CONCERT 3 — DIDGORI
Saturday, 1 June 2019, 8:00 p.m. at All Saints' Anglican Cathedral
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DIDGORI
The members of Eurasia's Didgori are master performers of Georgian vocal polyphony, a three-part musical tradition marked by immense physical energy, thrilling harmonic progressions, complex improvised counterpoint that would boggle the mind of any jazz pianist, unexpectedly dissonant chords and intonation, jaw-dropping yodelling, intricate melismatic ornamentation, and resounding vocal power that has to be experienced to be believed. Igor Stravinsky reportedly said that "Georgian polyphony is more important than all the discoveries of new music," and UNESCO recognized it as a Masterpiece of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2001. Didgori will perform feasting songs, warriors' songs, work and harvest songs, songs accompanied by Georgian folk instruments, ancient round dances and ritual songs with pre-Christian roots, and liturgical chants from the Georgian Orthodox tradition--one of the oldest forms of Christian music in the world, and a type of polyphony that likely predates medieval Western European experiments with harmony by centuries. The ensemble is dedicated to the research and performance of Georgian folk songs and liturgical chant, a project that is aided by the study of rare archival and field recordings from the beginning of the 20th century. |
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