Internet Site VestiMoskva (Moscow News). Russian Federation. 10.04.2013

Oqsana Kostenko

Source: http://www.vesti-moscow.ru/rnews.html?id=211470&cid=15

The legendary Georgian men’s choir “Rustavi” arrived in Moscow. The group hasn’t been in the capital for ten years and it will give only one concert here. The Ensemble promises to present a wonderful jubilee show and unforgettable songs that are more than a century old.

The Ensemble “Rustavi” hasn’t been in Moscow for ten years already. At a Georgian style generously laid table, they celebrate their long wished visit. And they remember their last time huge success at the joint concert in Tchaikovsky Hall. Instead of the planned 15 minutes, the audience didn’t let their artists leave the stage for a whole hour.

Here everything Georgian is national – dishes as well as songs. National and about love. But the words here aren’t very important. They sing heartily and each time in a different way. Improvisation – as in jazz. They perform a capella without accompaniment. And this is also tradition.

“The most important – this is the melody we sing. One sings one, the other sings – different, together all this is very beautiful”, – says a soloist of the State Academic Ensemble “Rustavi” of Georgian Folk Song and Dance Giorgi Bugianishvili.

The men’s choir “Rustavi” – this is ten people. Ten voices. Their thunderous unique polyphony is well-known all over the world.

Named after in honor of one of the oldest Georgian towns, the Ensemble became itself as a thesaurus. Here they respect and spread national cultural traditions. Actually, they collect the folklore bit by bit. In their repertoire there are the songs that are more than one hundred years old.

“We gathered, restored, learned, recorded and perform. “Rustavi” was the very first performer of those old songs”, – tells us the head of the State Academic Ensemble “Rustavi” of Georgian Folk Song and Dance Anzor Erkomaishvili.

An attempt to modernize the folklore a little, – isn’t realizable. Vice versa, they try to keep the authentic (original) sonority of the old songs, among them there are church hymns.

There are 80 people in the troupe of the “Rustavi”. In Moscow they also arrived with illustrious dance premieres. They scrupulously renewed the costumes according to old sketches. That will be a new jubilee show-program – triumphal return of the “Rustavi” to the prestigious concert squares of Moscow.

“We desire to show to the Russian audience what we stand on, our roots, our traditions, and what is the most significant – we arrived here with love”, – emphasizes a soloist of the State Academic Ensemble “Rustavi” of Georgian Folk Song and Dance Davit Gvelesiani.

Within the 45th jubilee tour, the “Rustavi” will hold in Moscow only one concert. But they promised they shall come back.