The V. Sarajishvili State #5 Conservatoire

3. The Third International International Symposium on Traditional Research Polyphony 5. Program for the Scientific Center for Sessions of the Third International Symposium on Traditional Traditional Polyphony 6. Georgian Traditional Polyphony Music in 2006

8. New Publications

BULLETIN 10. Georgian Ethnomusicologists. Tinatin Zhvania

12. Ethnomusicology. Tinatin Zhvania Georgian Bowed Instruments.

17. Georgian Folk Groups. Ensemble Basiani

19. Field Expedition in Surebi ()

21. Shota Altunashvili: Even a Century Ago It Was Extremely Difficult to Find a Genuine Meskhetian Song Here

24. Georgian Folk Song - New Transcription. Alilo

TBILISI. DECEMBER. 2006 3

This volume is published through the support of Ministry of Culture, Monuments Protection and Sport.

Editors: Rusudan Tsurtsumia Tamaz Gabisonia

Translators: Maia Kachkachishvili Clayton Parr Lorean Ninoshvili

Design: Nika Sebiskveradze Giorgi Kokilashvili

Computer services: Tamaz Gabisonia Kakhaber Maisuradze

© International Research Center for Traditional Polyphony of V. Sarajishvili Tbilisi State Conservatoire, 2006

ISSN 1512 - 2883

Printed by: polygraph

Semi-annual bulletin in Georgian and English 4

duce itself to the world and must make an The Third effort to sustain the momentum that has be- gun. There is still much work to be done International in this direction. In short, the Symposium was a success despite some tiny glitches. Scholars from Symposium on 15 countries - Austria, Australia, USA, , Germany, Spain, Japan, , Ca- Traditional nada, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, , Croatia and - discussed the gene- sis of polyphony, methods for its documen- Polyphony tation, archival recordings, etc. Especially well represented were regional styles of mul- The Third International Symposium on tipart singing in Georgia and other countri- Traditional Polyphony has been brought to es, including the Mediterranean, which was a conclusion and the time for reflection has represented for the first time. come. As one of the organizers of this event, The opening ceremony of the Symposi- I must say that forums like ours are the best um was held on September 25 at the Grand means for integration into the international Hall of the Tbilisi State Conservatoire, be- scholarly community and musical research ginning with a short documentary on the processes; we have indeed advanced in this completion of the UNESCO three-year pro- direction. We will not burden our readers ject Safeguarding and Promotion of Georgian with a long discussion of Symposium the- Traditional Polyphony. Many words of gra- mes, but we will present the brief abstracts titude were expressed to UNESCO, for this of all the presentations. I would like to men- project pushed the Georgian government to tion that scholars in general enjoy long dis- intensify its efforts to safeguard Georgian cussions on certain issues, to get to the he- musical folklore. We are delighted that in art of the matter at hand, to consider it from 2006 the allotted over various angles, to dialogue on problems of one million GEL for the support of Georgian research methodology, etc. I admit that I folk song and . The Third International personally am also in favor of this kind of Symposium was a beneficiary of this prog- gathering. From this standpoint our sympo- ram. sia cover broad issues pertaining to polyp- The Symposium concert program featu- honic music. The three symposia have to- red families of singer-musicians from vari- gether raised discussion on a large number ous parts of Georgia as well as foreign per- of issues and represent a broad musical ge- formers of Georgian folk song: Maspindzeli ography. The reason for this is twofold: first, from the UK, and Zari from Ca- prior to our first symposium we had only nada, Marani and Irinola from France and minimal knowledge of the musical culture Yamashirogumi from Japan. Special menti- of peoples all over the world and we wan- on should be made of a quartet of Basque ted to present Georgian musical folklore in singers from France who presented Basque a world context; second-and no less impor- traditional songs for the first time in Georgia. tantly-we honestly wanted to attract as many We deeply appreciate the enthusiasm of scholars from as many countries as possib- foreign ensembles for the performance of le in order to acquaint them with our own Georgian folk music and regard these en- unique musical tradition. Georgian ethno- sembles as ambassadors of Georgian cultu- musicology, or more precisely folklore stu- re in their home countries. Only love for dies (Georgian scholars tend to work in mo- this music can help to gather the strength re of a folkloric than an ethnomusicologi- and resources for travel to Georgia and per- cal paradigm), has only just begun to intro- formance for Georgian audiences. We va- 5

ple the relevance of the subject matter ad- dressed. Re-evaluation might reduce the number of participants, but will also certa- inly increase the time available for discus- sion. There are other tiny details as well which can hardly be avoided in an event of this scale. In short, there is much to be con- sidered before the next symposium. Importantly, the Symposium enables us to increase our collaboration with interna- tional scholars. Unfortunately, we failed to follow through with one project that was suggested by the American scholar Steven Ensemble from Canada Darbazi Brown at the First Symposium in 2002. This time Dr. Simha Arom and Dr. Polo Vallejo lue our relations with these ensembles very expressed a desire to host two Tbilisi Con- much. servatoire students in France in order to tra- On September 28 the participating scho- in them in Dr. Arom's method for recording lars visited and the mayor held a re- ception in their honor. They visited Gelati polyphonic music. We believe this is a very Monastery; attended a local ensemble's con- important project, as Dr. Arom's method cert in , and returned to Tbilisi the sa- provides for great accuracy in the transcrip- me evening full of impressions. tion of complex musical examples. Georgian A closing gala concert featuring local and song is very rich in examples of this kind, visiting ensembles was held on September but the existing methods for their transcrip- 29. More Georgian songs were heard at the tion are unfortunately still lacking. reception after the concert. Participants we- In conclusion, I would like to join Prof. re gifted with the latest publications of the Manana Doijashvili, Rector of the Tbilisi International Research Center for Traditio- State Conservatoire, in expressing our de- nal Polyphony: the proceedings of the Se- ep gratitude to all faculty and students of cond International Symposium on Traditi- the Conservatoire who helped to make the onal Polyphony in Georgian and English, a Symposium a success. CD of Kakhetian songs recorded by Con- The Third International Symposium on servatoire field researchers in 1952, and a Traditional Polyphony received extensive new issue of the Bulletin. They were delig- media coverage. We acknowledge especi- hted to receive a unique book of transcrip- ally the assistance of Georgia Public Broadca- tions from the Erkomaishvili family collec- sting and the Imedi channel, the Tbilisi mu- tion - a gift from the International Centre nicipality, the transport union Universali and for Georgian Folk Song and Mr. Anzor Nova Science Publishers in the USA. Erkomaishvili. We would also like to express our grati- As always, upon conclusion the results tude to the President of Georgia, Mr. Mikheil of the Symposium were evaluated at the Saakashvili, for his support for the Sympo- Conservatoire. Afterwards we always have sium, and the Georgian Ministry of Cultu- a better sense of the event's weaknesses. So- re, Monuments Protection and Sport for its me are easily corrected, for example the qu- financial assistance as part of the President's ality of the Georgian of some of National Folk Program for safeguarding cul- the English texts, the need to block inco- tural heritage. ming light during video projections, certa- in technical difficulties, etc. Some weaknes- Rusudan Tsurtsumia ses need more thorough reflection, for exam- Head of IRCTP 6

