A story told by Anzor Erkomaishvili

We believe you are familiar with this feature from our previous issue. Drawing on the opinion of the MAGTI GSM customers,  we have attempted to find out who the most popular actor, writer, artist, or businessman is…
This time the Magtians have named anzor Erkomaishvili among their favourate Georgian celebrities

Arthem’s Grandson

One day Vasil Makharadze, a well-known choirmaster, introduced me to an old man: Batono Theophile, he said, this young boy is the grandson of Arthem Erkomaishvili. Theophile leaned on his stick, looked at me searchingly and asked: "Are you Arthem’s grandson, my lad?" I couldn’t even respond to the question before Theophile started his "Krimanchuli" (Grace) that surrounded us like the loop of a rope ready to hang a wine basket. Vaso Makharadze helped him with the first part. I realised that Theophile had started singing "Alipasha" and joined in with the bass. Theophile Lomtatitdze was more than 80 at the time but his voice did not crack once. His "Krimanchuli" created such a whirlwind around us I begged God not to let me lose the tone. After we had finished the song Theophile kissed me and said - Now I see that you really are Arthem’s grandson.

I remember my first concert performance… I couldn’t distinguish the tangled voices of my father and grandfather so I lost the tone and stopped: standing on a chair as a four-year child I said to my grandfather "Grandpa, I made a mistake". This caused cordial laughter and an ovation in the audience.

"It was us not you who made the mistake", soothed my grandpa. "Now, let’s start again and we won’t make any more mistakes", he said kindly, and made me start the song from the very beginning. We didn’t make any more mistakes. My memory of my grandpa begins with that very moment. He has accompanied me ever since, as an ancestor, educator, friend, and teacher…

 Ancestors

Our family is over three hundred years old. In general, the families have played the most important role in keeping the tradition of Georgian song alive, not only in the region of Guria but throughout Georgia. They always tried to marry a singer to someone from another family of singers and this tradition continues.

Our family originates from the village of Askana. Our ancestors moved from there to the village of Aketi when a man named Asatiani gave Ivane Erkomaishvili, his serf, to Soprom Mgeladze, his son-in-law. Nine-year-old Ivane had sung "Krimanchuli" so beautifully at the wedding party that all the guests were delighted and the son-in-law insisted that little Ivane be given to him as part of the bride’s dowry. Ivane married a woman from the village and they had three children. The youngest son’s name was Gigo.

Gigo settled in the village of Makvaneti. He got married and had ten children. Everyone in the family sang but three of them were exceptional singers – Arthem, Anania and Lado Erkomaishvili.

Gigo inherited the talent from his father who was an exceptional singer and, he later made friends with the famous "Gamkivani" singers – Giorgi Babilodze and Giorgi Iobishvili. They created a musical trio of young performers which soon became popular throughout Guria. They were later joined by the eminent singers, Ivliane Kechakmadze, Ermile Molarishvili, Naniko Burdzgla. Gigo’s children grew up and he brought his eldest son, my grandfather Arthem Erkomaishvili, and his son-in-law Luka Toidze, into the chorus. In 1907 this group recorded 49 Gurian songs on the first gramophone record in Tbilisi.

The First Gramophone Records

In 1902 a recording studio, run by the joint-stock company "Gramophone", opened in Tbilisi. It recorded popular artists, singers and choruses around at that time. Some catalogues of the music recorded were also published.

Masiko Salukvadze brought Gigo Erkomaishvili’s chorus to Tbilisi. He was from the village of Likhauri, a lover and expert of Gurian songs, who ran sewing workshops in Tbilisi. He said to Gigo: "I will take you to Tbilisi at my own expense as there are some Englishmen in Tbilisi who will record you and let you listen to the song you are singing right now".

Indeed, Masiko Salukvadze took care of Gigo Erkomaishvili’s chorus for a whole month in Tbilisi. He put them in a hotel, helped them with their concerts, arranged their meeting with Akaki Tsereteli and rewarded all of them in some way; as for Gigo, he gave him a gramophone.

In the recording studio the singers were asked to listen to the music and say who performed this or that part. Ivliane Kechakhmadze was the master at doing that. The others could also get it right sometimes but the majority of songs were only recognised by the clever Ivliane Kechakhmadze.  He would say  "Gigo Erkomaishvili, sing your hymn", and when he had finished, Kechakhamadze would say  "Bravo Gigo, bravo". They appreciated each other’s efforts and helped each other with their singing.

