Hamlet Gonashvili

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Hamlet Gonashvili was a Georgian tenor, influential teacher and interpreter of Georgian folk music. He was born on 20 June 1928 in eastern Georgia and died on 25 July 1985. He was sometimes called the Voice of Georgia. He is regarded as the finest interpreter of songs from the regions of Kartli and Kakheti, and received many national honours and prizes.

Music and breakthrough

Gonashvili devoted himself to the traditional singing of Georgia, which is known for its polyphony. His 1983 album bears a title in Georgian and contains folk songs. Hamlet appeared in 1995, also posthumously. Tsintskaro, the piece from School of Rock, belongs to the traditional repertoire. The Georgian composer Giya Kancheli drew inspiration from Gonashvili's singing for his Third Symphony, and Gonashvili himself was the soloist at the first performance of that work.

Influence

Georgian folk singing is polyphonic, with long, harmonic lines and often a low drone beneath the melody. Gonashvili sang with a powerful, clear tenor voice and many graceful ornaments. He shows how old and developed the singing traditions of the Caucasus are, long before pop music experimented with harmonies. His voice is one of the best known in Georgian music.

Listening

• 
  Tsintskaro · Hamlet Gonashvili, 1995

Discography

Studio albums

• 1983ქართული ხალხური სიმღერები
• 1995Hamlet
• ?Satrpialo

See also

• Georgian polyphony