This paper is a companion paper to . Jointly, the papers describe the results of an interdisciplinary study on three-voiced Svan funeral dirges, known as zär in Svan and zari in Georgian. In the present paper, to which we refer as paper 2, we focus on the (structural) musicological aspects of zär. Bluntly speaking, we want to obtain a basic understanding of 'how zärs work'. Based on the results of the acoustical analysis of a new collection of field recordings from eleven different performances described in paper 1, where we developed a phenomenological description of the general building blocks, here we try to derive a simple model for the syntaxes of zär. The complexity of the musical structure of the zär shows a very clear connection to the history of the Svans' settlement along the Enguri River, which is obviously systematically reflected in the Svans' music. Finally, we see the most interesting aspects of our entire study in the implications it has for the discourse on the historical dynamics of Georgian polyphony. Thus, the results of our study challenge the generally accepted view of the development of Georgian traditional music from monophony to polyphony.
This paper is a companion paper to . Jointly, the two papers describe the results of an interdisciplinary study of three-voiced Svan funeral dirges, known as zär in Svan and zari in Georgian. In the present paper, to which we refer as paper 1, we analyze the musical acoustical properties of a new set of field recordings collected during an ethnomusicological field expedition to Georgia in 2016. The aim of the study is to investigate the tonal organization of eleven different performances of six different variants of zär, performed by singers from different villages. For some of the performances, we observe a strong gradual pitch rise of up to 100 cents per minute. The intra-variant differences in the performances of different groups of singers were observed to be remarkably different, including the use of significantly different harmonic tuning systems. In contrast, two subsequent performances of the Mest'ia variant of zär by a group of singers recorded in Zargǟsh were essentially identical. This demonstrates the widespread absence of improvisational elements in these two performances. One of the most interesting results of our analysis is the observation that the musical structure of zär, expressed, for example, in its ambitus, the complexity of its melodic progression, and its harmonic chord inventory, change systematically along the course of the Enguri valley.
This article is a companion paper to Scherbaum and Mzhavanadze (2020), Mzhavanadze and Scherbaum (2020) and Scherbaum and Mzhavanadze (2021). Together they describe the results of an interdisciplinary study of the three-part funeral dirge of Svan zär ('zari' in Georgian). In the present paper, we provide all the contextual (ethnographic, ethnological, historical) data that we collected from various written and/or oral sources and then processed and organized in a comprehensible way to help the reader better understand this unique phenomenon. We believe that in order to help answer the basic question of 'how zärs work,' the results of the acoustical, musicological, and phonetic (as well as language-music interface) analyses in the other three articles must be interpreted through an understanding of the full context of this unique cultural behavior. Thus, not only did we collect and integrate all the related data and review the literature, but we also raise and discuss some problematic issues, such as, for example, the etymology of the term zär. We also offer an interpretation/description of some conflicting historical data to generate interest for its further research. In addition, we introduce the reader to some details of our field research (2015, 2016), as they may be of great importance when discussing or interpreting the results of the analyses presented in other (analytical) parts of this interdisciplinary study. KEYWORDS Traditional Georgian vocal music Multipart dirgeFunerary ritual eternal home. Although all versions of zär are believed to be different, to our untutored ears, they sound remarkably similar. Now, in the early afternoon, as the body is slowly escorted to its final resting place in the cemetery, the assembled procession sings "Ts'mindao Ghmerto," the Trisagion hymn, in Georgian. Upon arrival at the final resting place at the grave site, zär is chanted for one last rendition before the body is finally laid to rest.
In this paper we illustrate the nature and significance of asemantic texts (vocables) within Svan songs. An interdisciplinary approach helped us interpret asemantic texts of so-called “wordless” songs and observe consistent verbal-musical formulae within a genre. Our study of the verbal texture of the Svan singing repertoire has revealed different distinct types and varieties of vocables. We identify both dialectic and interdialectic groups of vocables and outline the correlations between ethnological context and vocable groups. We further identify the peculiarities of some vocabelic groups and describe the rules, regulations and systems which govern their use in Svan songs.
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