Apart from the Gurian songs, Gigo’s chorus also recorded the Adjarian song "Voisa Rera". This song had been lost and nobody remembered it even in Adjara. Dzuku Loluas’s version of "Kutchkhi Bednieri" also survived through Gigo’s chorus. It is a unique, extremely beautiful version. Gigo Erkomaishvili and Dzuku Lolua, a well-known Mengrelian choirmaster, were on friendly terms. They often met in the city of Poti and taught each other Gurian and Mengrelian songs.
These gramophone records preserved some rare and unique songs.

The Song "Stolen" from the Wedding Party

In Guria hosts and guests at wedding parties used to compete against each other in singing competitions. The feast had its own rules. As a rule the hymn "Sagvto Madlma Shegvkriba Chven" ("We are gathered thanks to the mercy of God") was sung first, then came "Maspindzelsa Mkhiarulsa" ("To a Merry Host"). The toast proposed by the toastmaster was followed by a special feast-song "Tamadebs Gaumarjos" ("Glory to Toastmasters"). The first toast made by the toastmaster was dedicated to peace and "Chven Mshvidoba" ("To Our Peace") was performed. This toasting and singing continued throughout the feast. The toastmaster regulated "the rivals". The rule was as follows: after you have sung a song, the other group should sing its own version of the same song. The songs were therefore performed by two different groups and the best group won. The other guests were the judges. This type of competition facilitated the development of songs. People used to learn new versions of songs and sing them in their own way later. Each great singer "put his own mark" on this or that song or part. The songs are preserved under the name of the singer. For instance, Varlam Simonishvili’s bass for "Khasanbegura", or the version by Samuel Chavleishvili, Arthem Erkomaishvili or Khukhunaishvili. A good singer from Guria would never sing the same version of a song twice. If you made him sing a song a hundred times he would do it differently every time.

One day Gigo Erkomaishvili found out that a new song had been performed in the region of Ajara. Gigo Erkomaishvili, Giorgi Babilodze and Giorgi Iobishvili came to the village of Kakuti which bordered Guria, where came upon a best man by accident. They found themselves at a wedding party uninvited. Going by the rules, the singing competition should have been between the guests from Khutsubani - where the bride came from - and Kakuti. The representatives of Kakuti did not manage to sing a new song until dawn and the best man could not repeat it. Consequently, the song was sung a second time. Gigo and his friends decided to remember their own parts. When the song was repeated for the third time they already knew it by heart. That same evening they sang the new song at their neighbour’s wedding party and they "won".

The song was "Alipasha".

2000 Hymns from Guria

The Gurian and Imeretian chanting dialects spread throughout western Georgia. My grandfather learned them from Melkisedek Nakashidze, a very famous chanter who had learned hymns from Anton Dumbadze. The dialect is from the 19th century and is known as the Dumbadze dialect because it was "beautified" (the term is applied to hymns), by him i.e. he made hymns much more enchanting. Anton Dumbadze and his son David were priests. Philimon Koridze, a famous opera singer, recorded more than 1600 of Anton Dumbadze’s hymns (who was already very old), after returning from Italy.

In 1860 a Hymn Committee was established in Tbilisi. Chanters and singers were brought from the Guria region, among them Nestor Kontridze – a famous bass - Ivane Khavtasi and Melkisedek Nakashidze, my grandfather’s teacher. Not all Gurian singers could chant. It was a special art. Melkisedek Nakashidze was recognised as an expert at chanting and a salary amounting to 20 rubles was given to him so he could continue teaching chanting. Salaries of 10 rubles were given to Ivane Khavtasi and Nestor Kontridze.

My grandfather told us that they used peculiar music, the so-called "Nemvebi", that made teaching and remembering hymns easier. Sometimes they managed to learn 10 hymns in a day using this method. Some time later, during the Soviet period, my grandfather and the other chanters had to hide the fact they knew hymns because it was dangerous and they could get shot for it. My grandfather was a true believer in hymns and had around 2000 in his head. It was not so easy to "throw them out".

