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18Saharan African populations, than to the research on many purely musicological topics(for example, the history of European opera or the musical language of the 19 th centurysymphony).During my 20 years of interdisciplinary research I was extremely lucky to meetsome of the most renowned experts in some of the fields I was interested in and toreceive very encouraging and deeply interested responses from them. I am a strongbeliever in dialogues between scholars of different disciplines, and I hope that behindsome inevitable technical errors, at least some of the non-musicologist readers of thisbook will acknowledge the possibilities of a fresh look at some of the old problems intheir spheres.And finally, I would like to acknowledge the big group of my colleagues andthe experts of different fields that greatly contributed to my research during these twentyyears. I have been extremely lucky to have been able to meet and discuss my ideas with alarge group of scholars from the different disciplines from around the world. My biggestthanks should go to ethnomusicologist Izaly Zemtsovsky, whose unique expertise notonly in ethnomusicology, but equally in musical composition, philosophy and oralfolklore played a critical role in the shaping of my multidisciplinary model of the originsof choral singing, language and speech. Although I have never been (formally) hisstudent, I do consider myself a member of his “school”.I am very grateful to classical philologist Rismag Gordeziani from Tbilisi StateUniversity, for his continuing support of my research from the late 1980s; classicalphilologist Levan Berdzenishvili for his support and for his contribution in creating theLatin neologism “interrogo ergo cogito”, Zurab Kiknadze, expert on Sumerian languageand culture, linguist Zurab Chavchavadze (who died tragically very young in 1989,arguably in a KGB-organised car crash) for his contribution in my understanding ofmedieval Georgian terminology, and the leading Georgian linguist Thomas Gamkrelidzefor his professional critical remarks. I am very grateful to a big group of Georgianmusicologists and musicians whose help was very much appreciated in supporting myresearch and in contributing to the series of international conferences “Problems of folkpolyphony” – Manana Doijashvili, Rusudan Tsurtsumia, Alexander Shaverzashvili,Edisher Garakanidze, Gia Kancheli, Grigol Chkhikvadze, Otar Chidjavadze, GulbatToradze, Valerian Magradze, Manana Andriadze, Manana Shilakadze, Lia Dolidze, VanoZhgenti, Mzia Iashvili, Tamaz Gabisonia, Gogi Tabatadze, Ketevan Nikoladze, NatoZumbadze, Ketevan Baiashvili, Nino Kalandadze, Nino Shvelidze, Tina Zhvania, NanaValishvili, David Shugliashvili, Ketevan Matiashvili, Elguja Dadunashvili, LelaMakarashvili and many more.I am also deeply grateful to the Georgian traditional singers Vazha Gogoladze,Jokia Meshveliani, Anzor, Anania and Ladime Erkomaisvili’s and many other experts inGeorgian traditional polyphony. Their deep knowledge and critical minds often helpedme to formulate the important features of Georgian traditional polyphony, its scalesystem, harmonic and cadencial peculiarities. I am also very grateful to non-Georgianperformers of Georgian polyphonic music from different countries for their interest inmany aspects of Georgian polyphonic music. Quite few of them (Frenk Kane from Paris,Carl Linich from the USA, Alan Gasser from Canada, Helen Chadwick, Frankie