Georgia is a small country at the crossroad between East and West, from the Caucasus to the sea. It contains a wealth of unbelievably diversified musical culture. The inhabitants have always known how to defend and protect their land against invaders and now consider their songs and dances as their most valuable possession.

The fortress Ananuri, which inspired the band for their name, is located above Schinwali’s reservoir and stands as a symbol for the protection of Georgian culture. Georgia is not only known for its constructions overlooking mountains and its history at the border between Europe and Asia, it is also famous throughout the world for its long tradition of vocal polyphonies, which was registered by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The Ananuri quartet was founded in 1995 by independent artists and focuses on Georgian secular musical traditions, which allow for free vocal improvisations. Ananuri accompanies its beautiful melodies with long-necked lutes, such as panduri and chonguri, or with the salmuri-flute and the duduk. To this day, Georgian music has been able to maintain a unique bond between Georgian Christian orthodox music and local pagan music, in which spirituality also plays an important role. For years, that music was only perpetuated through oral transmission, but it is today preserved and its artistic features keep fascinating the world!

• Zurabi Mirziashvili: vocals, panduri, bass panduri, salamuri, doli
• Maia Mirziashvili: vocals, panduri, chonguri
• Zurabi Mirziashvili jr.: vocals, panduri, bass panduri
• Roland Vacheishvili: vocals, salamuri, duduk, panduri, chonguri

We will open the concert with the 6^th edition of The World Music Chain, the series of duo concerts for the 15^th anniversary of Muziekpublique. Renato Martins, a Brazilian percussionist (udu, cajon, …), will be present on March 17^th for the 5^th session with Tanar Catalpinar (saz, vocals) and will announce the name of the artist that will play with him for the 6^th session. Vardan Hovanissian (Armenia), Asad Qizilbash (Pakistan), Gueladio Bâ (Mauritania), Ananta Roosens (Belgium) and Tanar Catalpinar (Turkey) have previously taken part in the World Music Chain.