taktakishvili, works for unaccompanied chorus by Ioseb Kechakmadze, the oratorio Pirosmani by Svanidze, the opera Iko mervesa tselsa (‘And in the Eighth Year …’) by Kvernadze, and the fifth, sixth and seventh string quartets by Tsintsadze.
Another grouping was represented by the fourth generation of Georgian composers, the so-called ‘Shestidesyatniki’ (‘1960s group’), whose work displayed an assimilation of new influences, most significantly the music of Bartók and Stravinsky. Best known among the works of the ‘Shestidesyatniki’ are Gabunia’s Igav-araki (‘Fable’), Kancheli’s first and second symphonies, Nasidze’s first and second string quartets and Chamber Symphony, Tsintsadze’s fifth, sixth and seventh string quartets, and Kvernadze’s Koreograpiuli novelebi (‘Choreographic Novellas’) and his ballet Berikaoba. Works by composers of the older generation, including Revaz Gabichvadze’s Rostock Symphony, Toradze’s Second Symphony Kebatakeba Nikortsmindas (‘In Praise of Nikortsminda’) and Machavariani’s Second Symphony, also showed major stylistic advances.
The 1970s saw a spate of symphonic works by the two major figures, Kancheli and Nasidze. With his Third Symphony, Kancheli began to receive general recognition as one of the foremost representatives of Georgian music, while Nasidze won deserved success with a triad of symphonies (nos.5, 6 and 7) and his Double Concerto. Other notable symphonic works were Glonti’s Sixth Symphony (Vita nova) and Azarashvili’s Cello Concerto.
Georgian composers devoted less attention to experimental music, although new musical thinking and the influence of the postwar Western avant garde found a partial reflection in the third grouping of composers who emerged in the 1960s and 70s: Bakuradze, Shugliashvili, Bardanashvili and others, to whom may be added Svanidze and Mamisashvili of the older generation. These composers made adventurous use of a variety of techniques – total serialism, aleatorism, collage, minimalism and electronics. For a long time the experimentalism of these composers baffled listeners, limiting their audience to a small number of intellectuals.
At the end of the 1970s a synthesis began to emerge between various compositional styles and techniques in Georgian music, a process that continues to this day. Indicative of this is the use of the polystylistic method, in allusion, quotation and collage. Baroque and Classical stylistic features have been absorbed organically into the Georgian national style. This has produced many different, sometimes highly original, kinds of stylistic fusion, in the work, for example, of Kancheli, Nasidze, Kvernadze, Mamisashvili, Bakuradze and Bardanashvili, and also of one of the leading figures of the youngest generation, Z. Nadareishvili. In Kancheli’s symphonies and chamber music the sense of memory, free association, temporal stasis and effects of time arrested or tightly compressed are akin to developments in contemporary cinema and theatre.
Between the 1960s and the 80s opera was considerably less significant than instrumental music. Two representative operas of this period are Kvernadze’s Iko mervesa tselsa and Kancheli’s Da ars musika (‘Music for the Living’). Among operas by composers working in a traditional idiom, Lagidze’s Lela, with its wealth of expressive melody, has proved the most popular.
Georgian composers have also been productive in the fields of ballet (beginning with Andria Balanchivadze’s Mzechabuki of 1936), operetta, musicals, film and theatre music and popular music. The works of Azarashvili, V. Kakhidze and others reveal an interesting combination of serious and lighter styles.
In the 1990s chamber music became increasingly important, reflecting the broader cultural climate. Several composers of chamber music adopted elements of minimalism. Outstanding works of these years include Kancheli’s cycle Sitsoskle shobis gareshe (‘Life without Christmas’), Nasidze’s Fifth String Quartet and Piano Trio Antiphonie, and Bakuradze’s Ori tsigni kvintetisatvis (‘Two Books for a Quintet’).
A. Tsulukidze, ed.: Gruzinskaya muzďkal'naya kul'tura [Georgian musical culture] (Moscow, 1957)
A. Tsulukidze: ‘Zametki o gruzinskoy muzďke’ [Notes on Georgian music], SovM (1958), no.4, pp.20–27
V. Gorodinsky: ‘Ėtyudď o gruzinskoy muzďke’ [Studies on Georgian music], Izbrannďye stat'i (Moscow, 1963), 110–23
G. Orjonikidze: ‘Znakom'tes': molodost'!’ [Get to know each other: the young people!], SovM (1963), no.8, pp.14–21
L. Raaben: ‘Kamerno-instrumental'naya muzďka Gruzii’ [Chamber-orchestral music of Georgia], Sovetskaya kamerno-instrumental'naya muzďka (Leningrad, 1963), 234–57
E. Bokshanina: ‘Muzďkal'naya kul'tura Gruzii’ [Georgian musical culture], Istoriya muzďki narodov SSSR (Moscow, 1969), 85–136
V. Donadze: ‘Gruzinskaya muzďka’, Istoriya muzďki narodov SSSR, i: 1917–1932 (Moscow, 1970), 307–20
V. Donadze: ‘Gruzinskaya muzďka’, Istoriya muzďki narodov SSSR, ii: 1932–1941 (Moscow, 1971), 364–80
A. Mshvelidze: Ocherki po istorii muzďkal'nogo obrazovaniya v Gruzii [Sketches on the history of musical education in Georgia] (Moscow, 1971)
A. Tsulukidze: Kartuli sabchota musika [Georgian Soviet music] (Tbilisi, 1971)
V. Donadze: ‘Gruzinskaya muzďka’, Istoriya muzďki narodov SSSR, iii: 1941–1945 (Moscow, 1972), 380–402
S.L. Ginzburg: ‘Gruzinskaya klassicheskaya opera’ [Georgian classical opera], Iz istorii muzďkal'nďkh svyazey narodov SSSR (Leningrad, 1972), 6–17
G. Toradze and A. Tsulukidze: ‘Gruzinskaya muzďka’, Istoriya muzďki narodov SSSR, iv: 1946–1956 (Moscow, 1973), 558–86
G. Toradze: Kompozitorď Gruzii [Composers of Georgia] (Tbilisi, 1973)
G. Toradze: ‘Sovremennaya gruzinskaya muzďka’ [Contemporary Georgian music], Tvorchestvo, i (Moscow, 1973), 186–204
A. Balanchivadze: ‘Kartuli musika khuti tslis mandzilze’ [A five-year period of Georgian music], Sabchota khelovneba (1974), no.1, pp.20–34
G. Toradze: ‘Gruzinskaya SSR’, Istoriya muzďki narodov SSSR, v (Moscow, 1974), 150–90
V. Donadze: Ocherki po istorii gruzinskoy sovetskoy muzďki [Essays on the history of Soviet Georgian music], i: 1921–1945 (Tbilisi, 1975)
I. Nest'yev and Ya. Solodukho: ‘Gruzinskaya muzďka segodnya’ [Georgian music today], SovM (1977), no.8, pp.29–35
G. Orjonikidze: Tanamedrove kartuli musika estetikisa da sotsiologiis shukze [Contemporary Georgian music in the light of aesthetics and sociology] (Tbilisi, 1985)
I. Urushadze and M. Borada, eds.: Voprosď stilya i dramaturgii gruzinskoy muzďki: Sbornik trudov TGK im. V. Saradzhishvili [Questions of style and dramatization in Georgian music: a selection of work from the V. Saradzhishvili State Conservatory of Tbilisi] (Tbilisi, 1985)
V. Donadze: Kartuli musikis istoria [A history of Georgian music], i (Tbilisi, 1990)
Georgia formally converted to Christianity in 337 as a result of the missionary activity of St Nino. The east and south of the country were influenced by Syria at this time, and Byzantium influenced the west (Colchis). The earliest records of the Georgian language date from the 5th century, and it was during this century that King Vakhtang I (446–99) established the office of ‘catholicos’ (patriarch). After the Council of Chalcedon (451) Georgia, like Armenia, embraced monophysitism, but in about 600, under Catholicos Kirion I (595–610), the country turned to Chalcedonian Orthodoxy and hence Byzantine influence (see Syrian church music, §1). The subsequent development of Georgian church music was strongly influenced by the activity of Georgian monasteries and other religious centres outside Georgia, including the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, St Sabas (Palestine), Mount Sinai, Bithynia, Iviron (Mount Athos; founded 980) and Bachkovo (Bulgaria; founded 1083).
