The Melody Web what each genre heard, and what it passed on

heard passed on Click or tap a node to recenter. Use a connecting line, or Influence, for the story.

Heard

Nothing in the corpus yet that this genre heard.

Georgian polyphony

tradition · prehistoric–

Also called Georgian multipart singing

Living multipart singing of Georgia: drone, contrastive, and parallel traditions by region, used at table, work, and feast. This is a Caucasus seed. It is not Byzantine chant (a later church neighbor, not this folk job) and not a leftover “Europe” bin. Canto a tenore and Paghjella are typological siblings, not children or donors. Church polyphony in Georgia is a later conversation, not a reason to hang this node on Constantinople. Empty extra Received/Given is historically checked. Diaspora choirs are this practice abroad.

Listen

  1. Chakrulo Georgian table-song tradition (traditional) YouTube
  2. Mravalzhamier Georgian polyphonic tradition (traditional) YouTube
  3. Khasanbegura Georgian traditional singers (traditional) YouTube

Passed on

Worldbeat genre · 1980–2000

Late-Soviet and post-Soviet concert polyphony becomes a featured worldbeat choir timbre: close dissonant table-song harmony hosted on WOMAD-type bills and heritage albums.

Influence

Georgian polyphony → Worldbeat

timbre and productionperformance practicestrength: mediumwell documented1988–2000recordingpatronage

Mechanism

Late-Soviet and post-Soviet concert polyphony becomes a featured worldbeat choir timbre: close dissonant table-song harmony hosted on WOMAD-type bills and heritage albums. Strength medium for those products; not definitional of worldbeat. Feast-table song is not a child.

Evidence

Rustavi and kin on the world-music festival circuit from the late 1980s; Grove on Georgian polyphony’s concert afterlife. Kate Bush’s use of “Tsintskaro” leftover as one-song testimony, not this edge’s warrant.

Debate

Whether a choir set at WOMAD is still Georgian table song or already worldbeat. The edge applies when the polyphony is hosted inside a cosmopolitan festival/album frame. Byzantine chant leftover as a neighbor conversation, not a parent of this hop.

Mediators

artist: Rustavi Ensemble; institution: WOMAD / world-music festival circuit