Rustavi Choir
18.08.18 > 17:30

“It is the silent contemplation of the atlases, lying flat on the carpet, […] which thus gives one the desire to transplant oneself there. Daydreaming of regions like Banat, Caspian, Kashmir, and of the music that resonates there…” –  Nicolas Bouvier

The link between silent atlases and music is beautiful; the world according to Bouvier listens to itself as much as it looks at itself and thus we can discover unfamiliar places – Banat, Caspian, Kashmir – by listening to the voices and instruments that come from there.

It is not far from the Caspian, on the shores of the Black Sea, that Georgia lies – a beautiful name for silent reverie. Because what do we know about Georgia? Nothing, or barely a few memories: that the Greeks called it Colchis, that Circe and Medea were born there and that Jason went there to get the Golden Fleece.

Included in UNESCO’s cultural heritage list since 2008, traditional Georgian singing consists of 3 types of practices: a so-called “complex” polyphony, an improvised dialogue on bass drone, especially present in Kakhetia, and a “simple” polyphony with three parts which is widespread in the West of the country. Sung in the Georgian language, this music embraces the whole spectrum of human activities: hymns, drinking songs, working songs, and some healing incantations, perhaps passed on from an enchantress.

A presentation entitled – “Golden monstrances and panther skins”  – will be given by Marie Favre, musicologist, before the concert at at 16:45 at Cave à Jazz.