who asked the first question? - International Research Center For ...

460Joseph Jordania is a Honorary Fellow and Research Associate at theFaculty of Music of the University of Melbourne, and the foundingmember of the International Research Centre for Traditional Polyphony.Why do we feel such an urge to join the rhythmic music withrhythmic movements of our body, finger clicking and stomping? Whyare the audiences at the classical music concerts sitting in a totalsilence and cannot even clap between the parts of the symphony,whereas at rock music concerts audiences are free to clap, sing andshout even during the performance? Why do we ask so many questionsto small babies and pets, who can not answer them? Why are most of European traditionalpolyphonic traditions located among mountain ranges? These and many more questions are asked(sometimes for the first time) and fresh and often unexpected answers are given.The central theme of the book – the origins of human choral singing – is discussed in thewide interdisciplinary context of the evolution of human intelligence, language and speech. Someof the topics discussed in detail are: the origin of rhythm as the main element of hominid defensestrategy; origin of the human ability to ask questions as the central element of human intelligence;the prevalence of stuttering and dyslexia in different regions of the world and correlation with thedistribution of choral singing; the importance of Indo-European migrations in shaping the musicaltapestry of the European continent; the problem of polyphony in ancient Mesopotamia andMesoamerica; overtone singing of the Central Asian peoples; elements of ancient Europeanpolyphony in the musical language of the Beatles; vocal polyphony of the Ainus from NorthJapan, the Georgians from the Caucasian mountains, the Nuristanians from Afghanistan, theTuaregs from North Africa, pearl-divers from the Persian Gulf, the Lithuanians from the Baltic,the Polynesians from the Pacific and Native Americans. Although transcribed examples of choralsinging from many regions are provided, the book is aimed at a wider circle of readers interestedin the problems of human evolution.T“For those who are not so much familiar with ethnomusicology, the evidently interdisciplinary approach ofJoseph Jordania, a Georgian ethnomusicologist from Australia, may look too daring. However, to be anethnomusicologist and to strive for interdisciplinary integration nowadays means practically the same thing.The curious reader will find here the most provocative hypothesis that aims to give an answer to the biggestenigma of world music by way of putting forward a set of new puzzles. It's nobody else but the courageousauthor who asks the first question in that risky and complex direction, and in doing this he involuntarilyproves the motto of the worthlessness of a hypothesis which is impossible to disprove. Let's hope the bookwill be met with interdisciplinary and productive discussions. As Vladimir Propp, my unforgettableprofessor in folklore, used to laugh, only severe criticism is capable of making a book famous. I wish thatthe gifted author and dear friend of mine should be criticized as severe as possible”.Izaly Zemtsovsky, Stanford University, Visiting Professor in Music“In this indispensable book, readers interested in traditional vocal polyphony will findvaluable information and intriguing detail that would otherwise be very difficult toaccess. Dr. TJordaniaT, the author of this encyclopedic publication , has spent many yearspainstakingly collecting and organizing his material and is now, finally, able to make hislife’s work available to the researcher, the student and the lay person alike. Most of theinformation here presented was hitherto hidden in a myriad publications andunpublished notes. With this book, which seeks to establish the origins of multipart singing,Dr. TJordaniaT, whom I have had the privilege of knowing for a number of years, makes agreat contribution to ethnomusicological research, especially in the area of comparativestudies.” Gerald Florian Messner, PhD Comparative Musicology