MUSIC: One of Georgia's greatest singers, Lela Tataraidze. (transcaucasian.blogspot.com)

Here is a beautiful Georgian folk song ("You, Lion, Killed by a Lion"), performed by one of Georgia's greatest singers, Lela Tataraidze.

Born in 1952, Lela grew up in a family from Tusheti, the mountainous region of Georgia. With her sad eyes but a happy face, she is an excellent accordion and panduri player, and also a brilliant vocalist, who sings the popular songs of the mountains with a lot of emotion. She was brought up in the musical atmosphere of her family and continued her studies at the school of music and later on at the philharmonic ensemble of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. She toured in Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and France. She made her first recordings with Melodiya Records in 1988. She founded the trio ensemble of Kesane ("myosotis, forget-me-not", a flower of Tusheti) and recorded her first CD in Holland in 1999, "Janghi" ("morning fog"). Her last CD is from June 2007, it is entitled "Songs of Survival: traditional music of Georgia". Lela Tataraidze is the great lady of Georgian traditional song, a popular art coming from time immemorial and from the majestic landscapes of the legendary Georgia. Enjoy!



Lela Tataraidze is Tusheti's most famous singer. She was first described to me as Article by ALEXANDER BAINBRIDGE (source: transcaucasian.blogspot.com)

TuSeTis jeniper lopez i.e. "Tusheti's Jennifer Lopez" - some indication of her fame and popularity! She was born in Dano, a small, nearly abandoned hamlet in Pirikiti Tusheti. Like most Tush families, hers had no doubt been spending the harsh winters down in the valley of the Alazani, in Kvemo Alvani (where her house - and indeed her mother! - are still to be seen). Her haunting songs are THE music played by all the Tush, irrespective of origin (Tchaghma, Pirikiti, Gometsri, Tsova, Tbilisi Tush, etc.), and some of them - particularly "How beautiful is Tusheti!" - have come to represent the very soul of Tusheti - indeed, to the detriment of other Tush artists: Ask any Georgian (or Tush) to name a singer from Tusheti, and every single one will come up with Lela Tataraidze. But ask them to name a singer from Tusheti other than Lela Tataraidze, however, and you will most likely draw a blank. -
Here are two of her many songs: - "ra lamazia tusheti", or "How beautiful is Tusheti", and a lamentation for the death of several [Tush] people carried away in an avalanche (in the 1970s or -80s, I believe). - - For more traditional Georgian songs - not from Tusheti, however - please see my previous post on two songs by Sandro Kavsadze


Lela Tataraidze: Lomo, She Lomis Moklulo




ლელა თათარაიძე, LELA TATARAIDZE




Georgian folk music from Tusheti region. Performed by Ensemble "Kelaptari" and legendary Lela Tataraidze (accordion). The pictures by Georgian photograper, Paata Vardanashvili, website: www.paata.ge