Search - Riho Ensemble :: Georgia: Vocal Polyphonies From Svaneti

STERN ARCHAISM FROM THE MOUNTAIN REGION OF SVANETI

Lee Samelson | Vail, Colorado | 06/29/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"While these musical traditions are ancient, they have been only recently introduced in North America for obvious political reasons. This record has an organic feel to it. Every song has pretty much the same voices falling halfway between singing and chanting, but there are frequent hand claps and distinctive instruments that give variety and contrast. Its a good thing that some songs have melodies you can follow along with and that the singers hit some splendid notes. The Georgians are known to be a really festive culture with accompanied music, food and dance. This form of Georgian music in particular is accompanied by a round dance as depicted on the album cover. If you like the robust style of men's voices presented then you will like this record. The cover booklet written in both French and English goes into great detail about the Svanetian culture, styles of polyphony and the meaning and significance of each individual song. While listening to this record, close your eyes and visualize the lush, grassy, high-plains mountainous landscape of Sveneti with the people celebrating at a mountain stream near their village with a rainbow appearing in the sky. If you like this C.D. I highly recommend the Golden Fleece songs from Abhkazia and Adzharia. Also see my reviews for Sacred and Ritual songs of Georgia, Ensemble Georgika and Table songs of Georgia. With so much great Georgian Music recently available, I think Georgian music really deserves an individual section in the international browsing link of Amazon.com."