How do you welcome the souls of your ancestors? Why are wolves sacred? Can you sing and dance through grief? An audio journey to the highest mountains of Georgia - Svaneti. We meet Ana, Madona and Eka Chamgeliani, three sisters keeping the ancient traditions of their village, Lakhushdi, alive. We hear:- How their mother and grandmother passed on local traditions, protecting them from dying out. -How a round dance, found in the capital, was taught to Maspindzeli (London based Georgian choir) and revived in its home village. - How Madona took on the entire orthodox patriarchy and won the right t ..read more

“Nino was like a fish in water amongst all the musical genres of Georgian folk, but especially so amongst the lullabies.” Voices of the Ancestors podcast tribute to Nino Kalandadze-Makaradze, a respected ethnomusicologist, editor and singer with ensemble Mzetamze. In the episode you will: Meet Nino through interviews with fellow Mzetamze singer - Nana Valishvili, former student - Lola Surmanidze and the musicologist/cultural anthropologist Ekaterine Diasamidze Graham. Listen to Nino Naneishvili with ensemble Ialoni improvising an ‘Iavnana’ musical response to the loss of Nino. Hear a Rachian d ..read more

Can you tell your changis from your chuniris from your chonguris? You’ll often see one of them in the hands of Trio Mandili. Don’t worry, our guest Nino Razmadze talks us through all the folk instruments of Georgia in this informative episode. Combine listening, with looking at the transcript, and you will become familiar with both the sound and looks of Georgian folk instruments. Even if you’re familiar with the sound of a chonguri, you won’t have heard the field recording Nino made of the great player Polikarpe Khubulava. Nino is an ethnomusicologist and deputy director of the International ..read more

Voices of Our Grandmothers with guest Tamar Buadze and interpreter Zoé Perret. Kicking off series 2, innovative choir conductor Tamar Buadze tells the surprising tale of how she came to work with Laz songs, while living in Rustavi (far, far away from Laz regions in Georgia and Turkey). One of her former students tells us what it was like to grow up in a folk choir, and tells us (one version of) the story behind the Abkhazian song Varado. But best of all Tamar shares with us the tone-bending voice of her Megrelian grandmother. Tamar graduated from Tbilisi State Conservatory and is the head of R ..read more

Voices of Our Grandmothers with guest Tamar Buadze and interpreter Zoé Perret. Kicking off series 2, innovative choir conductor Tamar Buadze tells the surprising tale of how she came to work with Laz songs, while living in Rustavi (far, far away from Laz regions in Georgia and Turkey). One of her former students tells us what it was like to grow up in a folk choir, and tells us (one version of) the story behind the Abkhazian song Varado. But best of all Tamar shares with us the tone-bending voice of her Megrelian grandmother. Tamar graduated from Tbilisi State Conservatory and is the head of R ..read more

In this episode, our friend Jen Morris takes over the role of interviewer. She speaks with Briget Boyle, vocal coach and singer with Balkan Women's ensemble @kitka, bringing the west coast USA perspective to ‘Voices of the Ancestors’. They chat about:- working with powerful female teachers like Tamar Buadze, in Georgia and Svetlana Spajić in Serbia. How to sing ‘folk music’ from a grounded, rooted place in your own landscape. Briget’s insight into what ‘Voices of the Ancestors’ means for her, describing three types of ancestors - genetic, spiritual and ‘humanity’. Briget shares experiences wit ..read more

In the final episode of series 1, Susan and Holly take you on a whistle-stop tour of their recent encounters. First we meet Tamar Buadze in Rustavi where she's started an open-air community singing initiative. After Rustavi, join your hosts in Shilda where they unearth the start of a fascinating story linking the women’s ensemble Nelkarisi with Magda Kevlishvili from Mtiebi and Sagalobeli a pleading/begging song. And finally take a mini visit to the Folk School in Telavi, sharing a spine-tingling rendition of Tsintskaro with ensemble Mze Shina. Help Susan and Holly shape the future of the podc ..read more

Meet 17 year old Khatia, who lives 700 metres above sea level in the singing village of Merisi in Ajara, West Georgia. Despite being 2 hours from the nearest city, Khatia is not cut off - She has friends all over the world who have come to learn songs from her family - from Melbourne Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Austria, Ireland, UK and beyond. Hear how she was finally convinced to join in her family’s songs around the supra table. Enjoy the sounds of Merisi, like the babbling waterfalling and the singing birds recorded live on our trip there in April. To watch Ialoni's concert for Oxfo ..read more

Georgian musician and ethnomusicologist Nana Mzhavanadze was born into a musical family. She says her future was predicted by her grandmother:- “when I was bought from the maternity house, my grandmother met me at the door, that was the first thing that she did, she put me on the piano and she said she is going to be a musician.” This episode is a significant event for their family, as it brought Nana, her uncle Rebuli and his daughter Marekhi together to sing for the first time in over 10 years. Whether you’ve heard Nana before, with Sathanao or Sisa Tura, or this is your first time, you're s ..read more

An audio journey through the mountains of high Adjara, following ensemble Ialoni as they film for the American Library of Congress. The Ialoni Homegrown Concert is available for free on The American Folklife Center youtube channel. Youtube link: https://youtu.be/CU7KO28QDDk Holly and Susan chat about the trip from Tbilisi to Shuakhevi and beyond. After walking through snow, Susan meets with elders from a creative family - P’at’i Tapaladze (featured in Ialoni’s concert) her daughter Eteri. With the aid of an interpreter, we hear the voices of P’at’i and Eteri as they speak about the ancestors ..read more