Georgia, born under the sign of the song
Rooted in popular culture, singing is omnipresent in the country. It accompanies every stage of the life of the country's inhabitants. Every moment is an opportunity to sing. All together, with friends, family, at dinners, parties, to welcome a visitor... Everyone sings these famous polyphonic songs, so beautiful to hear. Any occasion is good; during work in the fields, we sing the naduri , to celebrate physical efforts. At Christmas, they sing the alilos.
What is polyphonic singing?
These are melodies that are superimposed, in two, three, and more rarely four voices: the high, medium and low, in other words, the first, second and third voices. Usually the second voice starts the melody. These are independent, vocal or instrumental, in harmony or not. Each singer instinctively places his or her voice. Associated with others, these voices, unique, give birth to a sublime music.
Together it's all
Every occasion is a good time to sing: when we part, when we meet again, at harvest time, at a funeral, at a baptism, at a wedding.
The most famous of these polyphonic songs are the table songs, or drinking songs, to which the mravaljamieri
("long life" in Georgian) belong. They originate from the wine-growing regions in eastern Georgia.At the supras, the famous banquets, tradition has it that the tamada
, the master of the table, throws a plethora of toasts to his guests, who must answer him with eloquent praise. The singers invoke, in serious melodies, the turbulent history of Georgia, subject to so many invasions over the centuries. Male voices sing of great epics and work. Female voices, on the other hand, consist of lullabies or pleas for healing. In the past, it was believed that the red pimples on a child's face were a sign that the child was possessed by a spirit. In those days, songs were sung not only to heal the child, but also to drive out the spirit. Mixed singing is rare, as songs are mostly performed by men and women are restricted to singing melodies related to the home. Men refer to military songs and table songs.A page of history
These polyphonic songs date back to the 8th century. Linked to the cult of life, they reached their peak between the 10th and 12th centuries. They were so successful that monasteries in the Sinai, Palestine and Bulgaria adopted them. The oldest Georgian songs are said to date back 3,000 years. Sargon II, King of Assyria in 714 BC, is said to have mentioned "joyful songs" to the kingdom of Urartu, the ancestors of Georgia, during the works.
Three types of polyphony
Depending on their region of origin, village songs have different characteristics.
In the Greater Caucasus, in Svanetia, complex polyphony is practiced. A solitary voice is supported by two other voices. Singers also perform svanes rounds. This region preserves the oldest harmonies. The voices adopt the same rhythm. If you participate in a supra, these famous banquets reflecting so well the Georgian culture, you will hear the chakrulo
, sung during ceremonies and celebrations.This chakrulo uses metaphor, its yodle (you switch from the chest voice to the falsetto voice), the krimanchuli, just like the rooster's cry, sung with a falsetto voice. In fact, it would have been the supras
that would have made it possible to perpetuate these songs.In Kakhetia, in the east, one is more adept at polyphonic dialogue, on a bass drone. One also hears melismas (one syllable is changed on many notes) and modulations. Two parts are sung by soloists. These simple melodies have a very oriental consonance, characterized by one or two voices rising above a prolonged bass.
In Western Georgia, in Iméréthie, Gourie, Adjarie and Mingrélia, contrasting polyphony is most widespread. It includes three partially improvised sung parts. It can also be two-part songs over a buzzing bass. In Gourie, songs can be up to seven voices. While the higher voices are sung by soloists, the bass voices are sung in groups. The songs can be accompanied by percussion.
The panduri and the chonguri, traditional lutes with three strings, the tchangouri (irsth with four strings) or the pan flute (larchemi) and the flute (salamuri), a long recorder originally used by shepherds, and finally the doudouki
, a kind of oboe used in the Caucasus region, accompany these songs. The Church, of course, through its liturgical songs, integrated the polyphonic songs. Religious polyphonies, written over the centuries, are the most complex. They are always a capella, without instrumental accompaniment. The chant is combined with the text, as the Orthodox tradition requires that the melody be submitted to it. The pope is almost always accompanied by a choir, making the ensemble very solemn. The singers must know how to remain humble, not to put forward their personalities, with a sober interpretation of these melodies. These songs are so beautiful that they have been integrated by the Byzantine liturgical fields. Czarist Russia banned them in the 19th century, then under the Soviets in the last century, but they were saved by Georgian patriotism. The practice of Georgian chant is transmitted orally only, in the family and in the community: no singing lessons, therefore, but the "learner" must learn by osmosis from the bearers of this tradition.