Georgian liturgical books generally correspond to those of the Byzantine rite, but because of the great age of the Georgian liturgy and the activity of Georgian hymnographers, their arrangement and content display certain peculiarities. The Georgian oktōēchos, manuscripts of which survive from the 9th century, and its enlarged version the paraklitoni, equivalent to the Byzantine paraklētikē, are each divided into two books: the khmani and the gverdni, containing respectively the chants in the authentic and plagal modes. The hymns for Lent and Easter were originally collected in a book known as the khvedrni (‘share’); this collection was later divided into the markhvani and zatiki, corresponding respectively to the Byzantine triōdion and pentēkostarion. The 12 volumes of the mēnaia were first introduced into Georgia by Georgy Mtatsmideli (‘from the Holy Mountain’, d 1065), under the name ttueni atormetni. They have never been published in their entirety, and the excerpts from them contained in the gamokrebuli ttueni (corresponding to the anthologion) thus represent an important source of the chant.
The Georgian equivalent of the Byzantine stichērarion is the iadgari (‘memorial’). A notable example of this collection is a manuscript, with neumes, dating from 978–88 (fig.1), containing many Proper chants composed by one of the greatest hymnographers of the Georgian Church, Mikayel Modrekili, who was probably the brother of St Euthymius (Eqvtime) of Iviron (d 1028). The heirmologion may have been translated into Georgian as early as the 8th or 9th century at the monastery of St Sabas near Jerusalem, but the earliest surviving examples date from the 10th century. The Georgian heirmologion is termed the dzlispirni da gmrtismshoblisani (‘heirmoi and theotokia’), since it contains, unlike the Byzantine heirmologion, both the heirmoi and the corresponding theotokia. In Greek heirmologia before the 13th century, the heirmoi were arranged according to the akolouthiai (in an order often given the symbol KaO in modern literature; see Heirmologion, §2), but the arrangement of the Georgian heirmologia followed the ōdai (symbol OdO) as early as the 10th century.
According to a Georgian version of the Great Lectionary of the Church of Jerusalem, Georgian hymnography originated between the 5th and 8th centuries. The first compositions were akolouthiai for national saints to be added to the mēnaia. The iadgari of Grigol of Khandzta (759–861) was praised by his biographer. In the 10th and 11th centuries Mikayel Modrekili in south Georgia and Ioanne Minchkhi at Mount Sinai supplemented the Georgian mēnaia and oktōēchos with their own compositions. At the same time, many texts were translated into Georgian at the Georgian monastery of Iviron on Mount Athos, by Euthymius and Georgy Mtatsmideli, and on the Black Mountain near Antioch, by Ephrem Moire (d c1100). These translations retained the isosyllabic structure and metre of their Greek originals, sometimes at the expense of correct word order; and the oldest manuscripts of the Georgian heirmologion cite the original Greek incipit, in phonetic transliteration, before each heirmos. Thus the Georgian hymns must originally have been sung to their Greek melodies. However, these cannot have been the only melodies of the Georgian Church: indigenous Georgian hymns of the same period were composed according to Georgian metrical principles, iambic dodecasyllabic verses being the most common.
A notable characteristic of Georgian liturgical music, evident since the 12th century at least, is the use of three-voice polyphony. The three voices are known as mzakhr (in modern terminology: tqma), zhir (modern: mozahili) and bami (modern: bani); the mzakhr has the main melody and may extend in range to an octave, but the three voices together do not exceed a major 10th. The rhythm of the mzakhr and bami is virtually the same, but it may differ from that of the zhir (ex.1).
Georgian liturgical music has a system of eight modes that corresponds overall to the Byzantine system; diatonic intervals are used in modern practice only. There are similarities between the liturgical melodies and those of traditional music, suggesting that the two genres may share a common origin; in performance, however, the tempo of the church melodies is generally slower.
In the 10th century the Georgian Church adopted Byzantine ekphonetic notation for the liturgical recitation of the Bible. Manuscripts of the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries contain tables of ekphonetic signs. The ‘Synodikon’ for the Sunday of Orthodoxy is an important example of a text marked throughout with such signs. A system of notation was also developed for hymns (fig.1): the neumes, which are written above and below the text, indicate melodic formulae rather than fixed tones, as in Byzantine chant of the same period. The occasional use of two or three signs above a single syllable may prove that polyphony was in use as early as the time of Mikayel Modrekili (10th century). With the decline of monasticism, Georgian hymn notation gradually fell into disuse (as was the case in the Armenian and Byzantine systems). (Ingoroqva’s interpretation of this notation is now considered unsatisfactory.)
A new system of 24 signs or chreli, indicating the intonation formulae of the chants, was introduced in the 17th and 18th centuries, but it is not known how this system relates to the earlier one. The term chreli is also used in the sense of Papadikē. In the 19th century Ioane Bagrationi introduced yet another notational system, although it never became popular. It is based on the first eight letters of the old Georgian alphabet (a, b, g, d, e, v, z, ey) and uses supplementary dots and other signs; each letter signifies a fixed pitch and the melodic rise and fall is indicated by means of dots above or beneath the letter. Other systems of notation, whose purpose was to remind the cantor of the melodic outline and the intonation formulae of the chants, are found in Georgian manuscripts of the second half of the 18th century and the 19th century.
The transmission of Georgian liturgical music throughout its history depended more on oral tradition than on written notation. When, however, during the 19th century, Old Church Slavonic replaced Georgian as the language of the liturgy, the oral tradition of chanting began to decline. A committee for chant restoration was therefore founded in 1860 to transcribe the entire liturgical repertory into staff notation. The chant collections, organized according to the oktōēchos system, consist of music for three voices: the principal melody is assigned to the first voice, with the supporting voices conforming to Georgian theoretical principles. Active attempts have been made during the post-Soviet period to restore the authentic Georgian repertory; the scholarly and practical endeavours of M. Erqvanidze together with his male choir Anchiskhati (founded 1989) have been particularly notable in this respect.
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M. Erqvanidze, ed.: Kartuli galoba: mtsukhri, tsiskari, tsirva: Gelatisa da Martvilis skola [Georgian chants: Vespers, Matins, Divine Liturgy: Gelati and Martvili schools] (Tbilisi, 1995)
M. Erqvanidze, ed.: Kartuli galoba: 12 sauplo da udzrav dgesastsaulta sagaloblebi [Georgian chants: for saint’ days and fixed feasts] (Tbilisi, 2000)
MGG2 (‘Orthodoxe Kirchenmusik’, §IX; C. Hannick)
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D. Sugliasvili: ‘Kartuli galoba: samgaloblo skolis traditsiis shesakheb’ [The Georgian art of chanting: choir-school traditions], Kristianoba da kartuli kultura: Tbilisi 1997 [Christianity and Georgian culture] (Tbilisi, 1997), 96–106
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‘Aġdgomasa shensa’ [Thy resurrection], Anchiskhati Choir, Tbilisskaja studija gramzapisi (1991) [Easter carols]
Sashobao sagaloblebi [Christmas carols], Anchiskhati Choir, Tbilisskaja studija gramzapisi (1992)
Georgian Sacred Music from the Middle Ages, Anchiskhati Choir, DDP5ANCD (1998) [Canada]
The history of Georgian traditional music is primarily that of Georgian folksong: the vocal repertory, with or without instrumental accompaniment, is particularly rich and there are also many types of traditional instruments. Polyphonic singing, complex musical structures and variety of styles distinguish Georgian folksong from the basically monodic styles of states long connected with Georgia economically, politically and culturally. Complex choral polyphony is characteristic of Georgian folk music. Folksong traditionally accompanies work, hunting, weddings, burials, historic or heroic events, military campaigns, popular entertainments and dancing. Each ethnic group – the Khevsur, Tush, Pshav, Mokhev, Mtiul, Kartlian-Kakhetian and Meskh in eastern and south-western Georgia, and the Rachian, Svan, Imeretian, Guria, Megrel and Acharian in western Georgia – has its own musical style that is different in form, structure and manner of performance.
