Polyphonic Lullabies of Kakheti.

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Material type: Film

FilmPublisher number: 11438085 | KanopyPublisher: Documentary Educational Resources, 2019Publisher: [San Francisco, California, USA] : Kanopy Streaming, 2020Description: 1 online resource (streaming video file) (58 minutes): digital, .flv file, soundContent type:

two-dimensional moving image

Media type:

computer

Carrier type:

online resource

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Documentary films.

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Summary: While lullabies – with their intimate relationship between a mother and her child – are a universal musical genre, the polyphonic singing of lullabies by choirs is very rare. In Georgia (South Caucasus), men’s choirs have been singing lullabies on stage since at least the end of the 19th century, as the movement of national liberation from the Russian empire favored the affirmation of the Georgian cultural uniqueness. Polyphonic cradlesongs performed by men’s, women’s or mixed choirs in the different regional styles have become a new musical genre added to the repertoire of traditional national folklore. Individual as well as choral lullabies are called Nana. The practice of related polyphonic Nana songs, also called Iav-Nana (name derived from the refrain “Violet-Nana”), is much older and rooted in pre-Christian beliefs. Some of these songs were performed at family rituals when a child had an infectious disease such as measles, which were believed to be brought by celestial spirits. Women performed other ritual Nana songs at sacred places such as a particular village church, or “pagan” mountain sanctuaries, to request from deities health and prosperity for their folk. This film shows for the first time these different kinds of Nana songs in their traditional context and at rehearsals of local choirs of the Kakheti province.

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Originally produced by Documentary Educational Resources in 2019.

While lullabies – with their intimate relationship between a mother and her child – are a universal musical genre, the polyphonic singing of lullabies by choirs is very rare. In Georgia (South Caucasus), men’s choirs have been singing lullabies on stage since at least the end of the 19th century, as the movement of national liberation from the Russian empire favored the affirmation of the Georgian cultural uniqueness. Polyphonic cradlesongs performed by men’s, women’s or mixed choirs in the different regional styles have become a new musical genre added to the repertoire of traditional national folklore. Individual as well as choral lullabies are called Nana. The practice of related polyphonic Nana songs, also called Iav-Nana (name derived from the refrain “Violet-Nana”), is much older and rooted in pre-Christian beliefs. Some of these songs were performed at family rituals when a child had an infectious disease such as measles, which were believed to be brought by celestial spirits. Women performed other ritual Nana songs at sacred places such as a particular village church, or “pagan” mountain sanctuaries, to request from deities health and prosperity for their folk. This film shows for the first time these different kinds of Nana songs in their traditional context and at rehearsals of local choirs of the Kakheti province.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

In English,Georgian