Net'avi Ratme Maktsia (Georgian TTBB w/ solo Countertenor and Baritone)

This piece is from a beautiful Georgian folk love poem. During my time in Afghanistan, we did a lot of work with the Georgian military, and I was always very impressed by their culture and music, so I decided to do some research into it. Georgian music is some of the oldest polyphonic music in the world, and that ancient sound is reflected in the "chant" parts of this piece. Modern chordal movements are also included to contrast the old with the new while still maintaining continuity throughout. There is both positivity and pain in this piece which is approprtiate for both the narrator of the poem and for the country of Georgia itself.

I recorded this myself (countertenor I recorded down a minor third and then transposed, low basses same thing but up a major second), so excuse the mediocre singing.

Net'avi ratme maktsia 
bulbulad gadamaktsia 
bulbulis ena masts'avla 
baghebshi shemomachvia 
davk'ono okros k'onebi 
davpero vertskhlis ts'q'alshia 
saghamo khanze giakhlo 
chamogiq'aro banshia 
dilit ro gamosuliq've
shig gagekhvios k'avshia

ნეტავი რათმე მაკცია
ბულბულად გადამაკცია
ბულბულის ენა მაწავლა
ბაღებში შემომაჩვია
დავკონო ოქროს კონები
დავპერო ვერცხლის წყალიშია
საღამო ხანზე გიახლო
ჩამოგიყარო ბანშია
დილით რო გამოსულიყვე
შიგ გაგეხვიოს კავშია

I wish I could turn into something:
Turn into a nightingale,
And learn the nightingales' language;
I'd come to dwell in the garden.
I'd gather up golden bouquets,
Dip them in liquid silver,
I'd come to you in the evening,
And lay them on your roof.
When you come out in the morning,
May they be entwined in your curls!
 

Very kind music & also very kind voice on this amazing Georgian Folk poem that talks about love! Excellent work 😃

Very impressive. Very well performed, how did you transpose your voice down? Anyway, when listening to your song I felt the strain (in a good way) of the song, with mystery and then understanding by the end. A moving piece overall, and tells the 'story' well.

Thanks for the feedback. I record in audacity. Basically, I recorded the lower Bass parts along with the midi track that was itself transposed up a major second. Then, I use pitch shift to transpose the Bass part down. Then I record all of the higher bass parts, baritone, and tenors. When I was recording the countertenor part, I made a copy of the rest of the parts, and transposed it down a major third to record with. Once the countertenor part was finished, I transposed it up, and then mixed everything together and added reverb.

I rally enjoy it. Very good work.

Loved it. There are not enough 21st century works for TTBB in my opinion.

Nice to hear there's someone else comfortable with audacity! Great job multi-tracking, great job with the composition. The counter tenor gets buried to my ears by the basses at times, so watch out for that.

No complaints here, very solid work!

Gustav Johnson