Traditional polyphonic songs are performed by a chorus in which the higher parts are sung by soloists and the bass part by a group. Unison singing is rare. Solo songs can be divided into three categories: work songs for unaccompanied solo male voice; women’s solo songs, mainly lullabies; and lyrical, historical, heroic and humorous songs performed by both men and women accompanied by various instruments. Georgians do not usually sing in mixed ensembles: polyphonic songs are performed by a chorus of one sex, usually male. In families that have preserved and transmitted their own musical traditions, however, all members, irrespective of age or sex, perform the choral songs. Singing (and dancing) in mixed ensembles is usual among the Svan and Rachian. The limited repertory for female chorus includes songs connected with family life and ritual songs. The traditional styles of eastern and western Georgia differ: in eastern Georgia folk music is characterized more by monodic songs and two- and three-part songs as, for example, among the Kartlian-Kakhetian; in western Georgia three- and four-part singing predominates.
1. Regional and ethnic traditions.
4. Urban and contemporary songs.
Georgia, §III: Traditional music
Georgia, §III, 1: Traditional music: Regional and ethnic traditions
Ethnic groups in eastern Georgia fall into three groups: the Khevsur, Tush, Pshav, Mokhev and Mtiul in the mountainous north-east, the Kakhetian and Kartlian in the central plains, and the Meskh in the south-west. In Georgian folklore studies, it is customary to classify the Khevsur, Tush and Pshav as one sub-group. The Khevsur, living in the gorges of the Caucasian range, used to be isolated from urban life and have retained old vocal forms, reflecting the difficult conditions of their former life. Khevsur songs are mainly monodic, performed solo or to the accompaniment of the panduri (three-string lute). The Russian balalaika, played like the panduri, appeared recently. Songs are simple in structure and the melodic material, which uses much glissando, often resembles agitated, heightened speech. Many are variants of a single melodic formula, that is, a downward progression from a 7th (or a 6th and sometimes the octave) to the lowest point in the scale. In such two-part singing (ex.2), the basses enter in unison with the top voice only at the end of every line, emphasizing the tonic (which also shows the downward progression of the melodic line).
The Khevsur are gifted poets for whom singing, which is used only for declaiming verse, is of secondary importance. They often sing different texts to the same tune. The number of genres is limited, the main types being work, ritual and heroic song. Women’s genres are even more restricted, comprising songs of family and everyday life and ritual songs but they are more developed in intonation than men’s songs. Lullabies are usually in 6/8 metre and consist of frequent repetition or variation of a basic melodic formula. Ritual laments occupy an important place in the traditional music of the Khevsur. They are performed in a quiet narrative style reminiscent of sing-song speech; the metre depends on the text and phrases end with a descending line. They may also be performed as a ‘lament with singing voice’, khmit tirili, with a professional female mourner, motirali, alternating with a unison chorus.
The Tush live close to the Khevsur. They are shepherds who spend much of the year in the northern Caucasus or in Azerbaijan and consequently some of their performance styles show influences from those areas. For example, the dala (lament for the dead) which is performed alternately by soloist and unison chorus parallels the song styles of the peoples of the northern Caucasus. Certain Tush melodies also have rhythmic structures, such as 3 + 5 and 5 + 3, not generally used in Georgian traditional music. Themes of the solo songs are ritual, historical, heroic, lyrical or pastoral and some are accompanied by the panduri (three-string lute) or the accordion (mostly played by women), which is now well established among the mountain people of eastern Georgia. Songs of different genres have similar melodic characteristics and songs that differ in form and content are sometimes sung to the same tune, as in Khevsur folksong. Descending melodic lines and the variation of a basic melodic phrase are also typical of Tush songs, although the melodies and rhythms are more complex than those of Khevsur songs. Two-part Tush songs have simple structures, consisting basically of a solo voice performing the melody and a drone sung by a group. Such songs are usually in the A mode and the drone is usually on the tonic and seventh degree (A–G–A); cadences are approached from below. The salamuri (flute) is played commonly by shepherds.
The Pshav, neighbours of the Khevsur and the Tush, also perform two-part songs. Specific characteristics of these are the use of two-part drone polyphony that changes its pitch in the range of a major 2nd, the alternation of two soloists against a drone bass sung by a chorus, and use of the Frigian mode with a major 6th customarily known as the Pshav scale (ex.3). Together with the Khevsur, the Pshav are the most skilful creators of oral poetry in Georgia. The texts are in couplets and often take the form of a poetic contest, kapiaoba, during which the two performers improvise. The panduri is popular.
The Khev and Mtiul share many characteristics in both music and everyday life. Both have been affected economically and culturally by the mountain road, built more than 200 years ago, that traverses their regions and connects the trans-Caucasus with Russia. Mokhev and Mtiul folksongs are melodically richer and more varied than those found in other mountainous regions of eastern Georgia. Mokhev songs are mostly in two or three parts; solo songs are performed exclusively to the accompaniment of the panduri. Unlike the Khevsur and Pshav songs and short two- or three-bar phrases, in Mokhev songs the melody is developed throughout the stanza. The song types of the Mokhev include work, ritual and everyday songs, love songs, historical and heroic songs and dance-songs. Dance-songs are usually performed in two parts in which two soloists alternate or one soloist is accompanied by a bass part which has its own independent melodic and rhythmic structure (an exceptional practice in Georgian folk polyphony). Mtiul polyphony appears primarily in three-part songs which are similar, stylistically, formally and textually, to Kartlian three-part songs. The Mtiul, moreover, have adopted solo songs from the Kartlian repertory. In Mtiul song the tune is often embellished with grace notes; one or two notes only (or one note with an ornament) correspond to a syllable – a rare feature in the songs of the other mountain peoples. Ritual songs are highly regarded by the Mtiul, particularly the widely known Jvaris tsinasa (‘Before the cross’); this is performed at weddings, in round-dances with the traditional text (and with a different text) before the start of agricultural work.
Kartlian-Kakhetian groups have developed a great variety of folksong styles, forms and genres. Unaccompanied solo songs include women’s lullabies and men’s agricultural work songs. Orovela is the general name for ploughing, threshing and winnowing songs which are all related in name, musical structure and textual content to the horovel of Armenia (see Armenia, §I, 1(i)). They also have parallels (in terms of intonation and terminology) with songs from Azerbaijan and Central Asia. The texts describe the hard conditions of the people, their lack of rights and their dependence on master-landowners. The close relationship of the Armenian and Georgian agricultural songs suggests their age – dating back to the time when the states shared a common agrarian culture. The melody of each stanza of orovela songs generally begins in a high register, then quickly descends and ends in a half- or a full cadence. Recitative alternates with richly ornamented melody and the rhythm is free. ‘Urmuli’ orob (‘bull carters’) songs comprise a further popular genre similar to orovela. Two-part songs that accompany work (mostly reaping and winnowing, and more rarely threshing) are known as hopuna, herio or heri ega, depending on which of these exclamations is used in the song. Such songs are strictly rhythmic, melodies are simple and texts often appear to be improvised. They may be humorous or amatory, but most describe the work. The lower part performs either a drone or an ostinato figure.
