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

83Western Georgia consists of six (according to some views – seven) so-calledmusical dialects. Unlike eastern Georgia, where we have two asymmetrically big plainregions and several much smaller mountainous regions, the differences between theregions are not as big in western Georgia.The musical differences from eastern Georgia are also quite obvious.‣ Rhythmically western Georgian polyphonic songs are always welldefined (no free metres);‣ Melodic lines never use rich melismatic ornamentation, so usual for theeastern Georgia and particularly for the genre of ‘long” table songs;‣ Instead of two- and three-part singing we are now in the world of threeandfour-part polyphony;‣ The drone is present, but it is mostly a rhythmic drone, and besides, insome of the most complex songs the drone is in the middle of the fourpartpolyphonic texture (instead of being in the bass in eastern Georgia);‣ Unlike East Georgian drone and ostinato bass, the bass part in someWest Georgian regions can be extremely active melodically.‣ The yodel (absent in eastern Georgia) adds another important element tothe sound of the western Georgian singing style;‣ The tradition of “trio song” (sung by three individual singers) is alsounique to some regions of western Georgia;‣ Triple metres ¾ and 3/8, very popular in eastern Georgia (particularly incertain round dances), as well as the specific “melody of Iavnana”, arerare in some regions and completely absent in other regions of westernGeorgia.The best-known tradition from western Georgia is the highly developed traditionof contrapuntal polyphony in Guria. Let us have a look at an example of a four-partsection of the harvest song Naduri:Ex. 34. Naduri. Harvest song (performed during hoeing on maize fields)excerpt from the final 4-part section (transcribed by Joseph Jordania)