Songs of Defiance - sleeve notes

Music of Chechnya and the North Caucasus (© 2007)
Recordings and compilation by Michael Church
Released in 2007 as Topic Records TSCD934, and now re-released by Proper

Track notes by Joseph Jordania

1 Nokhtchiin gimn (Chechen Hymn) Aznach Ensemble: Tamta Khangoshvili (born 1986) soloist, Lela Khangoshvili-Margoshvili, Elza Khangoshvili, Tamar Khangoshvili; Piruz Khokhobashvili, Caucasian accordion. (Recorded by Michael Church, Tbilisi, 2006)
This song, dating from the middle of the 19th century, has become a symbol of the fight for Chechen identity. Each of its ten verses is followed by the refrain ‘La ilaha illa llah’: ‘There is but one god, and Allah is his name’.

‘The night the wolf-mother gave birth/ we came into the world
In the morning, when the lion roared/ they gave us names.
In eagles’ nests/ our mothers fed us
On the rocks/ our fathers taught us to fight.
If hunger torments us/ we shall eat roots
Parched with thirst/ we’ll drink dew in the meadows.
Mountains of flint/ would melt like lead
Before we lost our pride/ in living and fighting.
Our sisters with their singing/ heal our wounds
The eyes of our loved ones/ give us strength’

2 Khatkhe Mahomet Guaz (The Leader Khatkhe Mahomet) Cherim Nakhushev (b 1970) soloist, Timur Losanov (b 1973) Caucasian accordion, with drone singers. (Rec MC London, 2006)
A traditional Adighian (Kabardian) song, in which the wife of tribal leader Khatkhe Mahomet lovingly describes his bravery. According to traditional belief in the North Caucasus, a person cannot lie when composing and singing: songs often thus became a form of self-justification. And although the text of this song does not allude to it, legend has it that Khatkhe Mahomet angrily divorced his wife, as a result of a misunderstanding. After hearing this song, Khatkhe relented.

3 Daimohk (Fatherland) Sahab Mezhidov (b 1961), voice and balalaika (Rec MC London, 2000) Chechen folk song.

‘It is so hard to say farewell to you, my fatherland, to leave my family and loved ones’

4 Ya yish ekush dagna yaznarg (I can’t find her, but I love her) Sahab Mezhidov (Rec MC London, 2000)
A Chechen folk song about a young man’s endless search for the girl of his dreams. Not being able to find her, he asks the sun and the moon if they have seen her, but they have not.

5 As Khastambo (I thank my fate) Aznach Ensemble: Tamta Khangoshvili, voice and balalaika, soloist. (Rec MC Tbilisi, 2006) Chechen folk song.

‘I thank God for the morning and evening/for the sky above my head/ for the earth under my feet/ for my ancestors and family/ for freedom to raise my children/ and above all for the belief and strength/ to defend all this’

6 Adighian dance Timur Losanov, Caucasian accordion (Rec MC London, 2006) Accompaniment on the pkhachich rattle with clapping and shouts, usually by guests at the festivity, is traditional.

7 Laalur, Laalur (nonsense syllables) Zhoukar Ensemble (from their CD ‘Zhoukhar’, supported by the Solnce Charitable Foundation, Moscow, 2003).
A four-part arrangement of a Chechen comic folk song, which describes the thoughts of a young man the day before his wedding. The name of this women’s ensemble means ‘Mother of Pearl’.

8 Kafa (Adighian dance melody) Cherim Nakhushev, soloist (Rec MC London, 2006)
The singer says he learned this melody from his father; his friend Timur Losanov has made an accordion version of it. Nakhushev’s singing is based on nonsense syllables, and is accompanied by the pkhachich, clapping, and shouts. In this recording he began by dancing in a circle: when he was persuaded to stand still by the microphone, his voice came into focus.

9 Gezdenti Efsimerte Zareg (Song of the Seven Gazdanov Brothers) Batu Dzugaev People’s Choir of North Ossetian (Alanian) Heroic Song: Zaur Pliev (director) and Svetlana Chelzieva, lead singers (Rec MC Ardon, North Ossetia, 2006)
A song about a real-life local legend, in which seven brothers from one Ossetian family died fighting on various fronts against Nazi Germany during the Second World War, the last dying in Berlin in 1945.

10 Tsitsidon (a river in North Ossetia) Batu Dzugaev People’s Choir: Svetlana Chelzieva, soloist (Rec MC Ardon, 2006)
This song eventually becomes a dance, performed by 80-year-old Baba Djikaev; the text describes the river’s picturesque landscape.

