Georgian table polyphony. Georgian polyphony. Gia Asiladze Georgian polyphony

Georgia is one of those countries that have a high culture of choral song. Initially, polyphony existed only as folk chants, but after the adoption of Christianity it also acquired the status of a church chant.

Georgian polyphony is characterized by a special voice technique and the use of tones that are close to each other. Singing in Georgia is usually an exclusively male activity. The standard song in Georgia is performed mainly by three voices.

According to the head of the Shavnabati choir, David Tsintsadze, Georgian songs have diverse polyphony (polyphonic chants).

“We have all types of polyphony. There may be many voices, but not polyphony. In Georgia there is both polyphony and monophony. Different regions have different forms of polyphony. Each region has its own song characteristics. Guria and Kakheti have different polyphonies. In Kakheti there is a burdon (a continuously drawn out tone), a buzzer sounds and works in two voices. In Guria all the voices work together, but in Svaneti the three voices work in an integrated manner and not separately. The peculiarity of the Georgian song is that it has a difficult form of polyphony,” says David Tsintsadze.

Polyphony is considered a unique phenomenon and few nations can “boast” of this wealth. Georgian polyphony is absolutely special and diverse.

According to David Tsintsadze, a specialist can easily distinguish which region a song is from, and not only professionals, but also an ordinary person can also distinguish.

There are about 15 types of polyphony in Georgia: Tushino, Khevsur, Mtiul, Kartli, Kakheti, Rachin, Pshav, Mokhev, Lechkhumi, Svan, Mingrelian, Imeretian, Gurian, Adjarian, Laz.

Armenians and Georgians have lived next to each other for many years, but their folk songs are not at all similar. David Tsintsadze believes that Georgian folk songs are more similar to Corsican songs, Basque songs are even African.

“Armenians and Georgians have completely different music, they sound different. And the Georgian song is more like a Corsican song. It’s not just me who says this, many people say this, when we were in Corsica we sang together, it was very similar and sometimes you can get confused if you don’t know the Georgian language,” says David Tsintsadze.

The Georgian song is now very popular in Georgia and abroad. There are now about 500 ensembles in Georgia, which confirms the reality of the popularity of Georgian folk songs. There are studios where they teach those who want to sing Georgian folk songs.

The first mentions of Georgian folk songs date back to BC.
In 2001, UNESCO recognized the Georgian song as a masterpiece of oral intangible heritage.

Shushan Shirinyan

28.06.2018 |

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The tradition of choral singing elevates a modest feast to a masterpiece of world culture

“Legends, collective knowledge, historical memory (the unity of which is my story), played out daily at the Table, when any event turns into a holiday, into a feast, brings joy. The world into which we are transported and in which - for a moment - we live, transformed by the ritual, mystery and epic of the Table. The table is a religious phenomenon, and there is something in it from which religious and almost mystical feelings grow.” Anyone who has been to Georgia and, therefore, became a participant in the feast will perfectly understand these words of the Georgian philosopher Merab Mamardashvili. And he will not see them as exaggerations.

The Georgian feast is nothing more than a way of special, festive organization of the universe. There is always a joyful expansion in him, a desire and readiness to absorb everyone around him and the entire world around him - as far as the hand of the cupbearer can reach. And therefore, even a small company of three or four people at a table on which there is a bottle of wine, bread, cheese and herbs is not a closed community, satisfied with its self-sufficiency, with the fact that we “sit well,” but something open to the whole world and ready for this absorb the world into yourself. The clear and strict structure of the Georgian feast does not allow the chaos of drunken familiarity, creating a space of solemn eloquence, mutual acceptance, heartfelt wishes and polyphonic songs. The Frenchman Jean Chardin, who traveled around Georgia in the 17th century, noted: “Three Europeans at the table would have made more noise than one and a half hundred people in this banquet hall.” But the organization and orderliness of the Georgian feast do not arise on their own. This is the result of the efforts of all those present, and first of all, the toastmaster. The original Georgian word, meaning a person who takes a leading role in a feast, today has penetrated and confidently settled in other languages, without changing its meaning.

