Podcast >> bbc.co.uk
Singer and song collector Sam Lee travels to Tbilisi to explore the ancient polyphonic folk songs and sacred chants of Georgia. He discovers a nation where singing is in the blood.
With some of Georgia's finest singers and musicologists as his guides, Sam is introduced to the ritualistic folk songs that are said to the control the weather and even cure the sick. He is invited to a feast, high on a mountainside above Tbilisi, where he meets the Chamgelianis - a singing family from the remote region of Svaneti who are keeping the tradition of age-old pre-Christian folk songs alive.
At the beautiful Kashveti Church in the heart of Tbilisi, Sam meets singer and ethno-musicologist John Graham who introduces him to the liturgical chanting tradition. These orthodox Christian chants feature sacrosanct melodies that are said to have been passed down by God and transmitted orally over the centuries.
Bordered by powerful neighbours including Russia and Turkey, Georgia has been attacked and invaded persistently over the centuries, its traditional songs suppressed. Sam learns that, under Soviet rule, sacred chanting was banned in Georgia and chanters threatened with exile and even death. Practitioners were forced to go underground from the early 1920s.
The tradition might have died out entirely were it not for the efforts of a single monk who buried manuscripts containing the forbidden sacred songs in order to keep them safe. Many years later, following the end of the Soviet stranglehold, the buried manuscripts were rediscovered and became the backbone of a chant revival that has seen Georgian singing spread around the world.
Presenter: Sam Lee
Producer: Max O'Brien
A TBI production for BBC Radio 4
Showing posts with label Chant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chant. Show all posts
Friday, April 26, 2019
POLYPHONY: The Song Hunters - Suppression and Survival. By Sam Lee via @BBCRadio4
Labels:
BBC,
BBCRadio4,
Chant,
Culture,
Folk,
Georgian Folk,
Georgian Orthodox Church,
Kashveti Church,
Music,
Orthodox,
Polyphony,
Radio,
Sam Lee,
Singer,
Svaneti
Sunday, January 03, 2016
VIDEO: Georgian Orthodox chant in ARAMAIC language - Tipp from Michael Bourgault
"This Mamao chants in ancient Aramaic and he hold liturgy in Aramaic. This church is in Kanda. He is orthodox from Syria and now this is the only church in the world that has the liturgy in Aramaic. He comes from the village of Maloula. Do to the war the monastery is shut down there."
Saturday, February 13, 2010
TRAVEL: Monastery Tour in Georgia, July 1st-11th, 2010 (georgianchant.org)
Georgianchant.org is committed to supporting projects that preserve, protect, and promote the study and practice of Georgian liturgical chant. Please see a list of project initiatives listed at left.
Contact: John A Graham johnananda@georgianchant.org
Monastery Tour 2010
Includes new sites in central and southern Georgia - Vardzia, Zarzma, Gelati - See our 2010 tour Itinerary
Articles on Georgian Chant
Review two articles in English by Georgia's leading chant scholars, Malkhaz Erkvanidze and David Shugliashvili, on the Resources page.
Archival Music
See our updated Archival Recordings page for Gramophone recordings of Georgian chant from the early 20th century
In our fifth season, join us for an exploration of Georgia's oldest monasteries, founded in the sixth century by Christian ascetics from Syria. Be among the first westerners to rediscover the frescoes and acoustics of these ancient houses of worship set amidst rolling vineyards, towering peaks, and the desert vistas of the Caspian basin. Led by co-authors Luarsab Togonidze and John A. Graham, this unique tour seeks to investigate the sounds and wonders of medieval Georgia, while presenting the world-famous hospitality and charm of modern Georgia ...
Upcoming Tours
2010 Monastery Tour, July 1st-11th
Basiani Ensemble Tour, October 2011
Past Tours
Pacific Northwest Workshop Tour, September 2009
Zedashe Ensemble Tour, October 2007
Chant History
Transcription Movement
Music Websites
General
Georgian Choir Websites
Notation
Liturgy Chants
Recordings
Recent Recordings
Archival Recordings
Anchiskhati Church Choir Tour, October 2005
Websites
Orthodox Chant
Literature
"Introduction," by Malkhaz Erkvanidze, Gelati Monastery Chants, Vol. II
"Introduction," by David Shugliashvili, Georgian Church Hymns, Shemokmedi
Project Links
Agsavali Transcription Project
Downloads
Agsavali Project Details.doc
Contact: John A Graham johnananda@georgianchant.org
Monastery Tour 2010
Includes new sites in central and southern Georgia - Vardzia, Zarzma, Gelati - See our 2010 tour Itinerary
Articles on Georgian Chant
Review two articles in English by Georgia's leading chant scholars, Malkhaz Erkvanidze and David Shugliashvili, on the Resources page.
Archival Music
See our updated Archival Recordings page for Gramophone recordings of Georgian chant from the early 20th century
In our fifth season, join us for an exploration of Georgia's oldest monasteries, founded in the sixth century by Christian ascetics from Syria. Be among the first westerners to rediscover the frescoes and acoustics of these ancient houses of worship set amidst rolling vineyards, towering peaks, and the desert vistas of the Caspian basin. Led by co-authors Luarsab Togonidze and John A. Graham, this unique tour seeks to investigate the sounds and wonders of medieval Georgia, while presenting the world-famous hospitality and charm of modern Georgia ... Upcoming Tours
2010 Monastery Tour, July 1st-11th
Basiani Ensemble Tour, October 2011
Past Tours
Pacific Northwest Workshop Tour, September 2009
Zedashe Ensemble Tour, October 2007
Chant History
Transcription Movement
Music Websites
General
Georgian Choir Websites
Notation
Liturgy Chants
Recordings
Recent Recordings
Archival Recordings
Anchiskhati Church Choir Tour, October 2005
Websites
Orthodox Chant
Literature
"Introduction," by Malkhaz Erkvanidze, Gelati Monastery Chants, Vol. II
"Introduction," by David Shugliashvili, Georgian Church Hymns, Shemokmedi
Project Links
Agsavali Transcription Project
Downloads
Agsavali Project Details.doc
Labels:
Antschis-Chati-Chor,
Chant,
Choir,
Georgia,
Music,
Organisation,
Polyphony,
Tourism,
Tradition,
Travel
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