Georgia - Svanetia and Tbilisi Part I

 Georgia is a small country in Eastern Europe with a long history.  It is known as the cradle of wine-making, which automatically makes it a bucket list country for me, but so far I haven't made it there yet.  There are fewer than 4 million people living here.  Its musical traditions are ancient and are known for the early development of polyphony, which has been declared an intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO. 

From our last stop in Turkey, we carry on along the Black Sea shore, before entering Georgia and taking a right turn into the mountains to the region of Svanetia and its capital Mestia.  in this remote region, cut off by snow for much of the year, the Riho Ensemble of Mestia strut their stuff.  As far as I know, they haven't recorded any albums that are available internationally, but there is a 2003 DVD called Riho de Mestia - The Polyphonies of Svanetia, which is still available.  Here is a song and dance performance by them called Shishada gergili:

Just outside Mestia is the small village of Lakhushdi, which calls itself the singing village due to the fact that 11 out of the 17 families sing traditional polyphonies.  So in 2020 3 of the younger inhabitants got together to record an album, namely Ana & Madona Chamgeliani and Levan Bitarovi.  They appropriately called the album from The Singing Village (Lakhushdi) and here is an extended extract from it and other singing whilst showing of some village life in the Svanetian mountains. Incidentally, there seems to be an eco-lodge in the village if you ever feel inclined to get the authentic experience in person.

Some years ago a video went viral of 3 young girls singing in polyphonics accompanied by a pandura (a 3-stringed lute) while walking through a Georgian village scene filming themselves with a selfie-stick.  These girls were the Trio Mandili, who have now become internationally famous, regularly touring around the world and even representing Georgia at the Eurovision Song Contest.  The 3 members are actually from different parts of Georgia, but are now based in the capital Tbilisi. Their enthusiasm is infectious and their harmonies impeccable.  Here is the video that launched their career called Apareka, which is also the opening track to their 2015 debut album With Love:

And here is another cute wee video of them featuring a wee donkey:

Composer, singer and pianist Russudan Meipariani was born in Tbilisi in 1975.  Classically trained she combines classical music with minimal music and Georgian polyphonic singing. She is now based in Germany.  In 2024 she collaborated with Tbilisi based male choir Ensemble Anchiskhati to produce an album called Voices & Mountains and this is a track from the album called Aragvi:

In the year 2000 another all-male choir was founded in Tbilisi called the Basiani Ensemble.  They have since been elevated to State Ensemble and perform all over Georgia and internationally bringing traditional Georgian polyphonics to the world.  Here is a live performance of a traditional table song called Chakrulo from their snappily titled 2019 Year Album - Booklet, which unsurprisingly came out in 2019. Spoiler alert: you don't get a booklet if you purchase the album...

All female ensemble Ialoni were established in Tbilisi in 2016.  Their repertoire includes ecclesiastical, folk and city music from Georgia.  Here is a potpourri of city songs from their 2016 album From Sunrise to Sunset:

Finally, another male polyphonic choir, IBERI was founded in 2012 in Tbilisi. The title of their 2022 album Supra translates as feast, which is an activity the Georgians seem to be very fond of.  Apparently, if you buy the CD version it comes with a Georgian cookbook! Here is an orchestral version of a song from the album called Harira (The Person):

That's it for today, next we'll be exploring the more contemporary sounds of Tbilisi, as well as music from the rest of the country.  Meanwhile, as usual, you can follow my virtual ramblings on my Tripline map.