Three-part songs may be subdivided according to function and musical characteristics. Ritual, round dance and work songs form a separate group from ‘table’ songs (Kakheti is the most ancient and important centre of viticulture in Georgia). They are distinguished musically by their energetic character, clean-cut metre and rhythms, and frequent use of a recitative drone and ostinato figures in the bass (ex.4). ‘Table’ songs are more festive: they develop slowly on a pedal drone without clear-cut metre and rhythm, and melismas are frequently used in the melodic lines (ex.5). The musical conventions of ‘table’ songs from eastern Georgia, which have colourful modulations, are similar to orovela and urmuli songs. Among musical instruments, the panduri and salamuri are popular.
The Meskh are one of the oldest Georgian groups; Meskheti was the economic and cultural centre of Georgia during the 11th and 12th centuries and from the 16th to 19th centuries it was under Turkish rule. Although polyphony was still practised there in the early years of the 20th century, it has since been lost. It is, then, the only region in Georgia without this tradition. Meskh songs are similar to Kartlian songs. The tulum, a type of bagpipe from Turkey, is played.
More research is needed on Georgian groups who live beyond the country’s borders, such as the Ingilo in Azerbaijan, and the Shavsh and Lazi in Turkey. Shavsh singing traditions are similar to those of the Acharian.
Georgia, §III, 1: Traditional music: Regional and ethnic traditions
The traditional musics of western Georgia fall into two categories: that of groups in the high mountains of Svaneti and Racha, and that of groups in the plains of Imereti, Guria, Samegrelo and Achara.
Racha is situated between Alpine Svanetia and the plain-like terrain of Imeretia, and is divided into lower, upper and mountainous regions. The Rachians in the lower region show musical similarities with neighbouring Imeretians and those in the mountainous region with neighbouring Svans. Rachian musical style shows the closest links with the traditions of eastern Georgia: the restricted use of melismas, elements of the diatonic scale system of fourths, and sometimes a pedal drone. These links are particularly evident in ‘table’ songs. Ritual songs, performed antiphonally by two choruses, and round-dances are important. As among other western Georgian groups no two-part choral or unaccompanied solo songs are performed by the Rachin (with the exception of unaccompanied lullabies performed by women). Choral songs are exclusively three-part. Solo songs are sung to the accompaniment of gudastviri (bagpipes; fig.2): these are recitative-like songs with free rhythm. Gudastviri are played by professional musicians called mestvire who enjoy great popularity. Their numbers are gradually decreasing, even though younger people are now learning to play this instrument. The repertory of the mestvire is varied. They compose songs in couplet form about historical figures, national heroes and people enslaved by feudal lords; as well as topical and humorous songs, timed to coincide with a specific festival or feast, which demonstrate their wit, resourcefulness and special talent for improvisation. They also have an important function as social commentators. The chianuri (two-string bowed lute; see fig.5 below) is used to accompany singing.
The Svans are frequently snowbound and are cut off from the town for more than six months of the year; even in summer they are reluctant to leave the mountains and go down into the valley. Urban musical culture has not penetrated Svanetia and its traditional songs have been preserved. Svan vocal and instrumental music is striking for its disciplined harmonic and tonal structure; melodies are confined in a tight framework. Svan traditional music includes many ritual songs, which also reflect historical events and the struggle with feudal lords.
Three-part songs are the basis of Svan choral singing. The second voice, which starts most of the songs, is usually the leader, followed by the highest voice and a bass. The bass is more mobile than in the songs of the eastern Georgian groups. Although it provides the harmonic basis, both rhythmically and melodically it is more flexible, and its compass sometimes reaches a 5th. Within these limits it moves not only stepwise but also in 3rds, leaping even a 4th or a 5th, usually downwards. The frequent occurrence of 2nds in the two top voices and the parallel movement of all three voices in basic triads are peculiar to Svan folksongs. The outer voices occasionally leap a 7th or an even greater interval. Although the songs are usually short they often vary in metre (as in ex.6), which may change for a few beats, while within the beat syncopation – very characteristic of Svan songs – is frequent. Svan songs have a narrow compass (a 3rd or 4th); all are short and strophic and most are in duple metre. Dance-songs begin in slow tempo and then, accompanied by hand-clapping, grow faster. Round dance-songs are performed standing in two and three circles. Solo songs are rare. They are performed by men or women accompanied by the chuniri (a three-string bowed lute) or the changi (a six-string harp; fig.3a).
The people of Imereti, a large central region, have strong links with the musical traditions of their western neighbours in Samegrelo and especially Guria. Ritual songs and round dances have survived to a limited extent; lyrical and travelling songs are frequently found (ex.7). The Imeretian repertory, like the Gurian, includes historical, work and drinking-songs and songs of everyday life. Most Imeretin songs have three parts and are lively and bold. They are mainly composed in couplet form, with the exception of songs for field work such as khelkhvavi or naduri. The naduri, still to be heard during work in the village of Dutskhuni, Van region, begins in a slow tempo with exchanges between the second voices and the basses. As the tempo quickens a third voice enters. The melodic line is broad at the opening of the song, then its melodic phrases are gradually reduced to one bar. The single-bar motif is repeated many times until the song is enthusiastically brought to an end by two groups of workers who compete in turn in their calls for intensifying the work. The song ends with a coda, which is slower, performed by the entire group to mark the completion of the work.
Cradle songs are the only solo Imeretian songs to have been recorded. European songs, Russian church and soldiers’ songs and the popular romance are widespread in Imereti as a result of the social relations with other states which were gradually established in Georgia after its unification with Russia. The influx of peasants into the town and the introduction of urban elements into the village strengthened the cultural exchange between town and country. The nature of musical culture changed, and folksongs with new themes and new musical structures entered the tradition. These tunes drew their material mainly from opera and the Russian popular romance, which in the second half of the 19th century were being cultivated in Georgian towns. Kutaisi, the central town of Imereti and western Georgia, was a focal point for dissemination of this Western-influenced music. As a result the complicated polyphonic-harmonic structure of Imeretian songs was simplified, parallel 3rds were introduced into the two top parts, and the creation of songs with a European tonic-dominant harmony was facilitated, particularly in a large number of feasting and toasting songs for chorus (ex.8). The guitar, which in some instances replaced the Georgian national instrument, the chonguri (four-string lute), also played a significant part in this process. Widespread too is the Russian seven-string guitar with a different tuning: D–G–c–g–b–d.
Guria and Samegrelo present a completely different picture. Although European and Russian music penetrated these regions (the guitar again playing a large role) the vocal and instrumental music of the Gurian and the Megrelian has preserved its characteristic features. Megrelian song is typically lyrical; Gurian songs are technically rich, complex and varied, and are based on polyphonic structures. The bass part is often the most melodically and rhythmically active; in one group of songs it is performed by a single singer, usually the most experienced and venerated of the group. The bass contributes to the polyphonic and melodic development of the song. It is often the opening voice and then becomes one of the leading voices, a technique not practised by other Georgian groups. The high part may be performed in different ways: tsvrili (thin), gamkivani (‘similar to a cock-a-doodle-doo sound’), and the most complex, extremely high register krimanchuli (‘distorted falsetto/jaw’). In this guttural falsetto various ornaments and technically difficult vocal figures are sung, with equal ease whether fast or slow. The krimanchuli is always sung on stereotypical glossalalia (e.g. ‘i-a-u-a-o, ir-va-ur-va-ho, i-ri-a-ho-u-ru-a-ho’). Moreover, the ‘i’ and ‘u’ are articulated on high notes, ‘a’ on middle notes and ‘o’ on lower ones. It is considered a high form of musical art in Guria and its exponents are greatly respected. Krimanchuli is generally used in marching, wedding, heroic, historical and work songs, but not in lyrical, love and ritual songs as it would distort their quiet, melodic character. In Gurian songs, the text has secondary importance. Much of the text appears exclusively in the middle (second) voice, which sings in recitative, moving from song to semi-speech. Singers often use the same texts for songs from different genres. In one large corpus of songs, there is no text at all. Antiphonal alternation of choruses is also common. There is a distinctive antiphonal form in which the trio and chorus alternate.
