The Fifth International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony ...

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DAVIT SHUGHLIASHVILI (GEORGIA)
“WORDLESS” POLYPHONY IN GEORGIAN TRADITIONAL MUSIC
Music, as an abstract universal language on the one hand and as that possessing sensual logic on the other,
is an everlasting category of mankind’s history. <strong>The</strong> depth of the emotion and perceptions that the musical
language grants man quite understandably raises a question about the pre-historic character of this language
and its being the first. It can be said, that unlike the oral speech, the punishment, which ensued after the attempt
of building the tower of Babel in the biblical-historical story about the confusion of tongues, would not be
able to affect the musical language. May be this is why the musical language, in spite of its national traits and
identification, does not need to be translated; everybody understands it (adequate to the degree of the listener’s
sensibility and [his] power of perception). <strong>The</strong> musical language is an eternal property of all of the mankind!
One of the most important features of music must be the ability of the idea, expressed in this language, to
find the shortest way to man’s heart and touch those layers of emotions that can never be reached by words.
Musical logos can alter the nuances of the verbal text per se, in some cases even making it richer. <strong>The</strong> musical
language has its own syntax (logical syntax). <strong>The</strong>refore it should not be difficult to explain man’s wish to
sing wordless songs!
Such songs, which may be called “wordless songs” conditionally, are not rare in Georgian traditional
music, as in them only the so-called glossolalias, words that are meaningless or have lost their meaning, nonsemantic
words and syllables (the so-called samgherisi) occur. <strong>The</strong> content of such a song is entirely based on
the syntax of the musical language.
“Wordless Songs” exist in the musical tradition of various continents, countries, provinces and peoples.
In European professional music the so-called jubilation or melisma was considered to be a precursor of the
wordless song or vocalize. <strong>The</strong> vocalize is entirely wordless, performed on one vowel only, its analogue
practically never occurring in Georgian folk music. It is noteworthy that the same happens in jazz, where
“the wordless” song, called “scat”, is performed by means of various combinations of syllables that have
no meaning.
If we review the history of wordless singing, we will see that since ancient times up to this day, it has
always been an active form of singing art in quite different styles, nations, both in monodic and polyphonic
cultures.
In Georgian traditional music, “wordless” songs, i.e. songs, which from the beginning to the end are
constructed on non-semantic syllables most often occur in western Georgia, namely in Gurian, Megrelian,
Acharian, Svanian, Lechkhumian and Abkhazian singing traditions. It should be noted that this type of songs
is attested in Imereti as well, but in a smaller number.
As for the eastern Georgia, I came across a “wordless” song only in one recording, as an exception.
Though such specimens, where in spite of the presence of the verbal text, the passages sung on non-semantic
syllables occupy a considerable part of the song, are of great interest as well. Songs of this type greatly increase
the geographical area, covering the greater part of Georgian provinces.
<strong>The</strong> problem of glossolalias is dealt with in Manana Shilakadze’s article, published in 1999, where
the author notes that “in every dialect can be noticed a definite abundance of glossolalias, which become a