GEORGIA: MUSIC AND DANCE

Musically speaking, Georgia is divided into two regions: east and west. However, both regions share many of the same styles and are known for their vocal polyphony. 

Panduri

Polyphony is when each line of music has its own individual line, as opposed to harmony lines. No matter the region, a cappella singing is generally the form of a lot of vocal music, especially music before the 20^th century. Typically, this vocal style consists of two to four voices sung in a polyphonic fashion, but it’s also based on an ostinato bass and rhythmic drones. You’ll also find the use of the drones a common practice throughout much of the Balkans. In Western Georgia, they have their own type of yodel called krimanchuli that utilizes many of these contrapuntal and polyphonic features.

Another key feature is the use of dissonant interval notes. These include 2nds, 4ths, 7ths, and 9ths. They often make use of suspended chords, which gives a dissonance between the 4^th and the 5^th notes of the chord.  I remember reading about Albanian and Bulgarian music that these dissonant chords were often used in shepherds’ songs as a way of communicating to other shepherds in neighboring fields. The dissonant notes carried farther.

Tuning was originally based on perfect fourths and perfect fifths. This goes back to Medieval music traditions. If you listen to Gregorian (or other) chants, you’ll hear the how the music is based on this. However, traditional Georgian music is tuned slightly differently than the twelve evenly-spaced half notes that comprise an octave used in most of the rest of Europe.

Georgians view music as a social or community event. Whenever there is any call for a celebration –a birth, a wedding, a birthday– people gather to sing. Many times, small groups of singers are more popular, especially trios. Dancing is also tied in with social events. They have several types of dances performed in a number of situations: Kartuli (a romantic dance danced by a couple, slow and dignified movements), Khorumi (a men-only dance performed by as many as 30-40 men as a pre-war dance), Partsa (fast-paced, rhythmic, characterized by dancer’s ability for quick movements, incites a party atmosphere), Khanjluri (men dress in traditional red chokhas, the dance is performed with daggers and knives), Jeirani (a type of hunting dance), Davluri (a type of city dance), and Mkhedruli (a type of cavalryman’s dance).

Their music isn’t all vocal music however. They do play instruments as well.  Some of the most commonly played instruments in Georgian music are the larchemi (a Georgian panpipe), stviri (flute), changi (harp), gudastviri (bagpipe), chonguri (four-stringed, unfretted, long-neck lute), panduri (three-stringed, fretted, long-neck lute), and several different types of percussion instruments, such as the doli, daira, and diplipito.

One of the most well-known bands from Georgia is called The Shin, which means “home” or “going home” in Georgia. (Not to be confused with The Shins, an American indie rock band.) They represented their country in this year’s (2014) Eurovision Song Contest; however, they got last place and didn’t advance.  But I like their style. It’s a mix of jazz and blues with minimal vocals.  They have some interesting chord changes, something that stems from traditional Georgian music, yet it all seems to mesh quite nicely.

Another band that seems to find inspiration in some of their styles is called 33a. Minimal to a degree, at times it reminds me of Phil Collins or Sting. He also incorporates jazz elements into him music, and with his bass voice, it adds a unique quality to the music. He's actually pretty versatile. 

And of course, Georgians are not exempt from girl pop music. The band Candy fulfills it to every extend needed. Singing in a mix of Georgian and English, they remind me of Japanese pop music groups. A few moderately catchy tunes sung by cute girls is probably enough to draw the attention of teenagers across the country. It’s as my dad used to call pop music: bubblegum music.

Sofia Nizharadze sings entirely in English on the album I listened to called We Are All. When I listened to this album, I felt that it would fit right in nicely with early-to-mid-1990s albums, even though it was produced this year. She actually represented Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest back in 2010, which brought attention not only to Georgian musicians, but pushed her own music career as well. In fact, she was a judge on the “Georgia’s Got Talent” TV show. Needless to say, she’s pretty popular.

