Songs Of Survival: Traditional Music Of Georgia CD - Import

Guaranteed to be unlike anything in the listener's record collection, this compilation of music from war-torn Chechnya was recorded by music historian Michael Church at great risk to his safety. In fact he was arrested at one point while recording a local choir in North Ossetia (for not first obtaining permission from the government). The music on these 24 tracks is spine-tingling and heart-felt, featuring lots of choral drones with strangely modulated scales, accompanied by accordion, balalaika, and violin.

A companion to the SONGS OF DEFIANCE collection, this second Michael Church-compiled record captures the transcendent beauty of Georgian three-part vocal polyphony. Sung traditionally by males, the music conveys the power, sorrow, and dignity of this troubled region, and includes hymns, ballads, children's songs, and other applications of the style. The album includes an informative 28-page booklet.

Music from the Russian Republic of Chechnya, whose fierce separatist movement has kept Chechnya in the news and kept visitors out. There are only just over a million Chechens, but they have a rich and unique culture which has rarely reached the outside wDirty Linen (p.39) - "The vocals are supported by sparse accompaniment that features accordion, balalaika, drone singers, or rattles, claps, and shouts."
Dirty Linen (p.39) - "[A]n excellent overview of the country's traditional music....Three-part vocal polyphony is featured prominently among the 52 tracks."