Epic Conversation: Every Style of Georgian Chant Explained with Dr John Graham
Epic Conversation: Every Style of Georgian Chant Explained with Dr John Graham  
Podcast: The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson
Published On: Thu Aug 27 2026
Description: Why does the same ancient chant melody sound completely different depending on which corner of Georgia you're standing in?Musicologist John A. Graham returns for Part 2 of our exploration of **Georgian Orthodox chant**, this time going deep into the three great transcribed monastery schools: **Gelati, Shemokmedi, and Svetitskhoveli**. At the heart of Graham's research is a fascinating argument: the schools inherited essentially the same model melodies, but each region learned to harmonize and ornament them through the sound-world of its own **Georgian folk polyphony**. The chanters who sang in church were often the same master singers who performed at the feast table afterward, and the two traditions shaped one another over generations.We explore the east–west divide created by the Likhi Range, the nearly lost chant tradition of Svaneti, whether Georgian congregations historically sang, the ninth chords of Gurian polyphony, voice crossing, the three levels of ornamentation, the ornamented middle voice of Vasil Karbelashvili, the musical "signatures" that let scholars identify individual chanters in manuscripts, and the controversy over whether Trio Mandili represents authentic Georgian folklore.⏱ **CHAPTERS**00:00 — Cold open: voice crossing, village singers, and Petritsi03:46 — Welcome back05:59 — Why the same chant sounds different across Georgia08:29 — The published Georgian chant volumes09:16 — Svaneti: a chant tradition almost lost forever10:06 — Svetitskhoveli, Davit Gareja, and Bodbe12:23 — The Likhi Range and Georgia's east–west divide14:22 — Svaneti: slower, simpler, chordal chant17:37 — Open fifths and the Svan sound20:41 — Gelati: the "nest" of Georgian chant26:01 — Melody, harmony, ornamentation: what actually differs?28:53 — How master chanters ornamented a melody31:03 — Did ordinary people sing in church?34:05 — The Lord's Prayer and unornamented recitative37:06 — Why great singers were village VIPs46:13 — Ioane Petritsi, the Trinity, and three voices becoming one47:06 — The east–west argument summarized49:10 — Why Gelati harmony sounds different50:40 — Shemokmedi and the ninth54:09 — Gurian polyphony and the ninth chord58:57 — Why Georgian singers deliberately seek dissonance1:02:01 — Georgian tuning: 170 cents, not 2001:04:58 — Georgian harmony works from the melody downward1:08:28 — Octaves in eastern and western Georgian music1:15:22 — Cadences across the three monastery schools1:21:12 — How Vasil Karbelashvili built and ornamented a chant1:24:06 — The individual style of master chanters1:26:52 — Musical signatures: identifying a chanter by his hand1:33:07 — Arakishvili and the ornaments notation left out1:34:35 — How much should modern ensembles improvise?1:38:34 — The Sakhioba Ensemble and the CD era1:39:40 — Is Trio Mandili really Georgian folklore?1:41:38 — The St. George troparion: my favorite chant1:48:10 — Can the lost art of improvisation be revived?🎼 **GUEST — JOHN A. GRAHAM**Website: https://www.johnagraham.comGeorgian tours & chant resources: https://www.johngrahamtours.comGeorgian Chant: https://www.georgianchant.orgYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV0vT4n6QKcbk6lAS1CSO9Q📖 **DISSERTATION***The Transcription and Transmission of Georgian Liturgical Chant*John A. Graham, Ph.D. dissertation, Princeton University, 2015🎵 **MUSIC & FOOTAGE**Chant recordings and video used by permission of John A. Graham. Filmed at Bana Monastery, Kintsvisi Monastery, and Ubisa.Troparion to St. George performed by the Sakhioba Ensemble. Additional chant performed by the Anchiskhati Church Choir, directed by Malkhaz Erkvanidze.Historical recordings include the Apolon Tsamtsishvili Choir (Tbilisi, 1903), Gigo Erkomaishvili Choir (Kutaisi, 1907), Samuel Chavleishvili Trio (Kutaisi, 1909), and Erkomaishvili brothers (1965).Notation and photographs from Graham's dissertation, reproduced by permission.#GeorgianChant #OrthodoxChant #SacredMusic