Erisioni
Georgian Legend
MUSIC DANCE CHURCHES
 
The haunting sounds of the Georgian polyphonic song are a highly unique musical tradition, appreciated around the globe. Songs are usually sung in three-part harmonies in a slightly discordant style (only recently "rediscovered" in modern music) and echo up from the mountains of pre-history. They express the full range of daily emotion experienced while harvesting, courting, warfare, healing, grieving - as being a simple celebration of nature's profound beauty. Each part is considered equal and together result in a tapestry in which the harmony is more important than the ever-weaving melodic thread.

This musical style is so rooted in antiquity that the Greek historian Strabo records the multi-voiced chants of Georgians riding into battle in the 1st century BC. This music is not relegated to the church and concert hall but is an integral part of Georgian culture and can commonly be heard around the Georgian table in restaurants and cafe's.

Georgian choirs - like the Rustavi Choir - have been touring internationally almost non-stop for many decades and today other nations are catching on, forming their own local choirs dedicated to Georgian polyphony.

But our music is does not remain in the past and nor is it a static art form. Contemporary composers such as Gia Kancheli, continue to make significant contributions to the cannon of modern orchestral music. As a result Tbilisi can boast a thriving Conservatoire of Music and several excellent concert halls, like the Philharmonia.

With such a strong musical background it should be no surprise to discover a fine Opera House and company in Tbilisi, with singers and musicians frequently finding themselves cherry picked by top international companies. The magnificent neo-Moorish style Paliashvili Opera and Ballet house on Tbilisi's Rustaveli Avenue perfectly embodies our ability to blend the European with the Asian - on stage as well as in city life beyond. The quality of our performances are a match for any in the world and the Opera provides a full calendar of Verdi, Puccini, Mozart, not to mention our own composers like Zakaria Paliashvili - whose first opera "Abessalom and Eteri" was composed in 1918.
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