Zedashe Ensemble Concert, Saturday Oct 27, 7pm
Who: Zedashe Ensemble, from the Republic of Georgia
Where: St. John’s Episcopal Church, 101 Chapel Street, Portsmouth, NH
When: Saturday, October 27
Time: 7:00 PM Concert
Tickets: Suggested donation of $15 per person/$10 for Students and Seniors
Tickets are available at the door
The Zedashe Ensemble, from the medieval walled city of Sighnaghi in Eastern Georgia, will perform on Saturday, October 27, 7pm at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth.
The mountainous region of Caucasus Georgia, formerly of the Soviet Union, situated on the eastern shore of the Black Sea, has one of the world’s most ancient and arresting three-part harmony-singing traditions. The music features a dark, sonorous vocal quality and startling, unexpected harmonies. Directed by Ketevan Mindorashvili, Zedashe was founded in the mid-1990’s to sing repertoire largely lost during the Communist era. With four men and three women singers, Zedashe is one of the few mixed gender performing ensembles in Georgia today and they have developed a highly distinctive sound. Their repertoire includes a full range of folk song genres including field-songs, love songs, historical ballads, war dance songs, and ritual circle dances, as well as ancient three-part harmony chants from the Orthodox Christian liturgy. The folk songs are accompanied by the chunir (Svan bowed lute), panduri (Kakhetian lute), chonguri (Gurian lute), doli (drum), chiboni (goat-skin bagpipes), and accordion.
The singers will be joined by two virtuosic solo dancers, Eka Taralashvili and Erekli Kanchurashvili, who show off the intricate footwork and gestures of varied traditional Georgian dance styles, both lyric and martial.
With her rich and flexible, low-contralto voice, Ketevan Mindorashvili has won a wide reputation for her mastery of the intricate, melismatic ornamentation of the traditional songs from her native region of Kakheti. The brothers Shergil and Shmagi Pitskhelani who come from a large family of many generations of singers, contribute their knowledge of the remarkable archaic singing styles of their native region of Svanetia, the remote, high north-eastern region where time seems to stand still and the traditional, non-tempered tunings of the old Georgians remain alive in current practice.
The group's name is taken from the special earthenware jugs — zedashes — that were buried under the family home for the purpose of making wine. The wine made in zedashes was especially for the veneration of ancestors and the tapping of the zedashe every year carried great ritual significance.
This is Zedashe’s second US tour. Come early, park at St. John’s, eat dinner in Portsmouth, and then attend the concert. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the incredible music of Georgia!
Suggested donation at the door is $15 for adults, $10 for students and seniors. For more information call (603) 436-8283 or visit the following websites: www.stjohnsnh.org or www.villageharmony.org/Zedashe2007
(Posted October 19, 2007 by bmenk)