Pantxoa Etchegoin (France). Kantuketan - Program for the the World of Basques Traditional Song Scientific Sessions Natalia Zumbadze (Georgia). Georgian Songs of the Birth of a Son

of the Third Daiva Rachiunaite-Vychiniene (Lithuania). Seeking for Origin of Songs with Refrain International Tumba and their Interpretation Symposium on Teona Rukhadze (Georgia). Acharan-Shav- shetian Maqruli (Groomsmen's) Songs

Traditional Mikahil Lobanov (Russia). Previously Polyphony Unaccounted Type of Russian Song Polyphony Gerald Florian Messner (Australia). Multipart Simha Arom (France). Polyphony by Way Vocal Tradition in Eastern Flores (Indonesia), of Polyrhythmic Bulgaria and Manus Province (PNG): A Comparison Joseph Jordania (Australia). Origin of Rhythm: Beginnings of Choral Polyphony Polo Vallejo (Spain). Music and Logic among and the Defense Strategy in Human Evolution the Wagogo People from Tanzania: Social Function and Musical Technique Tamaz Gabisonia (Georgia). The Notion Multipart Singing and Georgian Folk Music Otar Kapanadze (Georgia). New Archival Recordings - Achara (Western Georgia) Nino Pirtskhalava (Georgia). On the Georgian 2005 Notion Mortulebi, Denoting Musical Harmony, in the Works of Ioane Petritsi Franz Feudermayr & Werner A. Deutsch (Austria). Examples of Virtual Multipart Anna G. Piotrowska (Poland). Folklore as Music and Their Psycho-Acoustic Foundation a Source of National Identification in Music Emi Nishina, Norie Kawai, Manabu Honda, Josko Caleta (Croatia). The Multipart sin- Reiko Yagi, Masako Morimoto, Satoshi ging of Croatia - Vocal Traditions of the Adriatic Islands Nakamura, Tadao Maekawa, Yoshiharu Yonekura, Hiroshi Shibasaki and Tsuto- Jaksa Promorac (Croatia). Local Styles in mu Oohashi (Japan). Biological Mechanism Dalmatian Klapa Singing of Perception of Inaudible High-Frequency Component Included in Musical Sounds Mauro Balma (Italy). Two Repertoires, Two Styles of Multipart Singing, Two Repertoi- Nino Tsitsishvili (Australia). Gender and res of Liguria (Italy): the trallalero of Genoa Improvisation in Georgian Polyphonic Sin- and the canto a bordone of Ceriana (Imperia) ging

Ruzha Neykova (Bulgaria). The Polyphonic Andrea Kuzmich (Canada). Non-Change Singing in a Female Ritual of South-Wes- in Tbilisi Ensembles tern Bulgaria Malkhaz Erkvanidze (Georgia). Revival- Vladimer Gogotishvili (Georgia). Mode- Reconstruction of Georgian Sacred Hymns Intonational Peculiarities of Georgian Ca- - One of the Priorities of Georgian School dence of Type I of Chant 7

Davit Shughliashvili (Georgia). Shesvladi in Georgian Sacred Chant Georgian Manana Shilakadze, Nino Ghambashidze, Giorgi Gotsiridze (Georgia). Liturgical Traditional Music Nature and Sources of Georgian Traditio- nal Banquet. Table Songs, Laudatory Songs in 2006 and Feast Chants in the Context of Tradi- tional-Domestic Culture March 3 - April 12. Ensemble performed 23 concerts in Lithuania, Lauren Ninoshvili (USA). Georgian Polyphony Estonia, Finland and . in English: Liturgical Music for the 21st Century April 25-28. The First International Easter Festival Amaghleba (Ascention) Dieter Christensen (USA). Sound Archives, was held by the Georgian Patriarchy and Technology, Research, State Akaki Ramishvili's Fund Traditsia Da Susanne Ziegler (Germany). Polyphony in Inovatsia (Tradition and Innovation). Historical Sound Recordings of the Berlin Among the participants were chant choirs, Phonogramm-Archiv folk ensembles (Basiani, Kartuli Khmebi, , Tsminda Sameba church choir). Gerda Lechleitner & Nona Lomidze (Austria). Georgian and Bukharian Jews in May 5-12. Producers' Company Art- Vienna Rustavi held a festival of and song Kartuli Suli (Georgian Soul) at Nona Lomidze (Austria). Georgian Song, the State Philharmonic Hall in Tbilisi. Transcription and Computer May 5. A concert of Iliko Sukhishvili Franz Lechleitner (Austria). The Georgian Georgian National . Wax Cylinder Collections - Recording Tec- hnology and Recommendations for Resto- May 9. An evening of Georgian folk ration song, Chakrulo. Among the participants were folk ensembles Kartuli Khmebi, Rusudan Tsurtsumia (Georgia). Georgian Pesvebi, Tbilisi, Alilo, Simi, and Wax Cylinder Collection Mdzlevari.

May 27-29. Folk ensemble Basiani was on a concert tour in Switzerland. They had two concerts in Neuchatel and Zurich, and a concert at the festival Naturstimmen.

June 14. Ensemble Basiani performed in a solo concert at the Grand Hall of Tbili- si State Conservatoire.

July 14-23. Folk Festival Art-Geni- 2006 was held at Tbilisi Ethnographical Museum. The Festival hosted folk singers and dancers, folk poetry, traditional martial arts, traditional medicine, cuisine; there At the Third International was a photo-exhibition, demonstration of Symposium on Traditional films and theatrical performances; classi- Polyphony, 2006 cal, jazz and folk music concerts. Among the participants of the Festival were folk 8

At the Folk Exhibition Festival Ensemble from Karthli At the Folk Exhibition Festival Koro Katsiashvili groups from all over Georgia: , Okros Stumrebi, Shavnabada, Iadoni, Tu- September 29-October 4. The Union tarchela, , Khorumi, Didgori, Chve- International Festival Chveneburebi held neburebi, Odoia, Lazare, Aidio, Urmuli, the Third International Festival with the Mtiebi, Mapshalia, Zumbaland as well as blessing of Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of individual singers from , Achara, All Georgia. The Festival program included and Bayar Shahin-Gundaridze official meetings, exhibition, presentation, from . concerts in the town of Rustavi and at Tbi- lisi State Medical Institute; Gala concert September 16-19. Ensemble Basiani was held at the State Philharmonic Hall in had a concert tour in France. They perfor- Tbilisi. The Festival hosted ensembles of med at the Festival D'Ile De France and Georgian song (with Georgian and non- held a concert of Georgian sacred hymns in Georgian members) from Greece, Holland, Toulon. Estonia, France, Turkey, Korea, Russia, and . September 25-29. The International Re- search Center for Traditional Polyphony September 30-October 2. Tbilisi Opera held the Third International Symposium on House hosted the final round of the Traditional Polyphony Together with National Exhibition-Festival (2005-2006) Georgian researchers the scholars from and the concert with the participation of the France, Germany, Austria, Australia, laureates. The participants were selected by Bulgaria, Russia, Poland, Croatia, Spain, the jury during local, regional tours of the Festival. This was held with the support of Lithuania, Japan, Canada and the USA took part in the work of the forum. Among the participants of the Symposi- um's concert program were Anchiskhati Church Choir, Basiani, Mzetamze, students' folk ensemble of Tbilisi State Conservatoi- re, Mtiebi, Rustavi, Sakhioba, singers of the Youth School from Samegrelo, women's chamber choir from Gori (all from Georgia) and visiting ensembles Iruska, Marani and Irinola (all three from France), ensemble Darbazi and trio Zari (from Canada), en- semble Maspindzeli (UK) and Geinoh- International Festival Chveneburebi Yamashirogumi (Japan). Ensemble from Saingilo (Azerbaijan) 9

New Publications

Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony. 23- 27 September, 2004, V. Sarajishvili Tbilisi State Conservatoire. Editors: Rusudan Tsur- tsumia and Joseph Jordania; edition coor- International Festival Chveneburebi dinator - Ketevan Bakradze; cover design Ensemble from France by Nika Sebiskveradze. Published by the Mikheil Saakashvili, the President of International Research Center for Traditio- Georgia, as part of the President's National nal Polyphony of V. Sarajishvili Tbilisi Sta- Program for the Support of Folklore, by the te Conservatoire. Tbilisi: Chokhi Ltd (in Georgian Ministry of Culture, Monuments Georgian and English) Protection and Sport and the Folklore State Centre of Georgia.