The Gurians sing with great enthusiasm; each performer tries to show his virtuosity, creating intricate three-part linear polyphony with almost no harmonic elements (ex.9). Because of their complexity the songs are usually performed by two groups of singers in turn so that each group may rest between sections. In Gurian work songs, naduri, four-voice combinations may be heard, usually in the second half of the song (ex.10). In Gurian songs, major scales predominate and, despite some rhythmic variety, most are in quadruple time. The only solo unaccompanied songs performed are lullabies sung by women. Solo Gurian songs, performed only to the accompaniment of the chonguri, have much in common with their Megrelian counterparts, also performed with the chonguri (both Gurian and Megrelian women play this instrument with great skill). Solo Gurian songs are in couplet form; their melodies depend on the text, which may be lyrical, humorous or topical, and their rhythmic structure is closely connected with the verse metre. The accompaniment played on the chonguri may follow the vocal part in unison or provide single chords, harmonic figurations or even an independent part in the songs in recitative form. Soinari (panpipes) survived in mountainous regions until the beginning of the 20th century.
Ancient traditions of vocal and instrumental music survive in Samegrelo. Lyrical songs, which couple harsh sound combinations with soft intonation (ex.11), occupy an important place in the repertory. The tradition of the trio is also common here. Sometimes the trio and chorus sing antiphonally. As distinct from Guria, minor scales are used. Songs for one voice have been preserved only as female solos accompanied by the chonguri. Two-part songs recorded at the beginning of the 20th century have lively and supple melodies consisting of two figures and a sustained bass. They are generally accompanied on the chonguri which doubles both voices in the minutest detail. In solo songs, a similar accompanimental style is used in which the entire melody is reproduced by the chonguri.
The majority of Megrelian songs are three part. These may be divided into two basic groups according to musical structure and text. The main group, with light melodic lines, consists of songs of everyday family life and love-songs. The metre and rhythm of these songs is dependent on the metre of the verse and their style is calm and even. The second group comprises bold, dynamic and dramatic songs, including work, marching, wedding and dance-songs, in which all three voices form polyphonic–harmonic combinations. They are sung in full voice and with great expression. Texts do not play a dominant role; they are often interrupted by isolated exclamations such as ‘o’, ‘okho’ and ‘oida’, or the expressions ‘orira’, ‘dela’ or ‘abadela’, which accompany the song for several beats. These exclamations are often substitutes for a text, a characteristic of other Georgian polyphonic work songs. Ritual, round-dances and work songs are dynamic. Round-dance songs are often constructed on ostinato figures (ex.12).
The ancient type of panpipe known as soinari or larchemi (‘reed’; fig.4) is played in Guria and Samegrelo (ex.13) (though its use is now dying out).
Achara was populated from the 11th century by the Megrelian and Laz ‘tribes’ and then by the Gurians. In the 7th century it came under Georgian rule; from 1627 it was ruled by Turkey, which held it until 1878 when it was annexed by Russia. During this sequence of events the Acharian embraced Islam and absorbed both Georgian musical culture and some Turkish influence. This can also be observed in Acharian folk music. Although Turkish influence is hardly detectable in the vocal style, several Muslim instruments were appropriated and ‘table’ songs – a common feature of other regions of Georgia – were lost. Acharian choral music has adopted all the elements of Georgian and some of Gurian (the Georgian group in the plains adjacent to the Acharians) folk polyphony. These three- and four-part polyphonic songs are constructed on the same principles as Gurian songs, but in a simpler form; the top register, krimanchuli, is not as rich as in Guria; the second voice has a primarily recitative style and the bass maintains its individual role. The most well-developed genre is the naduri (‘work song’; ex.14). The mountainous Achara region is the only part of western Georgia where two-part singing is widespread. Distinguishing features are the recitative style of the top voice and the melodically active bass (ex.15). This recitative quality is also peculiar to Acharian solo songs and songs accompanied on the chiboni or chimoni (a type of bagpipe). Acharian traditional music includes a rich variety of dances and dance music. Dances are accompanied by singing or by the chiboni, sometimes accompanied by the doli (drum). An ancient war-dance, khoroni (or khorumi), is performed in 5/8 time.
Georgia, §III: Traditional music
Polyphony is characteristic of all regions of Georgia and is still found in most of them. Monodic songs without instrumental accompaniment are rarely encountered, being performed only while working on the land or when travelling alone. Unaccompanied songs for solo male voice are known only in eastern Georgia, and the traditions of unison monophony (and variant heterophony) are not common.
The distinction between performers and listeners is not characteristic. Usually, all the participants of a festival (wedding or feast) take an active part. Polyphonic songs are performed by a chorus in which the high melodic parts are taken by soloists; all others sing the bass part. Antiphonal singing is widespread. In eastern Georgia, usually in ‘table’ songs, two soloists alternate against the background of a solo (drone) bass. Songs are divided according to gender: the women’s repertory consists of lullabies, as well as ritual and lyrical songs; the men’s embraces most genres. Round-dances are common, including those with two or three vertical circles, that is, with each dancer standing on the shoulders of another. In certain mountainous regions of western Georgia (Svaneti and Racha), the tradition survives of men and women singing ritual round-dances together. Songs are performed within families by mixed ensembles.
Three-part singing is widespread. In the mountainous regions of the east, two-part singing is common, and in the west and south-west, examples of four-part singing are found, especially in naduri, ‘work songs’. There are more than 60 terms for denoting parts and their functions in the chorus. The middle voice (mtkmeli, ‘story-teller’) generally leads and is referred to as the ‘first voice’; the upper voice (modzakhili, ‘echo voice’; magali bani, ‘high bass’) usually follows the middle one. A variant of the upper voice in western Georgia is a falsetto, krimanchuli, often compared with the Alpine yodel. The bass (bani) is the only voice performed by a group singing in unison. In four-part work songs there are two bass voices: shemkhmobari, the ‘supporting voice’, which sings a pedal drone in the middle of the texture, and bani, a sophisticated melody in which the main note lies a 5th below the shemkhmobari (see exx.10 and 14). Both bass parts are performed by groups of singers.
The rich variety of polyphonic types is based on four main principles: drone, ostinato, parallel motion and free polyphony. Drone and ostinato are conveyed by one voice, usually the bass, and parallel motion and free polyphony are based on various types of voice co-ordination.
The two types of drone are the rhythmic and the pedal. Both alter their pitch and usually move in 2nds, rarely in 3rds or 4ths. The rhythmic (recitative) drone is common in all regions and may be the most ancient; it articulates either the song text, along with the high voices, or stereotyped glossalalia. The pedal drone appears mainly in the ‘table’ songs of eastern Georgia; it is sung without words, usually to the sound ‘o’. In the course of a song the pedal drone changes its pitch several times enabling unusual modulations (see ex.5).
Ostinato polyphony is widespread in the round-dance songs of eastern and especially western Georgia (ex.11). Ostinato formulae are usually sung in the bass voice. Parallel polyphony, which appears in fragmentary form (see ex.6), is mainly characteristic of the mountainous west. Free polyphony (or free counterpoint) is also encountered only in fragmentary form (see ex.9) and is characteristic of the western plains. Imitative polyphony is not used; the voices have contrasting melodic lines and no words are uttered; the voices produce various stereotypical glossalalia formulae. In practice, pure polyphonic types rarely occur; these four principles interact, creating mixed and transitional types. Exx.10 and 14 illustrate this: the pedal drone is in the middle of the texture, recitation in the middle voice, ostinato figures in the upper voice, and free melodic motion in the bass.
Scale
systems are rich and varied. Anhemitonic scales occur among groups living in
mountainous regions. Another scale system is found in various song types in
western Georgia, and in ritual and round-dance songs of eastern Georgia. The
system consists of two, three or four identical pentachords joined together.
