Renowned French ethnomusicologist Yvette Grimaud was first Western scholar who came to Georgia to record Georgian folk songs after a long correspondence with Prof.  Grigol Chkhikvadze. Together with Chkhikvadze she visited almost all parts of Georgia and recorded about 400 examples. In 2008 ethnomusicologist Nino Razmadze and a French lady Zoe Peret, living and working in Tbilisi, contacted Prof. Grimaud.  Following the negotiations Prof. Grimaud expressed her consent to deliver all the audio material recorded in Georgia in 1967 supplied with verbal texts and her scientific research in French, for publication.

Basing on this material the joint project of the “Georgian Chanting” Foundation and International Research Centre for Traditional polyphony of Tbilisi State Conservatoire “Yvette Grimaud and Georgia” is underway and will have been finished by late 2018.

The project consist of two parts; first – scientific part will be presented as a book of with the same title, which will comprise Grimaud’s works and texts of radio programs dedicated to Georgian traditional music as well as comments and lyrics of songs on the enclosed CDs, opinions of Oatr Taktakishvili (then-minister of Culture of Georgia), professors Shalva Aslanishvili and Grigol Chkhikvadze about Yvette Grimaud’s expedition in Georgia.

The book also includes Prof. Rusudan Tsurtusmia’s assay “Yvette Grimaud’s World”, reminiscences of Prof. Anzor Erkomaishvili, an expedition participant Tamila Tabagari and the son of Giorgi Salukvadze – one of Prof. Grimaud’s hosts about her visit in Georgia.

Second part of the Project is presented with four audio disks of the songs recorded in different parts of Georgia.