When the students of the Conservatoire established the "Gordela" Company we performed the first hymn recital to be heard for a long time. My grandfather’s joy was immeasurable.

The "Mincing" krin (the highest-timbre part) or "Krimanchuli"

Of course it is not like a "Krin" (i.e. the the highest timbre of voice) in classical music. It is a more twisted and interlacing krin – the mincing krin, or "Krimanchuli". The name probably originates from the words above. The Krimanchuli is basically based on staccatos and the fifth and seventh notes. Mostly guttural sounds, such as: -iria, -urua, are used when singing this type of song; there are interjections in the singing which require special timbre of voice.

Krimanchuli and Gamkivani are very high, ornamental parts of song which color and beautify other parts. However, the two are quite different from each other. Giorgi Babilodze was a famous Gamkivani. Gamkivani sounds like a very high, crowing yodel. It is not a leading part but it has infinite capacities for improvisation. In general, improvisation is one of the characteristic features of Gurian songs. An expert singer should, of course, know all the parts and at the same time be able to hear other people’s voices as well. If he cannot hear all the parts and does not know them properly then he will not be able to improvise. At the moment of improvisation he does not even think about his own part, but listens to the others and tries to complement them.

Some people think that the highest part is the first one. However, this is not quite the case, as  in Gurian songs the middle part, the so-called "Mtskebi" ("Beginner"), is the first one. The first part is determined not according to how high it is, but by its function. The "Gamtsevi" ("Leader") represents the main part (i.e. it is the first leading part), but it is the least flexible. The first part provides the base for the entire song. It is the pillar on which the "Gamkivani" and bass build their parts of the song. When a Krimanchuli consists of middle and bass parts only, the middle one usually begins.

In four-part songs, i.e. Gurian and Ajarian "Naduri" ("Helpers’ song") the parts are divided in the following way: first there is the  "Gamkivani" (sometimes the singer combines "Gamkivani" and "Krimanchuli", and if you have a good ear for music it should not be difficult to distinguish the difference); then comes the "Beginner", the first part; next is the high bass, the so-called "Shemkhmobari" (one who joins you in singing) - who is also the pillar of the song and in certain phrases maintains the key when the four-part song is in place; then comes the ordinary bass – the fourth part. This type of a four-part song is unique in the world.

"…These songs need to be looked after…"

After a concert in Italy, where the "Rustavi" Company went on tour, an old man came up to me. He seemed to be frowning and appeared sad. He asked me: "If even one of all the songs you’ve sung today is lost, who will be responsible for it? They are not private property but belong to the nation, like Leonardo da Vinci and Venice". He was very excited. We calmed him down and said that we always did our best not to lose our songs.

Georgian folk ensembles have done a great job, and even in the present difficult situation do not stop performing. The "Rustavi" Company has recorded more than 600 songs since its establishment. The Youth Company "Martve" turned an entire generation towards folk songs. Americans, Japanese, Swedes and Corsicans perform Georgian songs.

However, the problem is that songs that have been being recorded since 1902 are now being lost. Old records were broken and tapes were damaged. Therefore, one day it is possible that a Georgian man may not be able to hear Hamlet Gonashvili’s voice, to say nothing of older singers. If we don’t record all these songs on compact disc  now, everything will be lost.

I would like to establish "An International Centre for Saving Georgian Folk Songs" in Tbilisi. Georgian folk songs are known and highly respected in many countries. It is well-known how highly Stravinski and Romain Rolland regarded them. Ziegfrid Nadel said that European polyphony must have originated from the Georgia.
It is surprising that there is such polyphony in Georgia when it is surrounded  by countries that have mono-dical and monophonic songs. It is amazing in fact.
I’d like to appeal to the Georgian Government, foundations, foreign colleges, and Georgian businessmen and say to them that their names will be immortalized if they help save the Georgian song. If I manage to transfer our precious heritage to the 21-st century, if I have the time and am able to do it, believe me, I will leave the world quietly.

"Anzor," said my grandfather  "you are the seventh generation of our family to keep these musical traditions… These songs need to be looked after, a patron…This is wealth that cannot be purchased with money, or weighed in gold… Our nation will not forgive us if we lose them…"

Seven is a lucky number.

NANA ZURABISHVILI