The Fifth International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony ...
Share Embed Flag
Download ePaper

The Fifth International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony ...

The Fifth International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony ... The Fifth International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony ...

polyphony.ge
from polyphony.ge More from this publisher
06.05.2013 Views

230 Davit Shughliashvili the bell), so is the wordless chanting, though it is noteworthy that at the same time the musical language, as a speech substance, has never been neglected. This is attested to by the abundance of long musical phrases and sentences sung on one syllable, here the dominance of the musical speech is doubtless. In the collection of the divine liturgy hymns, written down in musical notation by Ph. Koridze, there is the hymn Ulkhine (Rejoice), which covers six pages (Koridze, 1895: 6-11), its text consisting of only one word: Ulkhine (repeated three times). ong>Theong> leading character of the musical side of this hymn is indisputable, which must have been more clearly revealed in its performance with glossolalias. This phenomenon should not be perceived as the belittling of the verbal text. Just the opposite, in such cases the meaning of the word is expanded by the musical logos. As it has been said above, according to Razhden Khundadze, chanters used the so-called “additional letters” where wordless mode-movements occurred, “evidently to better remember them”; but the fact that chanting with inserted syllables is not used only in chreli chants or those performed with long-drawn phrases, is corroborated by the sound recordings of more than a hundred chants, left by Artem Erkomaishvili. Usually it is the vowel i that is inserted as an additional syllable, together with i its preceding vowel is also repeated, e.g. ghme-i-e-rti, ra-i-a-metu, mshvido-i-o-ba. In the above sound recordings numerous examples of this phenomenon can be observed. In some cases these inserted vowels occur several times in succession, e.g. saidumlo-i-o-i-o (ex. 8), a-i-a-liluia-i-a-ia-ia-ia (ex. 9). From this viewpoint quite unique is the combination of inserted vowels in the chant “Now the Heavenly Powers”, where the word aliluia is sung in the following manner alilu-i-u-i-o-i-a-u-ia” (ex. 10). It should be noted that unlike the text, which is obligatory for all the three voices of the chant, in some cases the inserted vowels may differ within the parts (ex. 11). It is clear that the presence of inserted syllables cannot be explained only by technical reasons and be viewed as a means of remembering the melody better. It is conditioned by the rhythmic, acoustic, melodic and other elements, which, first of all, must be understood as a specific feature of the musical language. In the divine liturgy the hymn “Let us the cherubim mystically representing” and in many other chreli or chants of the chreli type, there are long-drawn musical passages sung wordlessly, or, to be exact, long-drawn musical passages, sung on one syllable only, long vocalizes. What is this “wordless chanting”, “wordless prayer charged with? May be with something that cannot be expressed in words?!” (Shugliashvili, 2001: 114) It is no mere chance that musical logos, which enables man to express and perceive something impossible to express in words, is so vividly expressed in the above chant (“Let us the cherubim…”), its ecclesiastic symbolic making the performers resemble a choir of angels and cherubim. “In the beginning was the song”, the quotation from Inola Gurgulia’s well-known song, which inspired me to write this paper, involuntarily calls to my memory the first line from the Gospel of St John: “In the beginning was the Word…” in Greek these words sound as follows: Εν αρχε εν ο λογοσ (en arche en o logos). Of course, the goal of my paper is not a philosophical interpretation of these words, neither am I going to reason as to what was in the beginning-words or song. But I should note that in the cited song these notions are superseded poetically and in it the logos denoting divine love must be expressed by the language of music. Getting close to the truth, sharing the truth – this is how we may call the emotion overwhelming us when listening to heavenly music. Generalizing it in connection with national Georgian musical culture I may say that “Triune” is the most significant that traditional Georgian three-part singing and chanting, Georgian polyphony, performed with words or wordlessly are dedicated to.

“Wordless” Polyphony in Georgian Traditional Music References 231 Akhobadze, Vladimer. (1961). Kartuli (acharuli) khalkhuri simgherebi [Georgian (Acharan) Folk Songs]. Batumi: Sakhelgami (in Georgian) Akhobadze, Vladimer. (1957). Kartuli (svanuri) khalkhuri simgherebi [Georgian (Svan) Folk Songs]. Tbilisi: Teknika da shro– ma (in Georgian and Russian) Akhobadze, Vladimer, Kortua, I. (1957). Abkhazskie pesni (Abkhazian Songs). Moscow (in Russian) Chijavadze, Otar. (1974). Kartuli khalkhuri simgherebi. Megruli (Georgian Folk Songs. Megrelian). Vol. I. Tbilisi: Khelovneba (in Georgian) Chkhikvadze, Grigol. (1960). Kartuli khalkhuri simghera (Georgian Folk Song). Vol. I. Tbilisi: Sabchota sakartvelo (in Geor– gian) Chokhonelidze, Kukuri. (2003). Kartuli khalkhuri musika. Samegrelo (Georgian Folk Music. Samegrelo). Tbilisi: Sakartvelos matsne (in Georgian) Koridze, Pilimon. (1895). Kartuli galoba. Liturgia ioane okropirisa. Mghvdlisa da mghvdelmtavrisatvis (Georgian Chant. John Crysostome’s liturgy. For Clergyman and Bishop). Vol. I. Tbilisi: M. sharadze da amkh. (in Georgian) Khundadze, Razhden. (1902). Kartuli saeklesio galoba. Gurul-imerul sada kiloze (Georgian Sacred Chant, Gurian-Imeretian Simple Mode). Kutaisi: I. kiladzisa da i. kheladzis st. (in Georgian) Muzikalnaya entsiklopedia (Musical Encyclopedia). (1976). Vol.3. Moscow (in Russian) Sharashidze, Giorgi. (1938). Kartvelur enata leksika: Guruli leksikoni (Vocabulary of Kartvelian Languages: Gurian Dictio– nary). Tbilisi (in Georgian) Shilakadze, Manana. (1999). “Glosolaliebi kartul khalkhur simgherebshi” (“Glossolalias in Georgian Folk Songs”). Journ. Kar– tveluri memkvidreoba (Kartvelian Heritage), 3:202-209 (in Georgian) Shughliashvili, Davit. (2001). “Kartuli galobis “unisonuri” mravlkhmianoba” (“Unison Polyphony of Georgian Chant”). In: Sa– suliero da saero musikis mravalkhmianobis problemebi (Problems of Polyphony in Sacred and Secular Music). P. 101-118. Tbilisi. Tbilisi State Conservatoire (in Georgian) Shughliashvili, Davit. (2006). Kartuli saeklesio galoba. Shermokmedis skola. Artem erkomaishvilis chanatserebis mikhedvit (Georgian Sacred Chant. Shemokmedi School. According to Artem Erkomaishvili’s records). Tbilisi (in Georgian) Veshapidze, Levan. (2006). Guruli khalkhuri simgherebi (Gurian Folk Songs). Tbilisi (in Georgian) Translated by Liana Gabechava

