The ai Republic

An unprecedented historical recording of Georgian vocal music that peels away a century of Soviet academic polish and Western classical influence to reveal a folk music of searing lyricism and breathtaking complexity. In Georgia, polyphonic vocal music, usually associated with early modern Western melody, dates back to the 4th century and is as essential to the wedding table as to the church choir. These recordings from before the Russian Revolution, culled from gramophone archives in England, include a field labor song in 4 vocal parts, a rare early example of liturgical chant, and numerous banquet toasting songs featuring masterfully controlled dissonance and free-meter improvisation. An important document of a pre-Soviet era that few Georgians themselves can remember, and of a legacy that scholars and lovers of traditional folk music will cherish.