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“How beautiful is my homeland, the more beautiful it is, the more my heart breaks.” From the song Ra Kargi Ram Khar being sung by protestors in Tbilisi.
Susan travels to Oxford to record a special video episode with Holly. Reflecting on the political situation in Georgia, while looking back at the past year and ahead to the next.
- Giving an overview of the situation through the lens of folk songs and folk singers
- Sharing how the situation is affecting past podcast guests – Zoé Perret, Nino Naneishvili and Nana Mzhavanadze
- Exploring what folk music means now, what songs are being sung? We answer by singing live – in two voices
- Giving an update on 2025’s next episode with Dr. Teona Lomsadze.
Recent Podcast Episodes
Myths and Stories of Svaneti
“a connection which is not stopping from the past and goes and goes and maybe it’s the circle and maybe it’s an unstoppable line – but oh it’s a really great feeling.” Vanda Bakuradze
Delve deep into the culture, mythology and stories of Svaneti :-
- Swim in the land between reality and myth at the Folk Centre.
- Hear from two young singers from ensemble Lalkhor, who say they could not live without ‘perkhuli’, the ritual round dance.
- Take a fireside seat to hear the legend of the pagan goddess Dali and hunter Betkil.
Rituals of the Singing Village with the Chamgeliani Sisters
An audio journey to the highest mountains of Georgia – Svaneti. We meet Ana, Madona and Eka Chamgeliani, three sisters keeping the ancient traditions of their village, Lakhushdi, alive.
- How do you welcome the souls of your ancestors?
- Why are wolves sacred?
- Can you sing and dance through grief?
This is what the Georgian language looks like :-
პოდკასტ (ციფრული.აუდიო ფაილი ინტერნეტში) „წინაპართა ხმები”-ის ფარგლებში ჰოლი და სიუზანი ესაუბრებიან ქართული მრავალხმიანი სიმღერების ქალ შემსრულებლებს, როგორც საქართველოში, ისე მის ფარგლებს გარეთ. ისინი ერთად განიხილავენ სიმღერების მოგზაურობის ისტორიებსა და მასთან დაკავშირებულ ამბებს. პოდკასტის მასპინძლები დიდ ბრიტანეთში ცხოვრობენ, სტუმრები კი მსოფლიოს სხვადასხვა ქვეყნიდან არიან მოწვეული. ყოველი მხრიდან, სადაც ფოლკლორის მოყვარულებს ქართულ ჰარმონიებთან აქვთ შეხება
In the above, we speak to our Georgian readers about Voices of the Ancestors, a ‘georgian podcast’ in the english language.
Reviews
Alistair, listener and Ko-fi supporter
“This podcast helped me to join the dots of many a story. The episode with Joan Mills of CPR was so moving, I had to stop driving to cry. I really would love to hear another series! 9.8.2022″
bee_franz, early adopter – 5 Star Apple Review
“This is such an interesting podcast, featuring beautiful voices, stories and songs from Georgia. Full of emotion, heart and wonderful music. I had no knowledge of this topic before listening, but love hearing from the people, teachers and singers of these traditional songs – a hidden gem of the world.” 12.12.2020
Derek Wilcox, singer with Chela & Buska, Maspindzeli
“Voices of the Ancestors enables Georgian singers to share their lives with us, the listeners, who are given a unique and personal insight into their music. I definitely feel a real part of a family of Georgian singers in the UK, helping this community to prosper and grow, creating connections to many Georgian singers both in the UK and in Georgia.” 4.8.2022
Trailer
Press the “Play” icon top left, or on mobile use “Listen in browser” option for quick access.
Voices of the Ancestors presented JOURNEY OF GEORGIAN SONGS – Ensemble Stumrebi Audience Review 9th July 2022 “It is always a great delight to attend the Willow Globe performances and I booked to see Journey of Georgian Songs because I knew nothing about this music. It was very different but in a good way, I am very pleased that I booked to see it. The singers were very accomplised and brought the new (to me) sounds and stories to life. So the evening was a very enjoyable experience.”
Enjoying the podcast? Please give us a review on iTunes. It really helps to get the show out to more people and grow the community. Just pop over to Voices of the Ancestors on the iTunes website to do that.