The new, online version of the database of the International Research Center for Traditional Polyphony entitled "Georgian Folk Music - Examples" has already been placed as a link of our web site www.poly- phony.ge The link is only in English so far, but can be opened from the homepage of both Georgian and English versions. The data- base includes selected examples of Georgian folk music collected by various field expeditions and recorded directly from ethnophores - authentic bearers of Kartuli Saeklesio Galoba. Shemokme- folk tradition. dis Skola. Artem Erkomaishvili's Chanat- The online version will regularly be serebis Mikhedvit (Georgian Church Chant. augmented with additions to the main data- Shemokmedi School. From Artem Erkomaishvili's base. collection) - a CD of 31 sacred chants re- corded by Anchiskhati Church choir (direct. Prepared by Nino Nakashidze Malkhaz Erkvanidze) at Tbilisi Mama Daviti Monastery in 2005. Recording realized by Rafael Antonio Galvez Garcia. Design by Giorgi Bagrationi. The CD is aupplied by a booklet with a short introduction and an- notation (in Georgian and Engliah)

Guruli Khalkhuri Simgherebi (Gurian Folk Songs) - a collections of transcripti- ons supplied with audio material (24 songs) on a CD. This publication is dedicated to The online version of the database the memory of Kukuri Chokhonelidze - edi- :

second edition. Compiled, transcribed, int- roduction and annotation by Davit Shughli- ashvili; computer services by Levan Veshapidze; design Giorgi Bagrationi; English translati- on by Ia Iashvili; English text edited by John Graham. The collection includes 118 sacred chants supplied with the English translation of the verses. Prepared for publication by the International Centre for Georgian Folk Song basing on the archival materials of the Georgian Folk Music Department at V. Sa- rajishvili Tbilisi State Conservatoire. Tbili- si: Iota Ltd (in Georgian and English)

A CD of Basiani - a folk ensemble of the Georgian Patriarchy (leader Giorgi Donadze). The CD includes 17 folk songs tor and author of the introduction to the bo- and 2 sacred hymns. Sound engineer Mikheil ok. Compiler - Levan Veshapidze; design Kilosanidze, annotation by Anzor Erkomaishvili, by Gocha Balavadze; translation - Ketevan English text of the annotation by Luarsab Kalandadze and Maia Kachkachishvili; English Togonidze and John Graham. The publica- text edited by John Graham. There are 63 tion was sponsored by Tbilisi Municipality Gurian songs in the collection including six and firm Kaparoli variants of Khasanbegura and 6 variants of Chven Mshvidoba. Each songs is supplied with a short annotation in English. Recco- mended for publication by Georgian Folk Music Department at V. Sarajishvili Tbilisi State Conservatoire (in Georgian and English)

Kartuli Saeklesio Galoba. Shemokme- dis Skola. Artem Erkomaishvili's Chanat- serebis Mikhedvit (Georgian Church Chant. Shemokmedi School. From Artem Erkomaishvili's collection) - a collection of transcriptions,

Dokumentebi Imeretshi Saeklesio Galobis Istoriisatvis (Documents on the History of Church Chant in Imereti). The work is pub- lished by Kutaisi Central State Archive with the financial support of the local administ- ration. It describes the state of church sin- ging in Western Georgia in 1821-1920 and is dedicated to the 900th anniversary of the foundation of and 110 ye- ars from the publication of Pilimon Koridze's four-volume book Kartuli Galoba (Georgian Chant). Compiled and prepared for publica- tion by Merab Kezevadze, director of Kutaisi Central State Archive; editor Ketevan Mamukrlashvili 21

Georgian Ethnomusicologists Tinatin Zhvania (1962 - 2006)

On October 15, 2006 the young commu- nity of Georgian ethnomusicologists lost one of its most prominent representatives - Tinatin Zhvania, a wonderful researcher of Georgian folk instrumental music and a bril- liant teacher and mentor of a new genera- tion of Georgian folk music students. She Chant Center of the Georgian Patriarchy passed away at the moment of her creative has started publication of a monthly news- ascent. paper Kartuli Galoba (Georgian Chant). Tinatin Zhvania was born 11 October, This project has been realized through the 1962 in Kutaisi. From 1978-1982 she stu- financial support of Luarsab Togonidze. Four volumes have already been issued. The new- died at Kutaisi Music School; there her lo- spaper includes the following headlines: ve for Georgian folk song was clearly re- News, From the History of Georgian Chant, vealed. Parallel to her studies she worked Masters of Georgian Chant, New Publications, as a music teacher in the village of Pereta, Typikon for Chanters, Advice for Precentors, in the Vani district. In 1983 Tinatin was ac- Explanation of Chant Terminology, Chant cepted in the Department of Musicology at Choirs; editor of the publication Tamaz Tbilisi State Conservatoire; she graduated Gabisonia; design by Luarsab Togonidze. with honors in the discipline of ethnomusi- cology in 1988. Her senior thesis, Georgian Prepared by Nino Nakashidze Folk Woodwind Instruments, was distingu- ished for its professional sophistication. After graduation Tinatin began working at the Georgian Folk Music Department, ini- tially as a lab assistant (1988-1992) and la- ter as a researcher and instructor (from 1992). The focus of Tinatin Zhvania's academic interest was Georgian folk instrumental mu- sic. Due to her wide range of activities her publications are not extensive, but the works she produced reveal a high level of profes- sional skill and an extraordinary ability to draw conclusions. Her publications inclu- de monographs on the masters of Georgian folk song Dzuku Lolua and the Erkomaishvili family, published by the International Cen- ter for Georgian Folk Song. Unfortunately she was unable to complete her dissertati- on, Dialectical Aspects of Georgian Instrumental Music, but its basic framework is in place. 22