“Wordless” Polyph<strong>on</strong>y in Georgian Traditi<strong>on</strong>al Music<br />

References<br />

231<br />

Akhobadze, Vladimer. (1961). Kartuli (acharuli) khalkhuri simgherebi [Georgian (Acharan) Folk S<strong>on</strong>gs]. Batumi: Sakhelgami<br />

(in Georgian)<br />

Akhobadze, Vladimer. (1957). Kartuli (svanuri) khalkhuri simgherebi [Georgian (Svan) Folk S<strong>on</strong>gs]. Tbilisi: Teknika da shro–<br />

ma (in Georgian and Russian)<br />

Akhobadze, Vladimer, Kortua, I. (1957). Abkhazskie pesni (Abkhazian S<strong>on</strong>gs). Moscow (in Russian)<br />

Chijavadze, Otar. (1974). Kartuli khalkhuri simgherebi. Megruli (Georgian Folk S<strong>on</strong>gs. Megrelian). Vol. I. Tbilisi: Khelovneba<br />

(in Georgian)<br />

Chkhikvadze, Grigol. (1960). Kartuli khalkhuri simghera (Georgian Folk S<strong>on</strong>g). Vol. I. Tbilisi: Sabchota sakartvelo (in Geor–<br />

gian)<br />

Chokh<strong>on</strong>elidze, Kukuri. (2003). Kartuli khalkhuri musika. Samegrelo (Georgian Folk Music. Samegrelo). Tbilisi: Sakartvelos<br />

matsne (in Georgian)<br />

Koridze, Pilim<strong>on</strong>. (1895). Kartuli galoba. Liturgia ioane okropirisa. Mghvdlisa da mghvdelmtavrisatvis (Georgian Chant. John<br />

Crysostome’s liturgy. For Clergyman and Bishop). Vol. I. Tbilisi: M. sharadze da amkh. (in Georgian)<br />

Khundadze, Razhden. (1902). Kartuli saeklesio galoba. Gurul-imerul sada kiloze (Georgian Sacred Chant, Gurian-Imeretian<br />

Simple Mode). Kutaisi: I. kiladzisa da i. kheladzis st. (in Georgian)<br />

Muzikalnaya entsiklopedia (Musical Encyclopedia). (1976). Vol.3. Moscow (in Russian)<br />

Sharashidze, Giorgi. (1938). Kartvelur enata leksika: Guruli leksik<strong>on</strong>i (Vocabulary of Kartvelian Languages: Gurian Dictio–<br />

nary). Tbilisi (in Georgian)<br />

Shilakadze, Manana. (1999). “Glosolaliebi kartul khalkhur simgherebshi” (“Glossolalias in Georgian Folk S<strong>on</strong>gs”). Journ. Kar–<br />

tveluri memkvidreoba (Kartvelian Heritage), 3:202-209 (in Georgian)<br />

Shughliashvili, Davit. (2001). “Kartuli galobis “unis<strong>on</strong>uri” mravlkhmianoba” (“Unis<strong>on</strong> Polyph<strong>on</strong>y of Georgian Chant”). In: Sa–<br />

suliero da saero musikis mravalkhmianobis problemebi (Problems of Polyph<strong>on</strong>y in Sacred and Secular Music). P. 101-118.<br />

Tbilisi. Tbilisi State C<strong>on</strong>servatoire (in Georgian)<br />

Shughliashvili, Davit. (2006). Kartuli saeklesio galoba. Shermokmedis skola. Artem erkomaishvilis chanatserebis mikhedvit<br />

(Georgian Sacred Chant. Shemokmedi School. According to Artem Erkomaishvili’s records). Tbilisi (in Georgian)<br />

Veshapidze, Levan. (2006). Guruli khalkhuri simgherebi (Gurian Folk S<strong>on</strong>gs). Tbilisi (in Georgian)<br />

Translated by Liana Gabechava

logo

products

Resources

Company

Terms of service
Privacy policy
Cookie policy
Cookie settings
Imprint
Change language
Made with love in Switzerland
© 2024 Yumpu.com all rights reserved

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!