TWIS Talks RIAF: Enchanting, Culturally-Rich Music to be Performed by Ensemble Basiani

The anticipation has been building for months, but the wait is nearly over, Sarasota:

The fourth annual Ringling International Arts Festival arrives this week, bringing with it a fresh palette of the world’s most remarkable performing artists. Among those artists is the Ensemble Basiani, an all-male polyphonic choir hailing from the Republic of Georgia that is celebrated worldwide for its distinct, culturally-rich sound with roots that are deeply embedded in ancient tradition.

Declared a “masterpiece of the spiritual treasury of the world’s ‘non-material culture’” by the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2001, the traditional polyphonic hymns, folk and secular music of Georgia would be extinct today if it weren’t for groups such as Ensemble Basiani who have carried the torch of tradition from the Middle Ages into the 21st century.

Click here to continue reading Enchanting, Culturally-Rich Music to be Performed by Ensemble Basiani and subscribe to the official RIAF 2012 blog.