Georgian Polyphonic Singing

Georgian polyphony was among the very first traditions UNESCO recognised as intangible cultural heritage, and it is genuinely unusual: three independent vocal lines moving together in harmonies that predate and sit outside the western system, producing chords that sound simultaneously ancient and unresolved. It exists in distinct regional styles, from the dense chromatic singing of Guria with its yodelled krimanchuli line to the austere, hymn-like songs of Svaneti and the table songs of Kakheti. It belongs above all to the supra, the Georgian feast, where singing is not performance but something the table does between toasts. Chakrulo, a Kakhetian song, was chosen for the Voyager Golden Record and is now travelling out of the solar system. Visitors can hear it at church liturgies, at organised singing suppers in Tbilisi and, with luck, at any long dinner.

Highlights

• A supra with singing - the feast where the tradition actually lives.
• Regional styles - Gurian, Svan and Kakhetian singing compared.
• Chakrulo - the song carried on the Voyager Golden Record.
• Church liturgy - polyphonic chant in Tbilisi's churches.

When to go

Year-round; Tbilisi has regular concerts and singing suppers, and Sunday liturgies in the old churches are free and often extraordinary. Village festivals and church feast days across the country bring out the regional styles, and folk festivals cluster in summer.

Practical notes

Tourist-facing dinner shows vary from genuinely good ensembles to perfunctory sets between courses, so ask who is singing. The real thing happens at family tables and church services rather than on stage, and the best encounters tend to be accidental. At a liturgy, remember you are at a service and not a concert, and dress and behave accordingly.

Nearby

Tbilisi's old town churches and the Kakheti wine region are the easiest places to encounter it.