FEATURES OF CHANT EMBELLISHMENT IN MEDIEVAL GEORGIAN AND EUROPEAN CHURCH MUSIC

Abstract

The paper discusses one of the most important principles of musical development in Georgian polyphonic chant, which is closely related to improvisation and the embellishment of the tune.

In the context of the three-part realization of the main tune, the Georgian tradition developed both plain and embellished versions of chants. The embellished chants represent the result of variant transformations of models existing in plain chant. This serves as another clear demonstration of the principle of identity, alongside other manifestations of this principle.

The principle of variant development, as a phenomenon of identical thinking, is also a leading concept in European professional music of the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance (first half of the 15th century). In this context, the idea of variety (varietas), as described by Johannes Tinctoris in his treatise Liber de Arte Contrapuncti (1477), is particularly noteworthy. Varietas was achieved by coloring (coloration) the main melody through the addition of extra notes, new phrases, and alterations to the melodic line.

The paper examines, on a comparative basis, Georgian and European examples of variant production through coloration at different levels - motive, phrase, and entire melodic structures or stanzas.

This research aims to identify commonalities and distinctive features in the Georgian and European traditions of melodic ornamentation, as well as to reveal inherent characteristics of the musical development process within the Georgian tradition.

Key words: Medieval and Renaissance music, Georgian chant, polyphony, principle of identity, varietas, embellishment.