As a rule, the role of toastmaster is offered to the most respected person or guest of honor. But he has the right to refuse if he considers himself not eloquent enough or unprepared for such a difficult mission. And it is really not easy, although it is honorable. It is the toastmaster who maintains the rhythm of the feast, making toasts every 10-12 minutes - lengthy improvisations on traditional topics. This structure gives the feast energy and order. The first toasts, as a rule, are dedicated to those universal human values ​​that relate to the occasion of the feast. Next, toasts are proclaimed to those who directly gave this occasion, as well as to others present - primarily to those who found themselves in this company for the first time. The children and parents of those gathered must be mentioned. The sequence of toasts is wishes of peace and love to the living, eternal peace to the departed... - a variation on the theme of the litany, a prayer of petition heard at the Sunday liturgy. With the permission of the toastmaster, anyone can join each toast and add something of their own (take alaverdi). By the way, eloquence at the table (as well as table singing) also plays a physiological function - it ventilates the lungs, which slows down intoxication. The toastmaster also has another important function: to vary the rhythm of the feast, based on its atmosphere and “degree”, in order to ultimately smoothly introduce those gathered into a state of emotional uplift and unity and keep them in this state for as long as possible. And few things contribute to achieving such an effect as Georgian drinking songs - traditional polyphony.

From amateurs to professionals

The first Georgian choral groups and choral conductors are known from the 9th–10th centuries. In the 11th century, a Georgian children's choir under the direction of George Mtatsmindeli, in which 80 orphans sang, performed Georgian and Greek chants before the Byzantine emperor. In 1885, Lado Agniashvili organized the first permanent Georgian ethnographic group - the Georgian National Choir, and in 1915, in Tbilisi alone there were a dozen choral groups, among which were the choir of the Georgian Philharmonic Society, led by Zakhary Paliashvili, and the choir led by Niko Sulkhanishvili. Pre-revolutionary metropolitan Russia was also well acquainted with Georgian choral singing: the famous Georgian musicians Meliton Balanchivadze, Dimitri Arakishvili and Zakhary Paliashvili, who studied here, were participants in the Caucasian evenings, which at that time, on the initiative of Georgian students, were organized annually in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

The choral songs of the Colchs, who lived on the territory of what is now Western Georgia, are mentioned back in the 1st century BC. e. Greek geographer Strabo. The first description of a Georgian two-voice song that has come down to us dates back to the 8th century. And most of the songs performed were written in the Middle Ages. Like, for example, the song “Shen har wenahi” - an appeal either to the vine, or (allegorically, like the Song of Songs) to a woman. It is believed that its author was none other than King David IV the Builder, who united the scattered Georgian principalities in the 12th century. However, there is another opinion: the poems are dedicated to the Mother of God and written by the son of David IV, King Demeter I, who, having abdicated the throne, became a monk.

The character of a Georgian song is recognizable regardless of the region of its origin. This is a modal polyphony, in which there is no major and minor, and there is also no temperament of the musical structure. We can say that the entire scale of Georgian polyphony is formed from three tetrachord consonances: re - mi - fa - sol; sol - la - b-flat - do; do - re - E-flat - F. A characteristic feature of Georgian singing is also the simultaneous singing of words, unlike Western polyphony. On this basis, many variations grow, differing in genre and color, specific to each of the many regions of Georgia. In East Georgian songs, Kartalin and Kakheti, one can hear classical three-voices: the melody develops against the background of the bass by two upper voices, one of which sounds more brightly, creating a complex musical ornament. And Gurian and Adjarian songs are characterized by the specific falsetto of Krimanchuli, prancing, as it is written in one novel, “at the top, like a pennant over the army.”

In 2001, within the framework of the UNESCO project “Intangible Cultural Heritage”, Georgian choral singing was proclaimed “a masterpiece of the oral intangible heritage of humanity.” However, what is characteristic is that this masterpiece is exceptionally alive, completely untouched by patina. In almost every Georgian village there is a choir, or even more than one, of the highest professional level, and not a single large feast is complete without traditional polyphony.

...Several years ago, with the Moscow Georgian community still existing at that time, newly arrived refugees from Abkhazia almost the first thing they did was organize a table singing circle. People who had lost their homeland and jobs sat at an empty table and sang the song “Chakrulo”. The one that was recorded - along with other major achievements of human civilization - on gold-plated disks that set off in 1977 on board the Voyager probes on a journey around the outskirts of the solar system. And if there is someone there, in space, who can hear, then he will hear it.