I also listened to Lela Tsurtsumia’s album Yamo Helessa. She’s been performing since the late 1990s. I found her music unique because it’s a fusion of pop and folk. It’s a pretty good example of listening for the drone I talked about earlier. I actually really like this album.  I found the combination of strings and harp with the hollow vocal harmonies of the perfect fourths and fifth mystifying yet relaxing. In other songs, the traditional rhythms and moving flute lines reminded me of Renaissance dance music. It definitely made me feel as if I were part of something very ancient.

Up next: the food

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: MUSIC AND DANCE

Tucked away far from the cities in the Central African Republic lies some of the greatest ethnomusical finds of the century. Well, maybe last century.  There are two notable styles of folk music in this area: that of the Banda people and that of the Pygmy people.

The Banda music has been described as “jazzy,” utilizing trumpets and other instruments.  The ongo is an instrument made of wood or the horn of antelopes, and a lot of times, it was used in various ceremonies. The thing about the Banda’s music is that because of it’s jazzy sound, it became somewhat popular outside of this area and outside of Africa. 

The Pygmies have a style of music that uses polyphony and counterpoint.  It’s almost always divided into four parts, with one of the parts functioning as an ostinato bass, except it utilizes variations and may even be closer to a passacaglia. It’s just really hard to believe that in the past (and still today), many people, especially the Europeans who colonized these areas called the native tribes primitive and savages, and that they have no capacity for understanding higher, more complex thinking. It’s absurd. How can Bach be a genius because he utilized polyphony and counterpoint, but Pygmies in central Africa are incapable of such depth even though they utilize it as well? Africans were thriving at commerce and arts when Europeans were still throwing their excrement in the streets. I’m really hoping that there will be a point when we realize that and stop all of this nonsense that certain peoples are innately dumb. All peoples have positives and negatives. Anyway… The Pygmies also use the style known as liquindi, or water drumming. It’s mostly performed by women and girls who stand in the water and cups their hand to hit the surface of the water, making a percussive sound. Some of the other instruments that are primarily used by the Pygmies are bow harp (ieta), ngombi (harp zither), and a limbindo (a string bow). This is an excellent video that goes into much more detail about their music and accompanying dance of their tribe. 

The Ngbaka people use a type of instrument called the mbela, which is made from an arched piece of wood (usually a branch) with a string strung between the two ends, like a bow and arrow.  The performer will put their mouth on the end to use as a resonator. It’s one of the several ancestors to modern string instruments, and there are several variations of this instrument throughout the world.

The sanza, also called mbira or kalimba, is also a popular instrument throughout central and southern Africa.  I was in college taking a required world music course as part of the music major curriculum when I first heard of the mbira. I fell in love with it and with its sound – it was mesmerizing. Last year, I finally ordered one via the Internet. I play it, making up my own songs as a stress release.  The basic construction is a block of wood with metal keys made of steel fixed on it and a hole to help hold it. The bottom of each mbira has a metal bar with rattles on it, made of either metal beads (like the one I have) or bottle caps, or some other kind of metal tab. It goes by many names, and I even found a YouTube video of a five-octave mbira, which is now the object of my fancy. There are different kinds of tuning based on several different reasons and construction, but it’s not based on the octave system as in traditional European instruments – it’s closer to the modes of the Medieval period. And a lot of tuning an mbira has to do with overtones as well.  I came across this video when I first bought my mbira; I really like this song and wished that I could find it to download. 

As far as popular music goes, Western and European rock music, jazz, and other pan-African genres, especially from countries that border it, like Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, are commonly listened to in the Central African Republic. Makossa music, soukous, and Afrobeat are some of the more popular styles among the people.

Dance is seen by the community as a means of bonding and bringing the people in the community together. Dance can be done both in public and in private. The types of dances, the location, and times when people dance all depend and determine a person’s role in the community and station in their life. Likewise, some dances are for ceremonial purposes, and some are designated for entertainment. 

Up next: the food!