Safeguarding and Promotion of Georgian Traditional Polyphony

Project budget:
- US$ 166,178
Source:
- Japan Funds-in-Trust
Dates of implementation:
- 01/07/2003 - 01/02/2006

Benefitting country(ies): Georgia

Overview:

Polyphonic singing is a popular tradition that used to pervade all areas of everyday life in Georgia, ranging from field work to songs for curing illnesses and Christmas carols. There are three types of polyphony in Georgia, each performed in a different region.

The project enabled not only the promotion of research and documentation on traditional polyphony, but also its transmission to younger generations. The Research Centre on Traditional Polyphony (RCTP) produced a number of publications, organized training courses for collectors, teachers and students of polyphony and created an audio-visual inventory of traditional Georgian polyphony. An international symposium under the patronage of the president of the Republic was held to raise awareness of Georgian traditional polyphony both inside and outside the country. It also helped to develop exchange and cooperation with various international organizations, institutes, associations and universities studying folk music.

To date, seven Youth Folk Song Centres have been established in different Georgian provinces. At each of these centres, an elderly master ensures the transmission of the local polyphonic tradition to about ten young people for each Centre.