services. In 1989 she chanted in the wo- men's choir together with her friends at Tbi- lisi's Jvris Mama church; Tinatin was a le- ading member of the choir, which was dis- tinguished for its high level of performan- ce. She also chanted at Sioni Cathedral and Holy Trinity Church in Tbilisi from time to time. Tinatin had a high voice of very uni- que timbre and a remarkable performance style well-suited to Georgian chant and song. The rare recordings of her stage and studio performances with the ensembles Mzetamze, Basiani, Lashari, etc. are of significant va- lue to Georgian folk music performance. According to Ketevan Zhvania, Tinatin's sister, as a true Christian Tinatin dedicated While still a Conservatoire student, Ti- her life to Georgian folk song and chant and natin Zhvania actively participated in field to the care of her family. Even in the last expeditions to various parts of Georgia. She days of her life she laid concerns about her contributed to projects of the Georgian Folk physical condition aside to work on her dis- Music Department and the International Re- sertation and maintain her activities in the search Center for Traditional Polyphony, life of the church. published articles in Center bulletins, edi- Tinatin Zhvania-a wonderful scholar, te- ted publications and took part in scientific acher, singer-chanter and of course a dear forums. Her professional skills were always friend-will remain alive in the memory of highly esteemed among her colleagues. Her her colleagues. views were often of decisive significance at scholarly gatherings. Tinatin Zhvania's pedagogical activities Tamaz Gabisonia deserve special mention. In the 1990s, she was at the vanguard of a new movement to instruct youth in Georgian folk songs and sacred hymns. Beginning in 1996 she lec- Tinatin Zhvania's tured at the State University of Art and Cul- published works: ture; from 1998 she taught at the parochial school of Sioni Cathedral in Tbilisi. At the 1. Sakravis roli sakravieri tankhlebit sa- same time she instructed and supervised yo- simghero nimushebshi (The instrument's ung ethnomusicologists at the Conservato- role in works with instrumental accompa- ire. All of her students without exception niment). Materials of the International were inspired by her extraordinary ability Conference on the 2000-year Anniversary to cultivate an even deeper love for the mu- of and 3000-year Anniversary sic. She was also known for expecting a of Georgian Statehood. 1998. lot from her students. In the 1980-90s Tinatin Zhvania was 2. Sakravis roli sakravieri tankhlebit sa- among those who responded to the call to simghero nimushebshi / Panduris tankh- revive Georgian sacred hymns and restore lebiani simgherebis magalitze (The instru- them to their proper function in the divine ment's role in works with instrumental ac- 23

companiment / Songs with accom- Tinatin Zhvania's field paniment). Materials of the International expedition activities: Conference dedicated to the 80th Anniversary of the Tbilisi State Conservatoire. 1999. Svaneti 1985 1986 3. Kartuli sakravi da mravalkhmiano- Guria 1995 ba / Vokaluri da sakravieri musikis urtier- Samegrelo 1996 toba (The role of the instrument in Georgian Samegrelo-Svaneti 1991 polyphony / The relations of vocal and in- 1992 strumental music). In Sasuliero da saero 2003 musikis mravalkhmianobis problemebi Guria 2004 (Problems of polyphony in sacred and se- Meskheti 2005 cular music). Tbilisi State Conservatoire. 2001.

4. Dzuku Lolua. Kartuli simgheris os- Georgian Bowed tatebi. Samegrelo (Dzuku Lolua. Masters of Georgian song. Samegrelo). Volume I. Instruments Tbilisi. The International Centre for Georgian Folk Song. 2003. Tinatin Zhvania, 1999

5. Erkomaishvilebi. Kartuli simgheris This article aims to continue the theme ostatebi. Guria (The Erkomaishvilis. Masters introduced in previous scholarly works on of Georgian song. Guria). Volume II. Tbi- the general function of instruments in lisi. The International Centre for Georgian Georgian musical life and to mark out anot- her representative from the Georgian ins- Folk Song. 2004. trument collection - bowed instruments.

6. Kartuli simgheris vertikaluri da chon- The Georgian instrument collection rep- guris tsqobebi (The harmony of Georgian resents all three basic groups of instruments: song and Chonguri tunings). Proceedings string, wind and percussion and their vari- of the Second International Symposium eties (string instruments: a) strummed - chon- guri and panduri; b) bowed: chianuri; c) on Traditional Polyphony. 2005. plucking - changi. Wind instruments: a) ton- gueless ; b) tongued salamuri; c) 7. Simghera-galoba - Erkomaishvilebis panpipe; d) (bagpipe) and its va- musikaluri ojakhis tskhovrebis tsesi (Song- rieties. Chant - The Way of Life of the Erkomaishvili If we consider the fact, that music inst- Family). Scientific Conference One Cen- rumentaria of a number of countries is cha- racterized by the priority of one or another tury of Georgian Chant. Tbilisi State Con- instrument and it is a rare case that all three servatoire. 2006. groups are represented on an equal level, furthermore, it is possible that not all types 8. Sakravis tembri da kartuli musikalu- are represented (except for percussion), ri estetika / Simebiani sakravis magalitze Georgian instruments provide a wide spec- trum for instrumental interpretation. (Instrumental timbre and Georgian musi- When we talk about the application and cal aesthetics / The ). Jo- development of instrumental music in Georgian urnal Kavkasiis matsne. 2006. musical culture, the point of departure is al- 24

Ethnomusicology ways Georgian polyphonic singing, the ba- hem-soinari, salamuri and gudastviri from sic determinant of Georgian musical thin- wind instruments. and central cornerstone of Georgian The basic areas of prevalence for chia- musical art. nuri are Racha and Svaneti (Western Georgia) In Georgia, instrumental music is relati- and Tusheti (Eastern Georgia). It is also do- vely modest as compared to that of song, cumented in Khevsureti and other parts of but attention should be paid to increased in- east Georgian mountains, as well as in Imereti strumental activity in recent years. Here we and Guria according to some sources. But have in mind the East Georgian mountain Racha, Svaneti and Tusheti are the regions region, where traditional singing forms are where chianuri was firmly grounded in lo- being forgotten and mountain-style contem- cal musical cultures. porary songs are introduced in the reperto- Chianuri is a three-string instrument (two- ire in abundance. string examples are also documented in Rac- However, it should also be mentioned ha). that Georgian instrumental music is distin- Let us say a few words about its const- guished in its high instrumental thinking and ruction and rules of its making. In his bo- aesthetics. In previous works we made an ok Basic Aspects from the History of Georgian effort to present instruments asbearers of Music cites the story Georgian musical thinking. told by Babuta Tsiklauri from the village of On the example of Georgian wind inst- AmghF4: "The body of the chianuri is ma- ruments, we witnessed how closely they de of wood; this should be a part of an old kept step with the development of Georgian bowl. The handle is fixed to the body and musical thinking, and how they gained an at the upper end it has three wooden fin- individual and unchangeable place and fun- gers. Three horse-hair strings are stretched ction in everyday life. We acknowledged along the instrument. To make this instru- the perfection of instrumental thinking ref- ment produce music, a bow is used; it is lected in Georgian wind instruments: the in- half-a-meter long and has horse-hair stret- tonational implications of construction in ched like a bow (weapon. m.k.). To make panpipe and tongueless salamuri; and com- the chianuri's strings make good sound, the plex structure that unites all those primiti- instrument player has pine resin for the bow- ve instrumental pieces for reed instruments strings. This is applied to the horse-hair on such as the gudastsviri, that existed in Georgia the bow, then the bow is pulled across the since the times immemorial, coming from strings and the instrument makes sound." its far-reaching musical content and unlimi- The story is full of technological infor- ted application in Georgian musical life. mation and draws the general picture for In order to emphasize the general aest- making chianuri in other areas of its distri- hetics of stringed instruments, we described bution as well. However, the constructional all possible variants of application for the differences in the making the instrument in panduri and chonguri. Based on pieces with Svaneti, Racha and Tusheti should be taken accompaniment of these instruments, we al- into consideration; namely in Svaneti the so tried to reveal both traditional and non- body of a sieve is used with stretched skin traditional forms of their application and to of an animal on one side and with no skin determine the norm and deviation in their on the other; in Racha the instrument has interpretation. two strings; in Tusheti the body of chianu- A significant layer in Georgian instru- ri is made of whole wood (like panduri) and mental music are bowed instruments, known has three strings. under the name of chianuri and . It is doubtless that the difference in the Chianuri is among the instruments that structure is reflected in music too. The abo- have elaborated a solid system of national ve-mentioned types of chianuri (Svan, Rac- peculiarities. These are panduri, chonguri han and Tushetian) have clear schemes of and changi from string instruments, larc- their production, construction, place and fun- 25