The aim is to preserve the purity of the 5ths, which results in augmented
octaves (b
–b';
f'–f
'';
ex.16). Scales built on the diatonic system of
4ths are not encountered in their pure form in polyphonic singing; they appear
only in the monophonic (solo) work songs of eastern Georgia and comprise two,
three or four identical tetrachords joined together. This diatonic system is very
similar to the tetrachordal modes of the Middle East. In these scales one
encounters diminished octaves (b–b'; e'–e''; ex.17).
In ‘table’ and sometimes lyrical songs of eastern Georgia, scales contain elements of diatonic systems of 4ths and 5ths. The former predominates, occurring above the tonal centre (the pedal drone) in the melodies of the high voice; the latter appears in the bass voice during cadences and modulation.
‘Dissonant’ chords comprising various combinations of 2nds, 4ths, 5ths, 7ths and 9ths are characteristic of Georgian polyphony (ex.18). The harmonic system is based on a relationship of 2nds. The most common cadences are: I–VII–I; I–VI–VII–I; I–II–III; II–III–IV–I. In addition to resolutions by movements of seconds, there are also resolutions by movements of fourths. A musical phrase usually concludes on the tonic or the fifth, although they may conclude on the fourth, a 5-8 chord, a 4-5 chord or even a chord consisting of the fifth, octave and ninth.
Modulations are very common in sophisticated songs, both in eastern and western Georgia. In the ‘table’ songs of eastern Georgia, modulations may be to a major or minor second above or below, or to a major or minor third below. In western Georgia one also encounters modulations to a fourth or fifth below.
Simple duple and triple-time rhythms are common: in western Georgia duple rhythms (4/4, 2/4) predominate, and in eastern Georgia triple rhythms (3/4, 6/8) frequently occur. In the ‘table’ songs of eastern Georgia the metre is free, and, in Svanetian songs, changes in metre occur. Contrapuntal songs of western Georgia are more rhythmically active, although all are in 4/4 metre.
Musical rhythm prevails over textual rhythm in all regions. 4 + 4 constructions are typical for a line of verse in western Georgia, but in eastern Georgia asymmetrical constructions of 3 + 5 and 5 + 3 are characteristic. The importance of the poetical text ranges from complete domination in the mountainous regions of eastern Georgia to a minor role in Guria, western Georgia. In three-part songs, the text may be delivered by one (middle) voice, by two (middle and high) voices or by the three voices simultaneously.
Southern and eastern parts of Georgia share borders with Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan, the peoples of which practise vocal monody. Vocal polyphony, mainly two-part, is widespread among those who populate the northern slopes of the Caucasian range. It is similar to its Georgian counterpart in that it uses various types of drone and ostinato, a functional relationship based on 2nds, ‘dissonant’ intervals, the singing of melodic lines by soloists, and a bass part provided by a chorus. Parallels are also noted with the polyphonic traditions of groups in the Balkan mountains, and certain other polyphonic traditions of the Mediterranean basin and eastern Europe.
Georgia, §III: Traditional music
The salamuri end-blown flute is one of the older Georgian instruments. An archaic version excavated in a burial ground at Mtskheta, the capital of ancient Georgia, is made from a swan’s tibia and has three finger-holes. The type of burial suggests that this small salamuri belonged to a young shepherd. Modern salamuri generally have seven finger-holes on the front and one on the back; they are sometimes played in classical as well as in folk music and are popular among shepherds in eastern Georgia. The soinari or larchemi (panpipe; fig.4) is another ancient instrument which survived into the 20th century. It consists of six reed pipes of various lengths, made of cane or the stem of an umbellate plant, fastened in a row. They are tuned in 3rds from the bass pipes, which are positioned in the middle and are a 2nd apart. The tuning varies according to the piece being performed. Sometimes the pieces are performed by two players who can divide the instrument into two, taking three pipes each. It is generally considered a shepherd’s instrument, but is also used during the hunt, during the ritual of ‘bringing the spirit of the deceased’ home from the place of death; and during the nirzi, a contest in which the six pipes are divided in two groups, each group being played in turn. Two-part music is also played on the larchemi, when the player blows simultaneously into two pipes (ex.13).
The gudastviri (bagpipe) is traditionally associated with the mestvire, professional musicians who perform heroic, patriotic or satirical songs of social comment as well as shairis (popular verses). The gudastviri consists of a bellows (guda), a small tube (chreko) fitted into one hole of the bellows and two pipes (stviri), one with six finger-holes and the other with three. The instrument is often decorated with metal, coloured glass, small chains and even gems. It originated among the Kartlian in eastern Georgia but is also occasionally played in Racha in western Georgia. The chiboni or chimoni (bagpipe) of Achara is similar in construction to the gudastviri but has a more penetrating timbre; it is played solo, used to accompany dancing and, less frequently, song. Both gudastviri and chiboni are two-voice instruments and, as in vocal music, the bass voice is never stationary.
The changi (harp; fig.3a) of Svaneti in western Georgia, one of the oldest surviving string instruments, is used mainly to accompany song. It is rectangular, often with carved ornaments, and the number of strings varies (usually six to nine). The strings, which are tuned diatonically in 2nds, may be played singly or in groups to produce chords. In performance the changi is held upright on the knee. The most popular strummed or plucked string instruments are the panduri (three-string fretted lute) of eastern Georgia and the chonguri (four-string unfretted lute) of western Georgia. The panduri is made in various shapes and sizes; the strings are strummed in both directions or, less frequently, plucked. The chonguri has a pear-shaped body and long neck and is also strummed or plucked. The instrument has a short string called zili (‘thin’) which produces a steady high drone. Both panduri and chonguri are used for accompanying song and for solo performance. The panduri is played mainly by men; the chonguri predominantly by women. The chianuri (two-string bowed lute; fig.5) and the somewhat larger chuniri (three-string bowed lute) originated in western Georgia. The chianuri, generally used to accompany epics, love-songs or comic popular verses, is often played in unison with the vocal melody. The chianuri and chuniri repertories also include solo instrumental pieces and dance music.
Percussion instruments include the daira, a tambourine made in various sizes and played with both hands, mostly by women. The hoop is sometimes inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and small bells, rings or coins are attached along the inside. The instrument is used to accompany song or dance, and is also played solo. The doli (double-headed cylindrical drum of various sizes) is sounded with two sticks or with the hands. The performer may sit or stand and he usually sings while playing. Doli are generally used in ensembles together with wind instruments such as the salamuri, the duduki (flute) and the zurna (shawm). Rhythms played on the doli are varied. The diplipito (fig.3b) is a small kettledrum played in pairs or occasionally in groups of threes. The body is made of clay and the membrane is struck with a thin stick. The buzika (small accordion) is popular. During recent years, the Russian balalaika has also found its way from the north into mountainous regions of eastern Georgia, and is played in the same way as the panduri. The guitar is common in western Georgia.
Georgia, §III: Traditional music
In the capital city, Tbilisi, and in Kutaisi, the city in the centre of Imeretia, two distinctive urban musical traditions were established long ago. The ‘eastern branch’, influenced by the music of the Middle East, began to develop in Tbilisi more than a thousand years ago. Monodic melodies with characteristic Middle Eastern modes (incorporating an augmented 2nd) gradually became distinctively Georgian as the original melody became preserved in the middle register of three-part melodies (ex.19).
The ‘western branch’ was influenced by the European harmonic system which found its way to Georgia in the mid-19th century through Italian opera and the Russian romance. A large group of choral songs based on this system quickly developed (see ex.8), as did a substantial body of songs with guitar accompaniments. The centre of Western urban music is considered to be Kutaisi but, from the 1950s, it began also to acquire dominance in Tbilisi. During the 1970s a new tradition of four-part singing (chartulit, ‘with included voice’) appeared. The popularity of urban music in certain regions (particularly in Imeretia) brought about changes in traditional music. This ‘western branch’ forms the basis of contemporary music in the main towns. In some village areas, traditional repertories and styles are no longer performed, but in most regions they can still be found. In many areas, ensembles and choirs are organized by experts in traditional music who have not had a European professional musical education.
