Georgia on our minds

The Shin Ensemble has brought traditional Georgian music to some of the most prestigious stages in the world.

By PEGGY CIDOR
Shin ensemble (photo credit: Courtesy)
Shin ensemble
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Effie Benaya, the director of the Confederation House and musical director of its Oud Festival, has often said that one of his passions is to “find ways to cross cultural borders, to go beyond what differentiates us in order to reach common points.” Music, says Benaya, who grew up to the sounds of classical Egyptian music at home, is his favorite means by which to reach those points.
The Oud Festival, now entering its 11th year, is one way he uses to enlarge the cultural circle for the local audience and bring different traditions together. “The festival has enabled me and the general public to discover that the differences are not so great after all.”
In his endeavor every year to explore new areas and cross new frontiers, Benaya contacted a composer who, despite being steeped in classical Western musical traditions, comes from a very different culture. Josef Bardanashvili, who was born in Georgia, is the typical “from there and from here” artist. He has strong ties with his native culture and, at the same time, teaches and composes in Israel, mainly orchestral and operatic music. Bardanashvili was the man behind the idea to include Georgian music in this year’s festival by introducing the Shin Ensemble (which means “return home” in Georgian), that was chosen to conclude the festival. “I spoke to him, and he said he had the perfect answer for what I was looking for. He introduced me to the ensemble members and established the contacts, and I am sure it will be very rewarding for the festival goers,” says Benaya.
“The musicians of the Shin Ensemble have been playing together for more than 20 years,” says Bardanashvili. “Over the years, they have gone from modern jazz to the music they heard at home in Georgia, and the result is that they play Georgian music in a fresh, distinct new way.”
In fact, what the musicians did was quite similar to what happens in many other cultures. They took old folk tunes and transformed them – sometimes simply bringing them back to life – through the use of modern instruments or played the authentic instruments in new modern rhythms or even mixed the instruments and rhythms.
“But in Georgian music, which has an ancient and highly developed polyphonic basis, especially using chorals,” explains Bardanashvili, “it came later and immediately roused the audiences with lot of enthusiasm.”
This enables the ensemble to create surprising and unique connections that, in the past, were considered impossible. In traditional Georgian folk music, there was no place for such personal expression, and the folk instruments were limited to three or four chords.
The Shin Ensemble is very well known in Georgia. It participates in numerous festivals and appears on radio and TV shows. “They have brought Georgian music and tradition to the most prestigious stages in the world. Today, thanks to them and their work, Georgian music is well-known outside the borders of Georgia, and that is a great thing,” says Bardanashvili.
In their program, the musicians play folk music on traditional instruments, together with Georgian polyphonic vocalization and folk dances, improvising variations in total freedom.
“They shift quickly and effortlessly from playing a Georgian folk instrument to a modern one, mixing together folk elements, jazz and Latino music, even some drama and dance – it is a total spectacle,” says the Georgian-Israeli composer.
The Shin Ensemble, with the EgAri! program (which means “That’s it!”), is another step toward enlarging the scope of the Jerusalem International Oud Festival, which already is much more than an annual local musical event but a unique opportunity for fans of music without borders.
Thursday at 9 p.m. at the Jerusalem Theater. Tickets and information at the Confederation House. Tel: 624-5206.