ction in everyday life and, in the first pla- ce, of the music played on them. If we carefully observe Georgian instru- mental music repertoire, we will notice, that the implementation of chianuri is more re- gulated as compared to panduri and chon- guri. When demonstrating the possible vari- ants of panduri and chonguri we noticed that it is possible to transfer the musical content of panduri to other instruments, even to those of non-Georgian origin such as man- dolin and balalaika. This should be said mostly of Tusheti, where one and the same repertoire is willingly played on panduri, mandolin and balalaika. As for chonguri, its virtuoso constructi- Chuniri and Chianuri on with its harmonious particular inclinati- ons and priority of audible correction ref- The oldest construction of Georgian bo- lects the musical foundations of Western wed instruments is the Rachan chianuri. It Georgia fairly well. is used for song accompaniment, has two I would add, that in the repertoire of pan- strings, tuned in a major third. It must be duri and chonguri we often come across said, that the number of vocal performers non-traditional musical examples too, which for the songs to be accompanied by chia- is practically excluded in the case of chia- nuri is limited. Usually, this number does nuri. not exceed two performers, and so three- Chianuri is an instrument with specific part piece is created (chianuri duplicates the timbre. The latter is the chief feature which melody). unites all types of Georgian bowed instru- It is interesting to compare two variants ments. It determines the musical content of of the song - one with purely vocal perfor- the instrumental pieces for chianuri and li- mance and the other vocal part accompani- ke instruments. ed by chianuri. The group of chianuri-like instruments The vocal variant is performed by two is characterized by a definite timbre of tu- groups of singers. It is a calm song of com- ning, so to say. From this viewpoint, the na- plex-type polyphony and full sound. me of the instrument itself is remarkable; As for the variant with chianuri accom- chianuri could be connected with the word paniment, despite the fact that it looks sim- for grief and sorrow chiri. In Eastern Georgia pler from the standpoint of the musical lan- you will often hear that chianuri is an ins- trument to be played when grieving. guage, namely harmonious content and struc- It is very difficult to define when chia- ture (bass drone, reasoning from this the nuri was introduced as the name of an ins- complexity characteristic to the songs is trument. It should be taken into considera- masked) it is of no less interesting artistic tion, that in folk poetry we often come ac- values. ross the term kamancha (kemanche) mea- As far as the timbre of chianuri is full, ning a bowed instrument; thus it can be pre- in Racha the verse-songs to be sung with sumed, that the bowed construction was first the accompaniment of stviri (a kind of bag- introduced to Georgia from Persia, and only pipe), are sometimes sung with the accom- when the instrument had undergone recon- paniment of chianuri instead. This fact is struction according to Georgian tunings and explained by the timbral peculiarities of the established its place in Georgian music in- instrument, which is in complete accordan- strumentarium, it was given the name chi- ce with the timbre characteristics of the me- anuri. lody to be played on the stviri. 26

The Svan version of Georgian bowed in- choral style, sometimes with the participa- strument is a three-stringed chuniri, which tion of two choirs, which is not at all docu- is tuned in minor third (marginal strings are mented in Racha. in unison). We might think, that the use of chuniri Chuniri is usually used to accompany a in such cases is absolutely redundant, for song. However, it can be used for solo per- the instrument may be drowned out. When formance as well. In some examples the listening carefully to the timbre and dyna- song is accompanied both by chuniri and mics of the vocal-instrumental texture, we changi. certainly feel the unique musical color pre- Let us first discuss the solo performan- sented in this way. ce on the chuniri. Unlike the Rachan chi- When speaking about the timbral dyna- anuri, Svan chuniri is also a solo instru- mics of the chuniri and its interpretation, ment. we cannot ignore one very important solu- In Svaneti, as well as in upper Samegre- tion: the choir quits pronouncing text, ins- lo and , the ritual of catching the tead humming in order to promote and fe- soul of a deceased has been known from the ature the instrumental sound. At this time times immemorial. the roles are as if switched: chuniri beco- When a person passes away in an acci- mes a speech, while the choir is only an ac- dent or due to some other reason at a dis- companiment. The best example of this is tance from his house, the mourners go to the song Lekhvianash Mechi Dada (recor- place of the accident with a wineskin, a ro- ded by Grigol Chkhikvadze's expedition in oster and an instrument. In their understan- the village of Tskhumari, Svaneti, 1960; the ding the sound of the instrument will att- song is preserved at the archive of the ract the soul, which should enter the wines- Georgian Folk Music Department at V. Sa- kin. When the wineskin is "full", the roos- rajishvili Tbilisi State Conservatoire). ter will crow, thus indicating that soul is ca- As for the Tushetian chianuri, this pro- ught. The top of the wineskin is tied and it vince is considered one of the chief areas is brought to the body of the deceased. of distribution for Georgian bowed instru- It is noteworthy, that a panpipe is used ments. I visited Tusheti 10 years ago and in this ritual in Samegrelo and Abkhazia. must say without exaggeration, that instru- Let us recall the use of gudastviri (bagpi- ment is the chief attribute of the local ever- pe) and bowed chianuri in Racha. yday life. One cannot find even a single mu- As for the cases when chuniri is used as sical example without instrumental partici- an accompanying instrument, unlike Rac- pation among the huge material collected han examples, the number of performers is by us. In the life the Tushetians, the instru- not limited here. On the contrary, the songs ment is present not only at festive occasi- with chuniri accompaniment are fairly di- ons (entertainment, feast and leisure), but verse from the standpoint of the number of also in the work process, religious festivals performers. The musical substance of chu- and celebrations. According to the represen- niri is three-voiced unlike Rachan chianu- tatives of the old generation, in old times ri. The songs performed with the chuniri the instrument also participated in rituals accompaniment can be one-voiced (perfor- begging for or against rainy weather. Elderly med by a single performer), two-voiced (per- ladies still remember, that on the funeral formed by two performers, and three-voi- day they would play the garmoni (accordi- ced (performed by a choir, sometimes by on) if the deceased was a young person, or two choirs). the panduri and chianuri if the deceased was When chuniri accompanies a one- or two- an old person (expedition by Ketevan Baiashvili, voiced song, a similar correlation between Tusheti, 1989; materials are preserved at the the vocal part and the instrument is obser- archive of the Georgian Folk Music Department ved as in Rachan songs: this is one insepa- at V. Sarajishvili Tbilisi State Conservatoi- rable unity. The same cannot be said about re). the cases when chuniri accompanies choir According to Pavle Lagazidze, a chianu- performance; this is typical vigorous Svan ri player, there existed a mourning instru- 27