In fact, we went to the Sighnaghi Museum solely to see Pirosmani’s paintings.
16 originals.
We were worried about the question - on what oilcloths did Niko Pirosmani paint Georgian dukhans? What were they made of, if after more than 100 years the paints have not lost color or become cracked? What is this texture that is so amazing?

In the empty and trembling hall, we found a museum employee and began to ask questions that were troubling us. The woman was delighted, shook off her drowsiness, and spoke passionately...

We realized that Pirosmani’s life is shrouded in mystery, so science does not know what oilcloths he painted on. It is known that they were very expensive. On the tables of poor Georgian dukhans...

We were surprised and fell silent.

And at that moment a charming Georgian approached us and, in purely Russian, offered to drink wine. For free. They supposedly have a tasting at the museum.

We refused wine because we had already drunk wine before the museum.

The Georgian was not surprised and suggested trying the jam. For free. They supposedly are having a jam tasting at the museum.

We didn’t even respond to this… tempting offer.

Have you tried walnut jam? - the man asked with the air of an experienced tempter.

Well, what fool would refuse green walnut jam?

I agreed.

The man opened an invisible door in front of us. We crossed the threshold and gasped!

The pomegranate roofs of Sighnaghi were buried in greenery right below us, and behind them lay the Alazani Valley! Immersed in the soft autumn sun, a luxurious valley in a bluish haze flowing from the Caucasus Mountains.

We walked dumbfounded along the long balcony that encircles the museum, sat down in wicker chairs at a wicker table and that’s it...

We tasted jam, wine, coffee, some pancakes..., cigarettes, more wine, cognac, more jam...

Ah, this is Georgian hospitality!
Our weak attempts to resist, clinging to familiar European values, suffered a crushing defeat in front of the people, whose custom is to bring a guest through torture with food and wine to the state of overcooked khinkalai... Whose tail even fell off... from gluttony and laziness.

That's how we met Gia.

Gia is a native resident of Sighnaghi, Kakhetian.
A man of unknown age, but in the prime of his life!
An endless generator of creative ideas, a decisive organizer and implementer of them.
A man whom the whole of Sighnaghi and, as it seemed to me, all the settlements of the Alazani Valley know.
Having learned our plan to wander around Sighnaghi and leave the next morning for Tbilisi, Gia proposed his own program. Travel by car through the Alazani Valley, excursion to the Khareba factory, wine cellars, monastery...

Gia's proposal was not original, and neither was our answer. Gasoline is very expensive in Georgia, we knew how much such pleasure costs and therefore refused.

Gia did not persist. He easily and naturally suggested a walk around Sighnaghi. On foot. For free.

I began to puff, no matter what. Only on foot.

On our last visit, two years ago, we spent almost all our time in this small cozy cafe. Because it was incredibly cold and rainy outside. So we spent some time visiting George and Maya. We sipped wine with barbecue and eggplant, we slowly talked about life, about politics, about our countries and about our friendship.

Therefore, when we arrived in Sighnaghi, we immediately visited old friends. We haven't been forgotten!

And Georgy, and Maya, and Sasha, the cigarette seller at the kiosk.
I admit honestly, this sincere joy of the town’s residents surprised me. A huge number of tourists come to Sighnaghi. Remember everyone...there aren't enough brains!!!

At Gergiy’s I devoured a huge Adjarian-style khachapuri, which now, on the museum’s terrace, did not want to put up with tasting wine, jam, pancakes, cognac... He demanded that I get up and go. Anywhere.

And we replied that we would be happy to walk around the town.

Gia said: let's go! And he waved his hand!

And our marathon through the glorious city of Sighnaghi began.

This city confidently soars above the Alazani Valley and from everywhere, from everywhere you can admire its transcendental peace!

Gia quickly led us through the narrow streets of Sighnaghi, up and down, because there are no straight roads in this town.

Alina easily followed him.

I puffed up the rear. Especially on the climbs. Sincerely not understanding how you can live while constantly under the influence?

Literally and figuratively.

But my indignation disappeared every time I saw the valley from the fortress wall, or from the observation deck tower, or from the terrace of a small restaurant.

