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The two volume collection “Anzor Erkomaishvili and Contemporary Trends in the Study of Traditional and Sacred Georgian Musicprovides a comprehensive review of the current state of, and new developments in, Georgian ethnomusicology, from raising the tourist industry for lovers of Georgian traditional music to the peculiarities of teaching Georgian traditional music to countless choirs around the world. It presents a tribute to Anzor Erkomaishvili, a pivotal figure in Georgian traditional music, the author of many widely known masterpieces of Georgian traditional and church-song repertoires. The steadily increasing popularity of Georgian traditional music, both among professional ethnomusicologists and lovers of choral singing, provides an urgent need for this volume.

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This bilingual collection was created by the UNESCO Participation Program within the framework of a project implemented by the International Research Center for Traditional Polyphony at the Tbilisi State Conservatoire.
The idea belongs to Teona Lomsadze, who studies the topic of traditional music revival in modern Georgian society. According to her, the intention of this project is to consider singing practices recognized by UNESCO across Europe, and use them as examples to show what role they played in the modern processes of women’s liberation. Practices wherein the repertoire of women occupies an important place – Bulgarian, Estonian, Lithuanian, Portuguese and Georgian – were selected. The collection includes articles by 13 women authors.

The collection was published within the framework of the UNESCO “Participation Programme”
(2020-2021). The project is co-financed by V. Sarajishvili Tbilisi State Conservatoire.

Project Manager and Compiler: Teona Lomsadze
Project Coordinator: Nino Razmadze
Editor: Rusudan Tsurtsumia
Working on proofreading English texts: Lauren Ninoshvili, Brian Fairley

Translated by Marina Decristoforo, Marika Nadareishvili, Baia Zhuzhunadze, Nana
Mzhavanadze
Designer: Sandro Chkhaidze
Sound Engineer: George Jolbordi

The publication was non-profit and it is available in electronic form.

Appendix and Audio material is available here.



The publication continues the “Teach Yourself Georgian Folk Songs” publication series by the
Georgian Chant Foundation and this time it features the study of Acharan folk songs. This is a score
collection for study purposes accompanied with audio CDs. The publication is intended for professional
as well as amateur musicians. These songs are performed by the Moqvare and Elesa ensembles from
the Keda municipality.

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In 2018 with the financial support of the Georgian Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport  International Research Centre for Traditional Polyphony of Tbilisi State Conservatoire published the book “Kist Traditional Music” (in Georgia, Kist and English)

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In 2018 with the financial support of the Georgian Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, and “Georgian Chanting Foundation” International Research Centre for Traditional Polyphony of Tbilisi State Conservatoire published the book “Georgian Polyphony in Western Turkey: In the footsteps of Peter Gold” (in Georgia, Turkish, English and German); the book was published by WPN Polish Publishers specially for Frankfurt Book Fair.

Tbilisi State Conservatoire (TSC), which is a centre for researching traditional polyphony in Georgia, has been studying for several years already musical culture of the Georgians living in Turkey, particularly musical traditions of the village Hayriye, Inegol district.

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In 2018 with the financial support of the Georgian Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, and “Georgian Chanting Foundation” International Research Centre for Traditional Polyphony of Tbilisi State Conservatoire published the book “Grimaud and Georgian Song” (in Georgia and English); the book was published by WPN Polish Publishers specially for Frankfurt Book Fair.

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In 2014 the International Research Centre for Traditional Polyphony of Tbilisi state Conservatoire and Berlin Phonogramm-archiv realized joint project “Echoes from the Patst: Georgian Prisoners’ Songs Recorded on Wax Cylinders in Germany 1916-1918”. Involved in the project were the employees of both institutions: Nino Nakashidze, Nino ,akharadze, Maia Kachkachishvili, Carsten Neubert,Albrecht Wiedmann, Emily Schalk; editors of the publication Prof. Rusudan Tsurtaumia and Prof. Susanne Ziegler.

The publication consists of a book and two CDs. The book tells about the historical preconditions of recording sessions, history, importance of the project for Georgian culture and work process. As for the audio material, CD 1 comprises 65 out of the 90 audio examples preserved at the Ethnological Museum, national Museums in Berlin – Prussian Heritage, CD 2 comprises original written documents on the 84 examples the description of which existed at the sound archive of Humboldt University.



The International Research Center for Traditional Polyphony of Tbilisi State Conservatoire published an English language collection of ethnomusicological works “Echoes from Georgia: Seventeen Arguments on Georgian Polyphony” in 2010. the project was realized with the support of Nova Science Publishers (USA), with the participation of Mr. Frank Columbus (President of the Publishing House) and Mrs. Nadya Gotsiridze – Columbus (Vice President), for this Georgian ethnomusicologists are grateful to them.

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In 2006-2008 the International Research Centre for Traditional polyphony realized the project “Echoes from the Past – Transmission of wax cylinder collections on digital media” with financial support of Georgian Ministry of Culture, Monument Protection and Sport, and support of Vienna phonogrammarchiv; as part of the project Mr. Franz Lechleitner of Vienna Phonogrammarchiv visited Georgia twice and with his device transmitted the Georgian folk songs from wax cylinders to digital media. This was followed by the publication of the catalogue and 16 audio CDs in three stages. The recordings underwent minimal processing in order to maintain initial sounding at most, which increases scientific value of the publication and grants it original meaning.

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This publication of the IRCTP is the first manual of Georgian folk music in the 100-year history of Georgian ethnomusicology and 80-year history of Tbilisi State Conservatoire; this text-book publishes as part of the UNESCO program (2005), is primarily intended for the Conservatoire students of Performance Departments and all interested in Georgian folk song; it covers all basic issues of Georgian folk music, discusses all Georgian folk music dialects. Theoretical topics are enclosed with 60 recently-deciphered songs presented on two CDs. The authors of the text-book are Tamaz Gabisonia and Tamar Meskhi with Rusudan Tsurtsumia as a responsible editor.