Different aspects of chants by contemporary Georgian composers as revealed through variations in performance

Authors

• Eka Chabashvili

Abstract

Chants represent strictly religious art. Church songs are holy treasures of the Georgian people. The interest of composers in church music increased greatly in the 20th-21st centuries. Many composers not only use religious themes for their works, but compose chants. Various composers, however, contradict the canons regarding chanting, as described by the hymnographers. Often, contemporary composers focus on a free style, sometimes European musical systems influence particular passages of their work, or entire compositions, and sometimes their church music is quite close to the style of mediaeval Georgian chants; some contemporary Georgian composers try to maintain the sound of traditional Georgian chants. Several years ago, a collection of papers about Byzantine Studies in Georgia was published; the publication included several chants by contemporary composers. The contemporary Georgian Church does not acknowledge new chants composed by composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, and therefore, this publication is important for research. For my paper I chose chants by the Catholicos-Patriarch of all Georgia Illa II, Nodar Mamisashvili, Maka Virsaladze and Eka Chabashvili. They are analysed against the background of contemporary music composition techniques and thought.