I no longer felt the ground, I was tightly clinging to the air, hovering over a bluish carpet of vineyards, small houses, toy roads and lakes.

But this was only the beginning of the surreal.

Sighnaghi is a small city. Two thousand inhabitants. Everybody knows each other.
Therefore, Gia, running from place to place, constantly greeted someone, said something, smiled, nodded.

Hello Gia! - came from cars, from shops, from everywhere.
This rapid movement, conversations with residents, laughter and exclamations reminded me of a scene from some old Italian film. About a small provincial town and its inhabitants. How they shouted loudly, meeting on the street, waving their arms and heatedly discussing the latest news.

And it began to seem to me that the whole of Sighnaghi was a set for a film in which the hero runs through crooked streets and across a square. And two tourists rush after him and joyfully turn their heads in all directions.

Gia, Gia, have you been running around with these women for three hours already? What's happened? - the amazed townspeople ask him.

Well, two tourists have stuck around, running after me as if tied, I tried to escape from them at the fortress, and hid in a restaurant, they are not far behind. They're following me! Call the police!

And Gia, having uttered this monologue quickly to another amazed resident of the city of Sighnaghi, ran on.
That's how I fantasized. Everything was unusual in this neat little town.
That’s why fantasies came into my head...strange ones!

Alina easily followed Gia.
I, trying to maintain dignity and serenity, could barely keep up with this couple.

When we had wandered around Sighnaghi and admired the valley enough, Gia offered us dinner at a wonderful restaurant with excellent cuisine. We agreed because we already understood that it was impossible to argue with our new friend.
And we liked this funny man, with an absolute sense of humor.
For example, I was captivated by Gia’s ability to joke and play with words in Russian, not his native language.
His conversation forced me to use my brain, which is always pleasant. Especially when running in the harsh streets of Sighnaghi!

Darkness instantly fell over the city. The townspeople went home. Tourists settled into restaurants and hotels.

We proudly crossed, for the umpteenth time, the central square of Sighnaghi and Gia hospitably opened the door of the Pirosmani restaurant. We walked through the gloomy hall and found ourselves in a huge restaurant hall.

The hall shimmered with light, white tablecloths and a white piano in white flowers.

And in this huge sparkling splendor there were only two people.

Two Georgians, one with a simple and ingenuous face, the other with the face of a respected criminal authority, were sitting at the table. On the table there was a bottle of cognac, two glasses and a saucer with sliced ​​pickled cucumber. That's all.

Wow! I was delighted. Georgian feast with one pickled cucumber! Wow!!!

While we were blinking, another person suddenly materialized in the hall.
An Orthodox priest, in a cassock, a black cap and a thick beard, approached our company with a smile.

Here, meet me, this is priest, a childhood friend,” Gia introduced priest to us.

The priest smiled cheerfully and hurriedly left the restaurant. Disappeared.
And I wasn’t surprised. So what? Just think, the priest is in a restaurant. Appeared and disappeared? Big deal. This is Sighnaghi.

We continued to blink our eyes.
The hospitable men invited us to the table with a lone cucumber and cognac. We politely agreed and sat down stiffly.

Gia introduced the men to us. Childhood friends.

The childhood friends smiled.
One is open and good-natured. The other is reserved. Without flinching a single muscle of his impassive face.
The conversation began to be lively.
Gia conducted the conversation witty and easily.
Alina and I never tired of laughing and admiring his eloquence.
They brought wine. The toasts began.
Traditionally, the first is for the ancestors, for the parents. For respect for them and for the memory.
The second is for Georgia, for the Georgian people.
I immediately responded and briefly, for about forty minutes, told three stern Georgian men how Alina and I dreamed of coming to Georgia, how we arrived and how we fell in love with this country and its people.

She spoke with sincerity. I almost cried myself.

The man with the impassive face of a crime boss subtly changed and looked at me with warmth in his eyes. Silently. But this look encouraged me incredibly. I understood that the unexpected presence of women at an all-male party was obligatory. And we must comply.

To be honest, I don’t even remember how plates of food started appearing. Quickly and silently, the entire table was filled with numerous national dishes.
At first Alina and I tried to eat something, then we refused, then we nodded our heads doomedly in words - whatever you are, whatever you are, we are not trying to persuade you, you don’t want it, whatever you want, we are just offering, look at this - and put before nose another steaming meat masterpiece.
For some reason, through this endless stream of plates, I remembered a piece of fish steamed with herbs.

