Georgia's musical donation strikes happy chord

Georgian Ambassador Nikoloz Apkhazava, left, presents Georgian traditional musical instruments to Seongnam Arts Center President Jung Eun-sook at the theater in Gyeonggi Province on August 5. / Courtesy of Seongnam Arts Center

By Rachel Lee

Georgian Ambassador to Korea Nikoloz Apkhazava has donated traditional musical instruments to the Seongnam Arts Center, becoming the 45th country to add to the theater’s collection.

The ambassador and Seongnam Arts Center President Jung Eun-sook met at her office in Gyeonggi Province on August 5 to mark the Georgian Embassy’s contribution.

“With this donation as a start, I hope our cooperation in the future will grow,” the ambassador said.

The donated instruments are the panduri and doli ― all of which are commonly used across the country.

“All these instruments are not made on an industrial basis, everything is handmade,” the ambassador said. “The doli is made of sheep skin and the panduri is made of cherry tree.”

The panduri, a three–string instrument, is generally used in heroic, comic and love songs, and sometimes in dances. It is regarded as a symbol of happiness and merriment and has long been considered a valuable, memorable gift in the country.

The doli is a percussion instrument traditionally played by men. It resembles a small wooden cylinder and is held under the performer’s left armpit or hung over the shoulder. The instrument has been used throughout history as an accompaniment to war, knights’ battles, victory celebrations and honored guests’ visits. According to old Georgian literature, the “naghara,” one of the names of the doli, was a permanent instrument for warriors.

“I found out that Georgian instruments are very similar to Korean traditional music,” Jung said. “I hope someday these instruments are played by Georgians.”

The Seongnam Arts Center launched the “World Musical Instrument Museum” in 2013 and has collected more than 150 instruments from 45 countries. The exhibition, on the second floor of the Opera House, has two sections ― “Asia, Oceania” and “Africa, North and South America, Europe.”

There are also touch-screen monitors on which visitors can see a description of each instrument, a map that shows each instrument’s origin and video clips of musicians playing the instruments.