The period when Georgia was a part of the Soviet Union (1921–91) was marked by political and cultural totalitarianism. All choirs and ensembles that performed in concerts were forced to include in their repertories songs about the Communist Party and the political leaders of the Soviet Union. Such songs were composed very quickly. In the 1930s, under the dictates of both the political leaders of the USSR and the local (regional) administrative bodies, huge choral collectives began to appear. Political administrators of different regions often competed to assemble the largest choirs. Traditional ensembles with established performing traditions that used solo voices for melodic parts were deemed to be ‘out of date’. In the huge choral collectives, these were replaced with unison singing in all three registers. Traditional musicians protested because unison singing destroyed one of the fundamentals of Georgian polyphonic song, its improvisatory character.
During the 1930s, as in other republics of the Soviet Union, modified folk instruments were produced (larger instruments with chromatic tuning) and folk-instrument orchestras were established. There was no traditional basis for these in Georgia and therefore they did not become popular. However, small instrumental ensembles gained some popularity, particularly trios comprising salamuri, chonguri and panduri. Usually, the instruments in these ensembles use chromatic tuning, and in addition to a traditional repertory, they often perform works by contemporary Georgian composers as well as the European classics.
In post-Soviet Georgia, there are numerous folksong ensembles playing the traditional songs of various regions, for instance the State Ensemble of Georgian Folksong, the Rustaveli State Ensemble, and the ensembles Pazisi, Kartuli Khmebi, Mtiebi, Mzetamze and Georgika. During the 1980s and 90s ensembles that performed Georgian folksongs began to appear in the USA, UK, France, Norway, Canada and Australia.
Georgia, §III: Traditional music
Archaeological finds from the 2nd and 1st millennia bce, depicting instruments and dancing figures, provide the oldest evidence of the musical cultures of different Georgian groups. Information about their musical traditions can also be found in ancient Greek literary documents, such as Xenophon’s Anabasis Kirosa, which describes the events of 401 bc. Georgian written sources existing from the 5th century highlight the development of professional music in the middle ages. Later sources describe the struggle with pagan songs and dances and the development of musical culture during the ‘Golden’ 10th, 11th and 12th centuries. Much information about musical terms is contained in the first Georgian dictionary compiled by Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani in the 18th century. At the beginning of the 19th century a descendant of Georgian kings, Ioan Bagrationi, described the musical life of Georgia and particularly the tradition of church singing in his work Kalmasoba (‘A journey’).
From the 1860s the fight to preserve cultural identity began, and from the 1870s the first collections of Georgian folksongs appeared. The first professional Georgian folksong choir, founded by Lado Agniashvili, gave its inaugural performance in 1886. It went on to play an important role in popularizing the folksong tradition. Research into traditional music also began. The composers Zakharia Paliashvili and D. Arakishvili were important in this respect. Arakishvili, who published a large number of folksong collections and many seminal works on Georgian folk music, is considered to be the founder of Georgian ethnomusicology. Russian musicians, for example M. Ippolitov-Ivanov, K. Klenovsky and K. Grozdov, have recorded and published Georgian folksongs. An influential monograph on the soinari (or larchemi) was published by V. Steshenko-Kuftina and another, by I. Javakhishvili, remains one of the finest source work studies. G. Chkhikvadze compiled the first educational course on the musical folk art of Georgia and founded the Department of the Musical Folk Art of Tbilisi V. Sarajishvili State Conservatoire, and Sh. Aslanishvili laid the foundations of research into the theoretical bases of Georgian folk music. A rich collection of material has been gathered at various times by composers and musicologists, for instance Sh. Mshvelidze, G. Kokeladze, V. Akhobadze and O. Chijavadze. Various aspects of music have been, and are being, studied by scholars: B. Gulisashvili (scales); K. Rosebashvili (musical instruments); M. Jordania (scales and the functions of the voices); M. Iashvili (interrelation between folk and professional polyphony in ancient times); M. Shilakadze (musical instruments); N. Maisuradze (singing traditions of eastern Georgia); V. Magradze (vestiges of polyphony in Meskhetia); I. Zhgenti (questions of harmony); G. Gvardzhaladze (rhythm); E. Chokhonelidze (scales and intervals); V. Gogotishvili (scales of the diatonic system of pentachords); E. Garakanidze (dialectology and questions of performance); N. Zumbadze (female aspects of folklore); T. Gabisonia (classification of polyphonic types); N. Tsitsishvili (ethnocultural links); N. Makharadze (lullabies); and J. Jordania (an interdisciplinary study of the origins of polyphony).
Materials from field studies undertaken in different regions are held at the laboratory attached to the Department of the Georgian Musical Folklore at the Tbilisi V. Sarajishvili State Conservatoire. Research into the traditional music of Georgia is also carried out at the Institute of History and Ethnography, Centre for Archaeological Studies, and Centre for Mediterranean Studies at the University of Tbilisi (1988–95).
The interest in Georgian music grew in Europe after World War I when G. Schunemann and R. Lach recorded traditional songs from Georgian prisoners of war. These are housed in the Berlin Phonogram Archive. R. Lach, Z. Nadel and M. Schneider studied Georgian polyphony and its possible links with professional polyphony of the Middle Ages. Various aspects of traditional Georgian music have been touched upon in the works of P. Collaer, E. Emsheimer, E. Stockmann, J. Grimaud and Z. Ziegler.
Matters connected with the traditional music of Georgia are discussed at the annual conferences of the Co-ordinating Council for Georgian Folklore attached to the Georgian Academy of Sciences, and also at the conferences of the Music and Choreography Society of Georgia (later called the Music Society of Georgia). In 1984, 1986 and 1988 international conferences on folk polyphony were held in Georgia. In 1990 the first International Festival of the Musical Folklore of Georgia was held.
