weaving Voices 01.04.2025 issuu - Flipbook - Page 48
ქართული
ტრადიციული
სიმღერის
აღმზრდელობითი
ღირებულება
The educational value of traditional
Georgian songs
Laurent Stéphan
Thousands of three-part songs have been handed down from generation
to generation in Georgia, to the extent that it has been said that
these songs are the backbone of Georgian culture and identity. From
time immemorial, Georgian traditional and liturgical songs have been
intimately and exclusively linked to the land and people of this country in
the Caucasus region. A new phenomenon emerged in the 1990s, following
the end of the USSR and the advent of globalisation: the practice of this
music has gradually developed outside Georgia. Although not a massive
phenomenon, foreigners are becoming passionate about this music,
listening to it and singing it. In Europe and the rest of the world, there are
now ensembles that perform exclusively Georgian songs (France, United
Kingdom, Sweden, United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, etc.). It is
notable that amateur and professional ensembles dedicated to Georgian
songs, outside Georgia are for the most part composed of non-Georgian
singers. This phenomenon of dissemination has probably been facilitated
by the political and economic emigration of Georgians outside their
country and by the technical means that make it possible to listen to
almost any music from any point on the globe.
The development of Georgian polyphonic repertoire is not only due to
the creation of groups devoted exclusively to Georgian song. These songs
are also taught during workshops and many choirs integrate one or more
Georgian songs into their repertoire among other songs from around the
world. Based on our experience of singing six Georgian songs from 2022
to 2024 as part of the Erasmus+ Weaving Voices project, we will now
take a look at this practice and suggest a few points of interest that nonGeorgians might find in this repertoire.
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