Labor Songs in Georgian Musical Folklore"

Author : MakaKhardziani

Abstract :Georgian traditional music is very rich in genres. This is because every activity of the Georgians was accompanied by singing. Georgia is a country of traditional agriculture, so it is natural that there is an abundance of labor songs in its musical folklore. Various types of labor activities (harvesting, mowing, plowing, hoeing, weeding, winnowing, picking and pressing grapes, extracting wood from the forest, shelling corn, grinding wheat, spinning wool, etc.) lead to a great diversity and abundance of labor songs. The genre of labor songs is the only one in Georgian musical folklore, that is presented in one, two, three, and four-part songs, both solo and choral performances, in the repertoire of both women and men, in almost all dialects of eastern and western Georgia’s mountains and lowlands. In general, musical folklore, as an inseparable part of daily life, created with utilitarian purposes, is a syncretic phenomenon. This is especially evident in labor songs, which create an organic unity of words, music, and action. Therefore, In the presented work, Georgian traditional labor songs are studied as a synchronous phenomenon (synthesis of words, music, and movement) in a diachronic context – taking into account its genesis and evolution, and considering the main criteria defining the genre – social function, text, and musical expression

Keywords :Georgian traditional labor songs, musical folklore, cultural heritage, syncretism

Conference Name :International Conference on Music Theory, Composition, Analysis and Musicology(ICMTCAM-25)

Conference Place Frankfurt, Germany

Conference Date 15th Apr 2025