Georgia, §III: Traditional music
and other resources
A. Benashvili: Kartuli khmebi [Georgian songs] (Tbilisi, 1886)
Z. Chkhikvadze: Salamuri [The flute] (Tbilisi, 1896)
F. Koridze: Mitsvalebulis sagalobelni [Songs of lament] (Tbilisi, 1899)
I. Kargareteli: Kartuli sakhalkho simgerebi [Georgian folksongs] (Tbilisi, 1899–1909)
Z. Paliashvili: Kartuli khalkhuri simgerebi [Georgian folksongs] (Tbilisi, 1910)
D. Arakishvili: Kartuli musika [Georgian music] (Kutaisi, 1925, 2/1940; Russ. trans., 2/1940)
A. Partskhaladze: Acharis khalkhuri tsekva da simgera [Acharian folkdance and song] (Batumi, 1936)
I. Javakhish(ili: Kartuli musikis istoriis dzivitadi sakit khebi [Main issues in the history of Georgian music] (Tblisi, 1938)
G. Chkhikvadze: Kartveli khalkhis udzvelesi samusiko kultura [The ancient musical culture of the Georgian people] (Tbilisi, 1948)
D. Arakishvili: Svanuri khalkhuri simgerebi [Svan folksongs] (Tbilisi, 1950)
Sh. Aslanishvili: Narkvevebi kartuli khalkhuri simgerebis shesakheb [Essays on Georgian folk music] (Tbilisi, 1954–6)
V. Akhobadze: Kartuli (svanuri) khalkhuri simgerebi [Georgian (Svan) folksongs] (Tbilisi, 1957)
G. Chkhikvadze: Kartuli khalkhuri simgera [Georgian folksong] (Tbilisi, 1960)
V. Akhobadze: Kartuli (acharuli) khalkhuri simgerebi [Georgian (Acharian) folksongs] (Batumi, 1961)
G. Chkhikvadze: Acharuli musikaluri folkloris masalebidan [From Acharian musical folklore material] (Batumi, 1961)
T. Mamaladze: Shromis simgerebi Kakhetshi [Work songs in Kakheti] (Tbilisi, 1963)
O. Chijavadze: Kartuli (kakhuri) khalkhuri simgerebi [Georgian (Kakhetian) folksongs] (Tbilisi, 1969)
M. Shilakadze: Kartuli khalkhuri sakravebi da sakravieri musika [Georgian folk instruments and instrumental music] (Tbilisi, 1970)
Sh. Aslanishvili: Kartl-khakhuri khalkhuri sagundo simgerebis harmonia [The harmony of Kartlian-Kakhetian choral folk music] (Tbilisi, 1971)
N. Maisuradze: Agmosavlet Sakartvelos musikaluri kultura (vokaluri musika) [The musical culture of eastern Georgia (vocal music)] (Tbilisi, 1971)
A. Mshvelidze: Kartuli kalakhuri khalkhuri simgerebi [Georgian urban folksongs] (Tbilisi, 1971)
O. Chijavadze: Kartuli khalkhuri simgerebi (megruli) [Georgian folksongs (Megrelian)] (Tbilisi, 1974)
M. Iashvili: Kartuli mravalkhmianobis sakitkhisatvis [About Georgian polyphony] (Tbilisi, 1975; Russ. trans., 1987)
A. Erkomaishvili: Kartuli khalkhuri simgerebi (guruli) [Georgian folksongs (Gurian)] (Tbilisi, 1980)
K. Rosebashvili: Kartuli khalkhuri simgerebi [Georgian folksongs] (Tbilisi, 1983)
G. Kokeladze: Asi kartuli khalkhuri simgera [100 Georgian folksongs] (Tbilisi, 1984)
V. Magradze: Meskhuri khalkhuri simgerebi [Meskh folksongs] (Tbilisi, 1986)
MGG1 suppl. (E. Eimsheimer)
I. Yevlakhov: ‘O narodnďkh pesnyakh i pevtsakh v Gruzii’ [Folksongs and singers in Georgia], Kavkaz (16 Aug 1850)
K. Grozdov: Mingrel'skiye narodnďye pesni [Megrelian folksongs] (Tbilisi, 1894)
M. Ippolitov-Ivanov: ‘Gruzinskaya narodnaya pesnya i ego sovremennoye sostoyaniye’ [The Georgian folksong and its modern form], Artist, i/5 (1895), 134
D. Arakishvili: Kratkiy ocherk razvitiya gruzinskoy kartalino-kakhetinskoy narodnoy pesni [A brief study of the development of Georgian Kartlian-Kakhetian folksong] (Moscow, 1905)
D. Arakishvili: Narodnaya pesnya zapadnoy Gruzii [Folksong of western Georgia] (Moscow, 1908)
D. Arakishvili: Gruzinskoye narodnoye muzďkal'noye tvorchestvo [Georgian folk music] (Moscow, 1916)
R. Lach, ed.: Gesänge russischer Kriegsgefangener, iii/1: Georgische Gesänge (Vienna, 1931)
V. Belyayev: ‘The Folk-Music of Georgia’, MQ, xix (1933), 417–33
S.F. Nadel: Georgische Gesänge (Berlin, 1933)
M. Schneider: Geschichte der Mehrstimmigkeit, ii (Berlin, 1935, 2/1969), 7–33
V. Belyayev: ‘Kvoprosu izucheniya gruzinskogo muzďkal'nogo instrumentarya’ [Questions of studying Georgian musical instruments], Vestnik gosudarstvennogo muzeya, ix (1936), 1–40
V. Steshenko-Kuftina: Drevneyshiye instrumental'nďye osnovď gruzinskoy narodnoy muzďki [The ancient musical traditions of Georgian folk music] (Tbilisi, 1936)
M. Schneider: ‘Kaukasische Parallelen zur europaisch mittelalterlichen Mehrstimmigkeit’, Acta Musicologica, xii (1940), 52–61
D. Arakishvili: Obzor narodnoy pesni vostochnoy Gruzii [A survey of eastern Georgian folksong] (Tbilisi, 1948)
P. Collaer: ‘Notes concernant certain chants espagnols, hongrois, bulgares et géorgiens’, AnM, ix–x (1954–5)
G. Chkhikvadze: Gruzinskiye narodnďye pesni [Georgian folksongs] (Moscow, 1956)
E. Stockmann: ‘Kaukasische und albanische Mehrstimmigkeit’, Kongressbericht Gesellschaft für Musikforschung (Hamburg, 1956), 229–31
V. Akhobadze: Abkhazskiye narodnďye pesni [Abkhazian folksongs] (Moscow, 1957)
V. Akhobadze: Georgian Folk Work Songs ‘Naduri’ (Moscow, 1961)
O. Chijavadze and V. Tsagareishvili: Gruzinskiye narodnďye pesni [Georgian folksongs] (Moscow, 1964)
G. Chkhikvadze: Main types of Georgian Polyphonic Singing (Moscow, 1964)
E. Emsheimer: ‘Georgian Folk Polyphony’, JIFMC, xix (1967), 54–7
A. Andriashvili and V. Makharadze: Gruzinskiye narodnďye pesni [Georgian folksongs] (Tbilisi, 1971)
A. Erkomaishvili: Gruzinskiye narodnďye pesni [Georgian folksongs] (Moscow, 1972)
Y. Grimaud: ‘Musique vocale géorgienne (Europe orientale)’, Bedi Kartlisa: revue de kartvélologie, xxxv (1977), 52–72
J. Jordania: ‘Gruusialaister kansanlaulujen alkuperaisesta polyfoniasta ja harmoniasta’ [Distinctive forms of polyphony and harmony in Georgian folk music], Musiikki, iv (1980), 215–29
J. Jordania: ‘Georgian Folk Singing: its Sources, Emergence and Modern Development’, International Social Science Journal, xxxvi/3 (1984), 537–49
L. Gvaramadze: Gruzinskiy tantsevalnďy folklor [Georgian folkdances] (Tbilisi, 1987)
E. Tschokhonelidze: ‘Das Wesen der georgischen poliphonen Volksmusik’, Georgika, xi (1988), 63–6
J. Jordania: Gruzinskoye traditsionnoye mnogogolosiye v mezhdunarodnom kontekste mnogogolosnďkh kul'tur: k probleme genezisa mnogogolosiya [Georgian traditional polyphony in an international context of polyphonic cultures: on the problem of the origin of polyphony] (Tbilisi, 1989)
Z. Ziegler and A. Traub: ‘Mittelalterliche und kaukasische Mehrstimmigkeit’, BMz, xliii (1990), 214–27
Onis raionis momgeralta sakhalkho gundi [Traditional chorus from the Oni district], Melodiya C30 25981 003 (1987) [Rachian folksongs]
Kvarlis kulturis sahltan arsebuli vazhta gundi ‘Kvareli’ [Male chorus Kvareli from the culture department of the town of Kvareli], Melodiya C30 27199 003 (1988) [Kakhetian folksongs]
Svanuri khalkhuri simgerebi [Svan folksongs], perf. Traditional ensemble from Latali village from upper Svanetia, Melodiya C30 27547 009 (1988)
Tsalenjihis raionis vazhta etnograpiuli gundi ‘Bedinera’ [Traditional male chorus Bedinera from Tsalenjiha District], Melodiya C30 27547 009 (1988) [Megrelian folksongs]
Chohatauris folkloruli ansambli ‘Guria’ [Traditional ensemble Guria from Chohatauri], Melodiya C30 30305 005 (1990) [Gurian folksongs]
Ozurgetis folkloruli ansambli ‘Elesa’ [Traditional ensemble Elesa from Ozurgeti], Melodiya C30 30447 005 (1990) [Gurian folksongs]
Kartuli khalkhuri simgerebi: Sakhelovani tsinaprebi [Georgian folksongs: illustrious ancestors], various pfmrs., rec. 1900–30, Melodiya M30 49487 005 (1991)
Penomeni [Phenomenon], dir., M. Kokochashvili, M. Shevardnadze, D. Gugunava, Kartuli Telefilmiz (Tbilisi, 1992) [film about Georgian traditional polyphony]