Our Earth and Water

Georgian polyphony is one of the great vocal traditions of the world. Complex harmonies, laced with dissonance, clash and resolve in an exuberant sound that is thrilling to Western ears. The Zedashe group, who have been active since the mid-1990s, are based in the hilltop town of Sighnaghi in the eastern wine-growing region of Kakhetia. They take their name from the earthenware jars in which wine is stored and this album was, appropriately, recorded in a winery. The group that has become the benchmark for Georgian singing is, of course, the Rustavi Choir. They take songs from all over Georgia and perform them with great panache onstage. The seven-piece Zedashe is a much smaller ensemble and includes both men and women, which is unusual. They also play panduri and chonguri (lutes), accordion, bagpipes and diplipito and doli (drums). While they don’t have that overwhelming power and sonic consistency of Rustavi, they are rather closer to what you might hear in Georgia when people sing at feasts round the table. They too include music from all over the country and some church pieces like the lovely ‘Eklesiasa Shina’.