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American Folklife Center collections from the country of Georgia document the diversity of its expressive culture. Among its unique collections is the Quilt Alliance, Quilters' S.O.S. -- Save Our Stories interviews collection, 1999-2016, that includes interviews with quilters from several countries including Georgia. Other collections include documentation of public events at the Library of Congress that presented traditional polyphonic singing, music, women's song, and liturgical chants. One of these presentations includes a talk by ethnomusicologist Dr. John A. Graham, and one includes a talk by ethnomusicologist and singer Dr. Malkhaz Erkvanidze.
The following materials link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to digital content are provided when available.
Suliko : 10-Member Traditional Georgian Singing Ensemble Pop-up Concert, 2019 June 11 / sponsored by the American Folklife Center.
Quilt Alliance, Quilters' S.O.S. -- Save Our Stories interviews collectionWomen’s Ensemble Ialoni was formed in 2009 in Tbilisi, Georgia. Their repertoire draws from all three branches of traditional Georgian vocal polyphony: ecclesiastical, folk, and city music. The group selects its repertoire from archival records and manuscripts, field recordings, and published transcriptions, with a special emphasis on reviving relatively unusual, original, and complex songs. They greatly value the character of different chanting schools, as well as the folk and city songs, originating from different regions, taking the time to comprehend them intimately and then bringing them to life with the ensemble’s own signature style. Ialoni has been the recipient of several prestigious prizes, including 1st place in the "Women's Folk Ensemble Category" at the National State Folklore Center Competition (2016), as well as both the grand prix in the Traditional Chant Category, and the first place and gold medal in the "Georgian Traditional Song" category at the Tbilisi Competition of Choral Music. Ialoni has toured extensively throughout Europe, and hosted many groups of visitors in Georgia, teaching them about Georgian culture and the Georgian vocal polyphonic tradition. They look forward to the time when they can once more do such things again in person, but are truly grateful for this opportunity to share their music and culture through the Homegrown at Home Concert series. (Event date: March 24, 2021)
