Teona Rukhadze
Giorgi Mtatsmindeli University of Chant
Associate Professor
Tbilisi, Georgia
Teona Rukhadze
Giorgi Mtatsmindeli University of Chant
Associate Professor
Tbilisi, Georgia
Rapiel Eristavi and traditional Georgian music
In 2014, the Tbilisi State Conservatory released a unique audio album featuring songs recorded on wax cylinders by members of the Prussian Phonographic Commission from 1916-1918. These songs were sung by Georgian soldiers held in Austrian and German prisoner-of-war camps. Georgian prisoners begin one of the songs with the words "Where I was born and raised".
This poem by Raphiel Eristavi, sung by Georgian soldiers serving the Russian Empire and captured by the Germans, takes on special significance in the historical and political context.
Rapiel Eristavi's connection with traditional Georgian music is not limited to setting some of his poems to traditional Georgian melodies and turning them into folklore. The work of this esteemed figure and servant of Georgia coincided with a period of burgeoning interest in folklore within the country. He contributed not only to the study of ethnography and verbal folklore but also to the study of traditional music. Eristavi left us remarkable accounts and insights on Georgian church and folk singing traditions as well as urban folklore.
In addition to discussing the folkloristic views of Rapiel Eristavi, the article also analyzes the 50th anniversary of his contributions — one of the notable events in the cultural life of Tbilisi in the final years of the 19th century. This event, documented in the Georgian press and in memoirs, serves as valuable primary material. It provides insight into the role and significance of traditional music — one of the symbols of Georgian national identity — during that period.
Keywords: Raphiel Eristavi, traditional Georgian music, folk song, Folklore