mental piece for chianuri; this was not pla- chianuri, on which they brilliantly play be- yed on the funeral day, but the following autiful Tushetian melodies which are rich days. We should not forget to mention a in harmonious ornaments and are so pecu- Svan tradition, which very much reminds liar to Tushetian polyphony. It must also be of the one still popular in Tsova Tusheti in said, that this kind of instrumental music, near past: on the night before the funeral, a distinguished in high professionalism, is the male relative would sit and in low voice crown of Tushetian musical life, and it sig- sing a song in commemoration of the dece- nificantly exceeds its modern vocal interp- ased and other relatives who had passed retations. away. Proceeding from the above-mentioned, The basic function of Georgian musical it can be presumed, that chianuri is a clear instruments - accompaniment to a song or expression of the perfection of instrumen- a dance - is well-revealed in Tusheti. However, tal thinking. Chianuri is the only bowed here we have documented a less common instrument in Georgia which represents tra- occurrence in Georgian folk-instrumental ditional music and has clearly marked folk performance tradition: solo instrumental mu- nature. sic. These are instrumental pieces of purely When comparing chianuri with panduri cyclic form, to be performed on chianuri, and chonguri - instruments with solid sys- panduri, balalaika and mandolin. It should tem of national peculiarities - we are ensu- be noted that the pieces for panduri and ba- red, that chianuri underwent the influx of lalaika-mandolin have more dance suite-li- "foreign", non-traditional musical perfor- ke character and form. mance elements (mass mixed choirs with As for chianuri, it truly holds a remar- duplicated voices, duplicated instrumental kable place on Tushetian musical folklore. accompaniment, foreign and low quality Today it is used only for solo performance. melodies) to a lesser extent. The examples of instrumental pieces pla- The group of Georgian bowed instru- yed on the chianuri from our expedition re- ments is notably determined by a pure ins- cordings should be regarded as solo instru- trumental peculiarity - timbre, which con- mental compositions, which represent vari- tains elements of sorrow, age-wisdom, signs ant-compositional development of refrains. of ballad; this significantly draws it close For instance, the cycle performed by Pavle to the world of wind instruments. Lagazidze consists of a) Tushuri (Tusheti- It is known, that wind instruments are an), b) and c) Saberikatso (Elderly Man's), used in the world's ancient animistic ritu- d) Satsekvao (Dance Melody), e) Shamilis als. Participation of chuniri in the ritual for Khma (Shamil's Voice), f) Samgzavro (Tra- "catching" the soul of the deceased in Sva- vellers'), g) Tsiplovana, h) Kalis Tirilis Khma neti, indicates to the animistic interpretati- (Women's Weeping) . . . on of this instrument - one of the most an- At the end of each piece the so-called cient functions of wind instruments. instrumental cadences or dissonance throw, Chianuri's closeness with wind instru- bordering two separate pieces, draws atten- ments is directly indicated by the fact, that tion; this is not characteristic of the oral pro- the song-texts with gudastviri accompani- fessional instrumental folklore. ment are performed with chianuri accom- Tushetian chianuri is the best example paniment, in other words gudastviri is sub- of the tender attitude to an instrument. Tra- stituted by chianuri. ditionally, this instrument is always a pro- In the examples with instrumental ac- perty of a good instrumentalist. This kind companiment chianuri provokes remarkab- of attitude contains the signs of true profes- le personification. That is why, despite the sionalism. It is noteworthy that there has medium-strong sound, chianuri and its so- never been a woman among chianuri pla- und grants unique coloring to the song even yers and that none of chianuri players has when it finds itself in powerful vocal sur- ever been a singer. The only musical "fo- roundings (Svan two-group songs) and dup- od: for these people - instrumentalists - is licates song melody. 28

Georgian Folk Groups

Ensemble Basiani

Ensemble Basiani holds a distinguished place among the performers of Georgain se- cular and sacred music. This is, undoub- tedly, owing to the ensemble's original style. Basiani is a name of one of the histori- cal provinces in south-west Georgia. This part of the country is now modern Turkey, to the north-east of the town of Erzerum. In 1203 Georgian army fought a battle against interesting collective with grand prospects". Turks. Despite the huge size of the Seljuk In 2000 the Catholicos-Patriarch gave his army, the won a famous victory, blessing to Basiani - the folk ensemble of and thus Georgia strenghthened its positi- the Georgian Patriarchy. ons in the Near East. The artistic director of the ensemble is "In honor of [Queen Giorgi Donadze, now a student of Choir- of the from 1184-1213, Conducting Department at Tbilisi State Con- ed.] and in glory of the Georgian spirit we servatoire. His first ensemble Berika, crea- called our group Basiani. . . This name brings ted in 1996, won first prize at the children's blessing to us, for Georgian song is a gre- festival Okros Martve. In 1999-2000 Donadze, at responsibility, Georgian chant is ever gre- together with Giorgi Ushikishvili, directed ater," say the members of Basiani. the ensemble Lashari of Georgian TV and Most of the ensemble's members had the- Radio Corporation. Parallel to Basiani, ir first encounter with Georgian folk song Donadze is a precentor of St. Trinity Cat- in their childhood, as part of their family hedral Church Choir together with Svimon tradition. Later they sang in children's folk Jangulashvili. ensembles of the so-called academic type The members of Basiani are: Bezhan (Martve, Bichebi and Dariali) and more re- Meskhi (upper voice), Paata Tsetskhladze cently they made up the core of the St. Tri- (upper and middle voices), Gela Donadze nity Cathedral Church Choir performing the (middle voice and krimanchuli), Elizbar medieval Orthodox chants. All this made Khachidze (middle voice and krimanchuli, for the ensemble's particular artistic worth, is studying to play the chiboni), Zura which is based on the proximity to the tra- Mekvabishvili (bass), Giorgi Mekvabishvili ditional performance manner. (bass), Zurab Tskrialashvili (bass, plays the St. Trinity Cathedral Church Choir was chonguri), Lasha Metreveli (bass), Giorgi founded in 1998 with the benediction of Ilia Donadze (middle voice and bass, plays the II, the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia; chonguri and changi), Niko Gogoladze (mid- it immediately gained the approval of both dle voice, plays the doli, is studying to play listeners and specialists. Kukuri Chokhone- the gudastviri), Luarsab Togonidze (upper lidze wrote: "Georgian chant perfromance voice), Sergo Urushadze (upper and midd- has been enriched by a talented and very le voices, plays the chuniri and chonguri). 29

