The Fifth International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony ...

Three Masterpieces of Megrelian Song Recorded by Robert Lach in 1916
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publications of Robert Lach. In all probability it is (like number 2 of the disc) also Megrelian. As becomes
obvious from merely listening and an additionally look at a spectrogram (fig. 1) the song has a clear structure.
It is divided into six parts clearly separated from each other by rests, with parts 1 and 4 being introduced
by a solo. This circumstance as well as the somewhat longer rest between part 3 and 4 (in comparison with
the others) gives reason to distinguish two sections: section 1 with the subsections 1 to 3, section 2 with the
subsections 4 to 6. A closer look at the transcription (ex. 2) now seems in order.
<strong>The</strong> solo introductions show some common structural elements: (a) the minor thirds B 3 – Asharp 3 –
Gsharp 3 descending stepwise at the beginning (in subsection 4 without the passing tone) and Csharp 4 – B 3
–Asharp 3. in measure 3 of subsection 4; (b) the major third Gsharp 3 — Fsharp 3 –E 3 in the final measure of both
solo introductions (in subsection 4 somewhat covered by a glissando performance); (c) with the exception of
Asharp 3 in measure 1 of subsection 1, the transcription shows a perfect pitch correspondence between both
subsections in the first half of the two melodies (Gsharp—Asharp—B—Csharp), but the rhythm is different
(fig. 2). When transcribing these segments, the rhythmical main beats in subsection 1 could be set without
any problems, but the crucial point was measure 2 in subsection 4. It has to be transcribed with the metrical
beat on Gsharp and not on the following Asharp as in subsection 1. That looks strange, because – as can be
clearly seen in the RMS amplitude in the bottom part of the spectrogram, – Gsharp was not performed by an
increase of sound pressure usually thought to be the physical correlate of emphasis or accentuation but by a
decrease. One must bear in mind, however, that emphasizing or accentuation of tones can also be evoked
by other factors than sound pressure, namely by tone duration, timbre, articulation, melodic context; even a
metrical beat can be completely absent as an acoustic event, as, for example, in African music. Thus the given
transcription finds confirmation.
So much for the musical analysis of the solo parts in phonogram 2762/1. What can be said about the
multi-part subsections? Listening to the recording an alternation of two subsections with different final chords
can be recognized: the solo in section 1 is immediately followed by a multi-part subsection ending on Dsharp.
<strong>The</strong>n, after a rest, comes a subsection ending on Csharp, and again after a rest, the last subsection oft section
1 ends on Dsharp. <strong>The</strong> same pattern dominates section 2.
Comparing the corresponding subsections with regard to their sequence in both sections (fig. 3), one can
distinguish three different descending patterns: (1) Subsections 1 and 4 are in four-four time, in the upper
voice characterized by two minor thirds descending stepwise, shifted against each other by a semitone and
accompanied by the lower voice in such a manner that each measure is dominated by a pure fifth on beat one.
<strong>The</strong> rhythm of the second measure in subsection 1 is slightly different from that in subsection 4, where both
measures have the same rhythm. <strong>The</strong> cadence is Dorian with a half-tone downwards and a fifth upwards. (2)
A shifting pattern and the harmonic progressions are again the common elements in subsections 2 and 5, but
they differ in the cadence and in rhythm. Concerning the shifting pattern, contrary to subsection 1 and 4 two
melodic fourths in the upper voice consisting of a whole tone and a minor third are shifted against each other
by a minor third and accompanied by a similar movement in the lower voice featuring major thirds, pure fifths
and a pure fourth as chords. <strong>The</strong> cadence is again Dorian, but here either with a whole tone downwards and a
fifth upwards or a whole tone downwards and a minor third upwards. Concerning the rhythm, subsection 2 is
in four-four time, and subsection 5 in three-four time. <strong>The</strong> arpeggio performance in measure 1 of subsection 5
expands the minor third chord to a seventh chord. (3) Subsections 3 and 6 are nearly identical: both are in threefour
time and are characterized by parallel thirds and a Dorian cadence, again with a whole tone downwards
and a fifth upwards, but ending on Dsharp.