Carp. From Alazani,” a man with an authoritative face briefly introduced me to a piece of fish.

Yes? - I was sincerely surprised. - Are there carps in Alazani?

I desperately pretended to be smart, although, in fact, I didn’t even know what Alazan was.

There are. This one was 3 meters.

Who said?

Cook. They brought him this speck. It was three meters long.

Georgian polyphony is characterized by a special voice technique and the use of tones that are close to each other. Singing in Georgia is usually an exclusively male activity. The standard song in Georgia is performed mainly by three voices. Initially, Georgian singing existed as folk singing, but after the adoption of Christianity it became church chant. It is noteworthy that in 2001, UNESCO recognized the Georgian song as a masterpiece of oral intangible heritage.

In 2001, Georgian choral singing was declared a “masterpiece of the oral intangible heritage of humanity” within the framework of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Project. However, what is characteristic is that this masterpiece is exceptionally alive, completely untouched by patina. In almost every Georgian village there is a choir, or even more than one, of the highest professional level, and not a single large feast is complete without traditional polyphony.

Christianity, adopted in 336, entered Georgian music as one of its spiritual components. This is where its musical phenomenon lies - Georgians compare polyphony with the Holy Trinity, so it is based on three equal voices. They are all independent, there is no main voice among them, which is the opposite of European polyphony, in which the main voice of the cantus firmus is required. In chants, three voices pronounce words simultaneously, and this expresses the essence of the Unity of the Holy Trinity.

Songs of Georgia are divided into East Georgian, which often have two solo voices and drawn-out low voices, and West Georgian, which is characterized by clear polyphony. Monasteries such as Khandzta, Shatberdi, Shamokmadi, Anchiskati, Galati, Ikalto, Martvili played a big role in the development of Georgian polyphony.

The basis of Georgian singing is the modal system, borrowed from the ancient Greeks, but the melodic style of Georgia is different in that it does not have minor and major, and there is no temperament of the musical system. And the Georgian tradition has preserved such polyphony to this day without changes. We can say that the entire scale of Georgian polyphony is formed from three tetrachord consonances: re - mi - fa - sol; sol - la - b-flat - do; do - re - E-flat - F. A characteristic feature of Georgian singing is also the simultaneous singing of words, unlike Western polyphony. On this basis, many variations grow, differing in genre and color, specific to each of the many regions of Georgia.

The choral songs of the Colchs, who lived on the territory of what is now Western Georgia, are mentioned back in the 1st century BC. e. Greek geographer Strabo. The first description of a Georgian two-voice song that has come down to us dates back to the 8th century. And most of the songs performed were written in the Middle Ages. Like, for example, the song “Shen har wenahi” - an appeal either to the vine, or (allegorically, like the Song of Songs) to a woman. It is believed that its author was none other than King David IV the Builder, who united the scattered Georgian principalities in the 12th century.

In East Georgian songs, Kartalin and Kakheti, one can hear classical three-voices: the melody develops against the background of the bass by two upper voices, one of which sounds more brightly, creating a complex musical ornament. And Gurian and Adjarian songs are characterized by the specific falsetto of Krimanchuli, prancing, as it is written in one novel, “at the top, like a pennant over the army.”

In 1885, Lado Agniashvili organized the first permanent Georgian ethnographic group - the Georgian National Choir, and in 1915, in Tbilisi alone there were a dozen choral groups, among which were the choir of the Georgian Philharmonic Society, led by Zakhary Paliashvili, and the choir led by Niko Sulkhanishvili.

Georgia is famous for the Tbilisi Conservatory. This is a higher music educational institution. From the walls of this institution came such famous graduates as composers Gia Kancheli, Vano Muradeli, Otar Taktakishvili, Mikael Tariverdiev, conductors Samuil Samosud and Odyssey Dimitriadi, vocalists Medea Amiranashvili and Nani Bregvadze. Georgia also has its own symphony orchestra. In addition, Georgia has world-famous folk song and dance ensembles, for example, “Erisioni” and “Rustavi”.