Among the members of Basiani at vari- from Georgian folk song masters from va- ous times were Lekso Gremelashvili, Ilia rious regions of the country. It must be sa- Datuashvili, Zurab Datikashvili, Givi Bakuradze, id, that the music of West Georgia is most Zurab Bakuradze, Akaki Kobiashvili, Beso prevalent in their repertoire at the moment, Meparishvili, Pridon Mkervalishvili, Davit but the masterly perfromance of Kartli- Tskhvediani, Zviad Bolkvadze, Giorgi Kakhetian and Tushetian songs testifies to Melikishvili, . the fact the the young singers will succeed Several of Basiani's members are stu- in performing folk treasury from east Georgian dents of Choir-Conducting Department at regions as well. Together with ceremonial- Tbilisi State Conservatoire. Others are en- ritual examples, Basiani often sings Soviet gaged in various fields outside music. and modern-period folklore. Their loyalty Basiani has performed serious work sin- to mixed - male-female - performance de- ce its inception. The members of the group serves to be mentioned. The best example consider Georgian ethnomusicologists Anzor of this is that Basiani often sang together Erkomaishvili and Kukuri Chokhonelidze with Tinatin Zhvania at their concerts; the mentors and friends; Giorgi Donadze is es- full ans velvety timbre of Tinatin's voice ad- pecially grateful to Tinatin Zhvania for the ded amazing charm to the ensemble's per- improvement of the performance taste of formance. the choir-members. Precision and great responsibility, rene- Together with the St. Trinity Cathedral wal of the repertoire, seeking lesser known Church Choir Basiani participates in all di- folk examples, reviving old transcriptions vine services and pilgrimages of the Catho- and archival recordings, striving for mas- licos-Patriarch of All Georgia. Together with tery of folk instruments and mo- Ilia II they were in Greece, , Russia vements - all this is the guarantee for Basiani's (Moscow and St. Petersburg), The Netherlanda, further success. etc. In 2003 Basiani chanted in the liturgy Basiani has already released three com- held by the Patriarchs of , pact disks: Alexandria and Georgia in the monasteries of Cappadocia and - (modern 1. Georgian Folk Songs. Basiani. Folk Turkey). In 2004 they chanted Georgian sac- Ensemble of the Georgian Patriarchy. red hymns in the divine services at the Artistic Director: Giorgi Donadze. Spon- Monastery of Great Lavra and Monastery sored by TBC Bank. Tbilisi, 2002 on the . In 2003 Basiani performed in a concert 2. Concert Recordings. Basiani. Folk as part of the conference "Dialogues among Ensemble of the Georgian Patriarchy. Civilizations: " held in Lithaunia Artistic Director: Giorgi Donadze. Spon- under the aegis of UNESCO. In 2006 the sored by the Prayer Union of the Georgian ensemble was on a concert tour in Switzer- Patriarchy. Tbilisi, 2005 land and France. Apart from this Basiani successfully performed in Israel, Turkey, 3. Georgian Folk Songs. Basiani. Folk Iran and . Ensemble of the Georgian Patriarchy. The ensemble organizes annual concerts Artistic Director: Giorgi Donadze. Spon- for Georgian listeners, and participates in sored by Tbilisi Municipality and Firm various symposia and conferences. Caparol. Tbilisi, 2006 The group's repertoire is continuously enriched by folk examples which they study Nino Makharadze 2:

The same evening we collected old Gurian Field Exspeditions songs from his neighbors, somewhat youn- ger singers, at Leo's house. These were Ismail, Jemal and Badri Shatirishvili, and Field Expedition Guliver Trapaidze. Unfortunately another singer of Leo's generation Chachia (Mikheil) in Surebi (Guria) Trapaidze could not come due to illness. Everybody looked delighted by our ini- tiative. It turned out, they had not gathered Anyone listening to Gurian polyphonic to sing for years now. And this was obvio- songs will wonder: what caused such a de- us - they interrupted most of the songs in velopment of musical thinking among the- the middle due to the lack of singing toget- se people? It is very difficult to answer this her. We recorded 22 songs in this way - so- question, but the interest to understand it me fully, others in fragments. Together with again is so great that we arranged another old Gurian songs such as Shvidkatsa, Nanina, expedition in Guria; this time we chose the Gurian mountains - the village of Surebi Vakhtanguri, Shalva Chemo Sikharulo, Chven in district. We are well aware Mshvidoba and others, these included the that old connoisseurs of Georgian musical songs from the Soviet epoch such as Lenin treasury pass away with time, but each ex- Oktombris Belado, Simghera Stalinze, pedition is full of hope to find something Bakhmaro, Chvens poetebs Mtserlebsa, etc. precious and interesting. They were displeased with themselves The expedition was organized on June for their forgetfulness and lack of practice. 13-17, 2006, and included two employees But I remember the words that one of them of the Georgian Folk Music Department of said, from the bottom of his heart: "God Tbilisi State Conservatoire - Otar Kapanadze bless you! It's been so long since we have and Davit Shughliashvili. To our delight we sung in three voices together." And indeed, were joined by Levan Ghlonti, a film direc- it was apparent that had they gathered syste- tor, and Orest Todua, a cameraman. They matically, they would recollect and revive intended to film our expedition and use it many old songs. That day they aligned the- for a short documentary. The youngest mem- ir efforts in a way, and agreed to meet aga- ber of the expedition - 12 year-old Ivane in the following day. Ghlonti, turned our journey into a cheerful one. Another advantage of our cinematog- rapher friends was the use of Levan's jeep, which was indispensable. In the village of Shua Surebi our hosts were Ramiz and Giorgi Ramishvili, a fat- her and a son. They live in a very special spot - two kilometers walk uphill from the main road. Their house, which stands alo- ne in the forest, has an amazing view of magnificently beautiful Gurian mountains. We started seeking singers next morning with the help of our host Giorgi Ramishvi- li. First we visited 92-year-old Leo Berishvili. Leo and Bichiko Berishvili 31

man-singer of krimanchuli, Luba Chkuase- li-Kikvadze. We knew from the singers in Surebi how good she was at this. We were heading to the highest village in Guria and each turn of the winding slo- pe opened new colours and stunning views. Our Jeep drove almost impassable roads. Finally we reached Luba's beautiful woo- den house. Once again we took pleasure in watching the vineyards and fields stretched on the slopes of the mountains. Grandmother Luba welcomed us on the staircase with a cigarette in her hand and Luba Kikvadze invited us into the house with her deep vo- Next day another singer Bichiko (Sho- ice. ta) Berishvili joined them, and this cheered It did not take us long to induce her to everybody. They had long "argument" on sing. She brought a panduri and chonguri tuning their voices, but in the end they ag- and performed a number of songs. Despite reed on an interpretation of a few songs - her deep voice she could easily take high Maqruli, Lale, the lesser known ones Aba notes too. She sang the part of krimanchu- Dzmebo Kvlav Shevavsot, Mapindzelsa and li in Acharuli Maqruli. others. Very soon the neighbors Mitusha Kikvadze, We asked them to recollect the famous Nanuli Ramishvili, Tariel Kekelidze, and work song Surebis Naduri, also called Qanuri. Dusu (Ambrosi) Kikvadze, the village ma- yor, joined our gathering in singing. They In the beginning they refused, but at our had not sung for a long time either, but they desperate request and after several attempts, recollected various songs. We recorded Sim- where we joined the bass, the tunes of Qanuri, ghera Datiko Shevardnadzeze, Madlobeli, or to be more precise its reflection, was he- Dzveleburi Mravalzhamieri, Tsutisoplis Stum- ard . . . Here we were obsessed by both rebi Vart, Maqruli, Nigozi and others as per- joy and regret; we could watch the phan- formed by them. Grandmother Luba laid the tom of a magnificent treasury, the spirits of table, and served delicious red wine from the ancestors, who created this marvelous her cellar. music, and the part of whose life was this The impressions from our visit to Guria world-important riches. Our friends docu- are indelible for each of us. I am sure that mented this on videotape. Ivane, the youngest member of our group, We returned to Giorgi's house late that was filled with such strong the emotions evening, and had a long talk on the past day that he will visit Guria again and again for at supper. years to come, and not alone, but together Next day we visited Bichiko Berishvili, with his friends, in order to enjoy the bea- who told us about various songs and tradi- uty and open-hearted hospitality of this part tions, sang with the panduri accompani- of his motherland. But, here the rhetorical ment, recollected the round-dance song question arises as to whether they will still Partsakuku, etc. We recorded a mourning hear the songs we heard from these warm song from his neighbor Simona Dolidze. and affectionate old people. After the visit at Bichiko's house we went to the village of Zemo Surebi to meet a wo- Davit Shughliashvili 32

Even a Century Ago It Was Extremely Difficult to Find a Genuine Meskhetian Song Here