11 Nokhcho vu so (In Praise of Chechnya) Valid Dagaev (b 1940), voice and balalaika (from the CD ‘I am a Chechen’, self-issued by Dagaev, 2002)

‘Greetings, my friends/ Enjoy a long life in peace and harmony/ I love your glorious patriotic tradition/ Your plea for my help/ and my sense of duty/ brought me back to you’

12 Ma hiezha kant (Don’t look at me) Tamara Dadasheva (b 1955), (Rec MC Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria, 2006) A Chechen love song, sung by a People’s Artist of the Chechen-Ingush Republic who has been her country’s best-loved singer for the last 30 years; she was born in exile in Kyrgyzstan. The song takes the form of a conversation between a boy and a girl, and is sometimes performed with accordion accompaniment.

‘Don’t look at me – haven’t you seen the rays of the sun?’ – ‘Yes, I’ve seen its rays, but never anything as beautiful as you’ – ‘Don’t look at my eyelashes - haven’t you seen beautiful Arabic script?’ – ‘Yes, I’ve seen Arabic script, but even that cannot describe your beauty’

13 Nokhchiychyo, so khan yoh yu (Chechnya, I am your daughter) Tamara Dadasheva, with Umar Sagaipov, accordion. (From her self-issued CD ‘I love you, life, Grozny, 2005)

‘We were born and raised in Chechnya. Let us strive for justice and harmony, let us live for our Fatherland’

14 Barkhaldal Doldiban (Doldi from Barkhal) Shirvani Chalaev (b 1936) (Rec MC Moscow, 2006)
A folk song from Dagestan, performed solo by a professional and prolific Dagestan composer. According to Shirvani: ‘Mountain societies were free, and did not want to take orders from their Khan. So Khans would invite the leaders of the auls [villages] as if for a friendly feast, and would then poison them: this was a common practice. This is a very long song, with many graphic details, so I will sing only a part of it.’

‘People from my aul are telling me – “Don’t go!” But how can I not? I am a man, and must go! My cup of wine, like that which was given to all the guests to enjoy, they sprinkled with poison… So the road that seemed so short, is now endless, and all my 32 teeth fall out into my horse’s mane…’

15 San Nana, san Nana (To Mother) Illi Male-Voice Ensemble (from the self-issued CD ‘Illi’, Grozny, 2002)
A Chechen song honouring mothers who raised children throughout the horrors and privations of the Chechen mass-deportation to Central Asia in 1944-1956. The three-part harmony is traditional.

‘Oh mother, you were a hostage in an alien, distant land. You suffered when you dreamed of your native land, year after year. Oh mother, I am so sorry for the pain you had to endure, to raise us’

16 Djuldouz (Star) Lydia Bachaeva (b 1954) (Rec MC Moscow, 2006)
A love song from Karachai, performed by its composer. Although Bachaeva makes her living by knitting, she is a versatile singer-songwriter working in traditional, jazz, rock, and classical modes. This joke-song, written in 1981, concerns a girl who has total control of her lover. She finally turns him into a drop of water and drinks it.

17 Kabardian dance, Zuber Ivazov and Zalim Khagurov, shichepshin, Duzhin Churei, flute. The pkhachich was provided by another musician incidentally present at the recording (Rec MC Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria, 2006)
This is based on the folk song ‘Kurasha’, whose original function is still debated: it was either an ancient round-dance, or else a dance connected with animal husbandry. Kabardians are an ethnic sub-group of the Adighis.

18 Kiaperish (Dance on tiptoe) Adigh Ensemble: Ali Ligidov, leader, accordion, Salim Knyazev, dol, Murat Sakhu, phatark, Murat Mamkhyag, pkhachich (Rec MC Moscow, 2006)
An Adigh dance tune performed by a Moscow-based ensemble. This tune only survived among the Adighis living today in Turkey, and was later adopted among Adighis in North Caucasia: that is why it is sometimes known among North Caucasians as ‘The dance of the Turkish Adighis’.

19 Circassian dance Khazret Ramazanovich Chich, violin (b 1974) with supporting singers (Rec MC London, 2006)
The ostinato-like phrase sung by the supporting singers is known as zhiu (‘everybody’), and is traditionally performed by all present at the occasion. This soloist, from the western Adighian village of Neshukai, is also an accomplished accordionist and plays both instruments at weddings.

20 Vai deli Allah vu (Our god Allah) Aznach Ensemble: Elza Khangoshvili, soloist (Rec MC Tbilisi, 2006)
This Islamic profession of faith was brought to north Georgia from Chechnya in the 19th century: the musical genre is known as Nazmi (from an Arabic word). It is traditionally performed without instruments en famille and in religious celebrations. The melody is thought to be ancient, and the text has changed many times throughout Chechen history. The oldest version was probably a ‘Hymn to the Sun’, followed by a version to celebrate a visit by the 12th century Georgian female king Tamar to the land of the Chechens; medieval versions have texts dedicated to Christian Saints, and the latest examples of this genre are dedicated to the Mohamed and his prophets. It may be accompanied by clapping, as here, but not with dancing. Contemporary Nazmi are mostly concerned with events in the recent Chechen-Russian war.

