Georgian Polyphonic Singing

Georgian Polyphonic Singing

Georgian polyphonic singing is one of the forms of folk singing that occupies a prominent place in Georgian culture, and it has three types that differ in different regions. Complex polyphony is common in Svaneti; Polyphonic dialogue over a bass background is prevalent in the Kakheti region of eastern Georgia; Contrasting polyphony with partly improvised sung parts is characteristic of western Georgia.
Many of these songs date back to the 8th century AD, the most famous of which is the Chakrulo song, which is sung in ceremonies and festivals, and there are also Christmas carols and Byzantine liturgical hymns. Today, traditional Georgian music suffers from many threats due to the increasing migration from the countryside to the city and the growing success of pop music, and today it is preserved in recordings that are not safe enough to guarantee its long-term preservation.

Georgian Polyphonic Singing was inscribed in 2008 on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in Georgia.
by Vladimer Shioshvili (cropped), CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
by Bertramz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Georgian Polyphonic Singing

Date of Inscription

2008