Interview with master of Meskhetian folk song Shota Altunashvili

Tinatin Zhvania and Ketevan Matiashvili: ensemble's repertoire. As it turns out there - Batono Shota, please tell us about your ar- is a second village with the name Geguti tistic life. near Kutaisi in western Georgia. This villa- ge is inhabited by people from Meskheti, Shota Altunashvili: - I was born in Tbi- but songs like this have not been preserved lisi in 1933. After graduating from the cho- there. Shalva Mshvelidze recorded this song ral conducting program at Tbilisi State Con- [editor's note: during his field expedition in servatoire in 1955, I was assigned to work Meskheti in the 1930]. Interestingly, the in (the regional center of Meskheti, song begins in a low register continues in a historical province of Georgia) where I high tessitura. still carry out my activities; I lead a folk choir. I have been to many Meskhetian vil- T.Z.,K.M.- Which other song would you lages and recorded many folk songs. Some say is exceptional? of them I arranged myself. Many of them have been performed with their correspon- S.A. - I would say Vardzioba dziobasa. ding at exhibition-festivals of folk This song was sung on Mariamoba (Feast art. of the Virgin Mary) on August 28 at Traditionally Meskhetian songs were al- Monastery. People from all over Georgia ways accompanied by dance - round dan- used to come to Vardzia to celebrate this ces. Even a century ago it was extremely day; they would sing, dance and have fun. difficult to find a genuine Meskhetian song Women and men, young and old would co- here; now the situation is much worse. When me barefoot. Many other songs from this we asked elderly to perform a part of Georgia were sung on this day by simple Meskhetian song, they would res- hosts and guests as well. But Vardzioba dzi- pond by singing a Turkish or Armenian song. obasa was an obligatory ceremonial, ritual Only when we would sing part of Mamli song. The feast would end with this song. mukhasa or Otkhi tsqaro dis would they say My ensemble included various songs from that they knew these very old songs. This this annual feast in its repertoire. would inspire them to remember other Meskhetian songs, which they would then T.Z.,K.M.- Batono Shalva, did musical sing for us. Sometimes we would even dan- instruments also play a role in this celebra- ce round dances together. tion?

T.Z.,K.M.- Batono Shota, what can you S.A. - Traditionally there have not be- say about the song Gegutisa mindorzeda? en many instruments in Meskheti. I remem- ber a bagpipe-gudastviri-which is called chi- S.A.- This is one of the most distinguis- poni in Achara. I never played this instru- hed Meskhetian songs to be included in my ment myself, but I remember seeing it. I 33

can't remember ever hearing anyone play springs flow). When I recorded this song, dance melodies on it here . . . The pandu- the singers explained to me that the four ri was not common in Meskheti. I don't re- corners of the world - north, south, east and member seeing it myself, anyway. There west - are described metaphorically in the were many instruments in the new system text. I think it might be the four Gospels (editor's note: i.e., tuned chromatically) but that are referenced. This song survived in not traditional ones. pieces, and we put the pieces back toget- her. Otkhi tsqaro dis was usually sung af- T.Z.,K.M.- Can you recall how the tu- ter other songs, like Mravalzhamier. lumi (Meskhetian chiponi, gudastviri) was Another common song was Avtandil ga- constructed, or the number of finger holes dinadira. This song is also famous in other it had? parts of Georgia, mostly in Kartli and . One version is even used in the opera Abesalom S.A. - Of course I do. It had seven fin- da Eteri. But in Meskheti this song has dif- ger holes, and one or sometimes two . ferent rhythms and coloring than in the Kartl- I remember someone singing a ballad abo- Kakhetian version. ut Erekle II. This was a song in narrative There were songs such as Chitis nali mi- style which related stories of how the Turks povnia that were sung at the feast table, and invaded Georgia in those times. This song other comic songs . . . In Meskheti there was accompanied by gudastviri. were not as many sophisticated table songs as in Kartli-Kakheti. We searched for them T.Z.,K.M.- Instrumental music for gu- but 85 dastviri was in just one part? T.Z.,K.M.- It seems that in Meskhetian S.A. - No, there were two voices in thirds, songs rhythm is especially important. . . like playing two salamuris at the same ti- me. S.A. - Yes, and rhythms are frequently syncopated. Avtandil gadinadira for exam- T.Z.,K.M.- Batono Shota, what can you ple, is syncopated. say about three-part singing in Meskhetian musical folklore? We know that authentic T.Z.,K.M.- What can you say about three-part song-that is, that which has not Meskhetian Mravalzhamier? been reconstructed-is a rare occurrence he- re. S.A. - That was introduced later in Mes- kheti . . . we sing it to the melody of Otkhi S.A. - I agree with you. When we gat- tsqaro. hered the elderly and asked if they could sing a bass part, they reciprocated the qu- T.Z.,K.M.- You said that most Meskhetian estion: "Do you mean damjdari [old name songs were traditionally accompanied by of the low voice]?" They could hardly re- dance; what about the songs that you men- collect the motive. Of course we recorded tioned? everything. These songs have a very beau- tiful bass part. S.A. - All of them but Otkhi tsqaro we- Work and table songs were also com- re accompanied by dance. mon. This part of the country was under Turkish rule for 300 years. What could sur- T.Z.,K.M.- You directed choirs in many vive? When we asked the elderly to sing towns in Meskheti. Is there any difference old songs for us, one of them answered: in performance practice between , "Oh, son, we were hardly in the right fra- and Atsquri? me of mind to sing in those hard times. In the morning we would pray to Christ, and S.A. - There are many migrants in Meskheti in the evening we were forced to pray to from various parts of Georgia and from non- Mohammad." Georgian lands as well. In the villages of There are other interesting Meskhetian Ude and Arali I recorded the song Samqre- songs too, such as Otkhi tsqaro dis (Four lo. This is accompanied by a "three-story" 34 . I was told that this used to be nist party. Nevertheless, I managed to fo- a reconnaissance song: a group of men wo- und a choir that chanted sacred hymns from uld climb on the shoulders of other men that the Karbelashvilis' collection I brought from were already in a "two-story" circle to sur- Tbilisi. vey the area for signs of the enemy. T.Z.,K.M.- Who was the choir direc- T.Z.,K.M.- Batono tor then? Was it com- Shota, in your opi- mon to have mixed, nion as a connoisse- male-female choirs ur of Meskhetian at that time? song, what distingu- ishes Meskhetian S.A. - That was song from the songs in 1953-1955. The of other Georgian re- director of the cho- gions? ir in Tbilisi was my teacher, Giorgi Kha- S.A. - Rhythmic khanashvili. Later syncopation. This is he turned the lea- a characteristic fea- dership over to me. ture. The fact that At that time men the second and third voice parts have been and women would sing in separate choirs restored is also distinguishing. Of course in the church; this was the whole beauty of this does not apply to the solo repertoire, the performance. for example cart and ploughing songs. T.Z.,K.M.- Batono Shota, thank you very T.Z.,K.M.- What can you say about sac- much for the interesting conversation. red hymns? Interview by Tinatin Zhvania and S.A. - When I was young I sang at Sio- Ketevan Matiashvili ni Cathedral in Tbilisi. Later, in the 1970s when I moved to Akhaltsikhe, I came un- Prepared for publication by der serious pressure from the local commu- Nino Naneishvili

Next issue will be published in June, 2007 Georgian Folk Song - New Transcription transcribed by Malkhaz Erkvanidze