Ana Chankvetadze,Irina Litovcenko  and Di Zhao

Choir master Anthony Johnston, Ana and Paloma Suarez.

On the 14th June 2011 there was a mini-coach outing to a concert by the Bristol Georgian Choir at St Aidan’s Church, St George’s, Bristol.

It was another opportunity for members and friends of the NKTA to hear these remarkable singers as they presented a programme of Georgian and Eastern European music - all in fabulous three part harmonies. This was authentic Georgian music presented by one of Britain’s most remarkable amateur choirs.

Among those attending were Ana Chankvetadze from Kutaisi with her friends Di Zhao from the Republic of China and Irina Litovcenko from Latvia, postgraduate students of University of Wales, Newport. They wrote the following reviews:

Ana Chankvetadze
It was an amazing evening. The choir was really great. They had worked so hard by meeting every Monday to learn Georgian songs. Most songs were from Samegrelo and Svaneti, regions of Georgia. Some of the songs were very popular ones, like ‘shen xar venaxi’ dedicated to St. Mary. While listening to them you could forget that they were not Georgians singing. I liked many of them and they were presented very well. Also they sang songs with Georgian words that were difficult to pronounce.

They explained the meaning of every song. They had translated most of them and also told of the time they spent in Georgia where they had participated in the famous festival ‘Chveneburebi’ where choirs and different dancing groups from outside Georgia present their work to Georgians. Sharing their experiences and songs they told they had sung with all their hearts and souls and leaving Georgians with tears on their faces.

While they were singing I just thought why do English people learn Georgian songs? Why do they find it interesting? Of course, as a Georgian, I can say our songs are really beautiful and involve the whole life of Georgia but for other people how can it be understood, I wondered. After speaking with my friends, I was told that it was the changing levels of sounds and timing in each song that they enjoyed the most.

Most interesting was that there were two ladies who looked Georgian and even sang with the voices of Georgians. After the concert ended I went to them to ask if they were in fact Georgian. They became so happy and began laughing loudly because I had thought that they were Georgians with very pure Georgian voices. However, none of them were. One lady was from Spain and another from England. Also, I have to mention the great work of the director of the choir whose voice had also a typical Georgian sound, that from Guria, one of the most beautiful parts of Georgia. He had never been to Guria so I invited him to visit there where he could learn more Georgian songs suitable for the choir.

In summary, it was a wonderful evening and I thank the members of the Association for a really nice evening. I have to say, that this wonderful evening put my friends and I into the mood for singing. We shared our songs in the bus back to Newport. So, it was really a lovely evening.

Di Zhao
I must say that it is the best concert I’ve ever heard. These singers were obviously trained well and some of them I guess may be trained for more than five years. The singers’ voices were relaxed and natural, making me think of the sound of the wind in the free and deep forests of Georgia described by my Georgian friend. The songs were quite similar to the Mongolian long songs, with the way of telling stories so full of emotion and played without instrument.

They sang the songs in a very natural way, with the melody telling the stories with feeling. They tell of the love of a country and stories of daily life showing the love of life. The musicians may play the music curiously, but showed true love of Georgia and her music. The dome of the church also helped the perfect harmony. 

Irina Litovcenko 
My friend Ana, a Georgian student, invited me to attend a choir singing Georgian songs in Bristol. I thought it was a brilliant way to spend the evening and was excited when singing began. The spectators were presented with songs of love and sorrow in beautiful Georgian dialect. It introduced us to the rich and ancient culture of these people, showing us the soul of the nation. I was even more surprised when I found out that no one in the choir came from Georgia, that the feelings expressed in their voices came from the sheer love for that country.