‘Our god is Allah as ever, he never sleeps, he creates all that is good on earth, he is our strength’

21 Biezamuo (Love Song, from ‘biezam’, love) Aznach Ensemble: Tamta Khangoshvili, soloist. (Rec MC, Tbilisi, 2006)
A contemporary song with a new text, musically based on a traditional melody and three-part harmony.

'In the morning I am waiting/ In the evening I am praying/ Tell me darling, who is to blame?/ Tell me if you want to come with me/ Your love has burned my heart’


22 Stiglara (A star has fallen from the sky) Aznach Ensemble: Lela Khangoshvili-Margoshvili, soloist (Rec MC Tbilisi, 2006)
Chechen philosophical folk song about the shortness of life.

‘A star has fallen from the sky: life is short as a falling star. We have not time to feel its beauty, to enjoy the love of our family and friends, to raise children. Time melts away’

23 Daimohk (Fatherland) Aznach Ensemble: Tamta Khangoshvili, soloist (Rec MC Tbilisi, 2006)
Chechen folk song which arose out of the 1944 deportations. The text vividly describes its horrors: the forced farewell to their land, life in railway carriages full of the bodies of those who died on the journey, and the hope that they might see their homeland again.

‘I will never see you again, land of my forefathers. We are exhausted, desperate, we are thrown in thousands far from the graves of our ancestors’

The instruments

The Caucasian accordion, whose left-hand button-arrangement is peculiar to the region, is the most popular instrument, and is mostly played by women. Often known by its Russian name garmon, or garmonika, it has local names as well (pshine among Adighis, iron-kandzal-fandir among Ossetians, and komuk and kekhat-pondur among Chechens and Ingush).
 

The balalaika is a Russian traditional plucked string instrument. Factory-made steel-string Russian balalaikas have become popular for song and dance accompaniment: these have mostly replaced the softer-toned local instruments with horse-hair strings.
 

The shichepshin – Adighian violin - has many forms and playing techniques. Traditionally it has two strings, although Ivazov plays a four-string version (track 17) very similar to the European violin.
 

The pkhachich (from pkha, timber, tree, and the onomatopoeic chich) is a traditional clapper consisting of small wooden plates fastened together by a leather rope, popular among Adighis for dance accompaniment.
 

The pkhatirke (tirke is also onomatopoeic) is another Adighian wooden rhythmic instrument, consisting of a small fan-shaped wooden plate, which is tied to the left hand and hit by wooden thimbles on the fingers of the right hand (these thimbles were used in some forms of agricultural work).
 

The dol, or doli, is a double headed drum, widespread all over the Caucasus and beyond (eg in India). It is played with the fingers and palms of both hands, and is mostly used for dance accompaniment.

Additional information from Dr Alla Sokolova, Professor of Ethnomusicology at Maikop University, Adighea.

Credits

Joseph Jordania is an Honorary Fellow and Research Associate at the Faculty of Music of the University of Melbourne; he is a founder-member of the International Research Centre for Traditional Polyphony, and the author of many studies of Georgian music.

Translator and co-ordinator in Russia: Natasha Buss
Sound adviser: Lee Sparey

Cover photograph: A Chechen tower in the High Caucasus Copyright Peter Nasmyth All other photographs by Michael Church

The translation to Track 1 is based on Mary Pardoe’s translation for ‘Zoura’ Ethnomad, ARN 64557

Special thanks to the Wigmore Hall, London, where tracks 2,6, and 8 were recorded; also to Ruth Addison, Hasan Akhmadov, Joyce Arnold, Marina Babunashvili, Zeynel Besler, Radek Boschetty, Cara Chanteau, Bela Chavkhelichvili, Abdulla Duduev, Jon Sanders, Elena Shampanova, Israpil Shavkhalov, Woolf van Silver, Razia Sultanova, Nino Tchanturia, John Wurdeman, Lyuba Zavarykina, Rostislav Zolotarev

Further reading:
‘Who Asked the First Question? The Origins of Human Choral Singing, Intelligence, Language, and Speech’ by Joseph Jordania, Logos, 2006

Further listening:
‘Ensemble Aznach: Zoura’ Ethnomad, ARN 64557
‘Ay Lezzat - Oh, Pleasure: Songs and Melodies from Dagestan’ Pan 2031CD

This CD has been produced with generous financial help from The Martin Smith Foundation, and with logistical support from the British Council in Moscow

Songs of Defiance sleeve notes

Buy or stream Songs of Defiance

Want to listen to the tracks first? Click below
Songs of Defiance (tracks 1-12)
Songs of Defiance (tracks 13-23)