Celebrating 40 Years since Chakrulo Went to Space
Exactly 40 years ago, back in Soviet Georgia, a truly historic thing happened: ‘Chakrulo,’ one of the rare pearls of Georgian polyphony, was sent into space on Voyager 2, on a gold disc together with 26 other masterpieces from all over of the world. In 2016, ‘Voyager 1’ was the first rocket to leave the solar system in the footsteps of Voyager 2.
On September 5, Mankind celebrated the 40th anniversary since Voyager shot into space with those 27 songs. On September 25-28, legendary Rob Manning, Chief Engineer of the Mars Program of NASA, and John Casani, Voyager former Project Manager, will come to Georgia.
Chakrulo, a Kartl-Kakhetian classical polyphonic choir song, was recognized by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of Non-Material Heritage and Folklore of Mankind.
Ramaz Bluashvili, director, producer and researcher, Founder and President of the Foundation for Promoting Science and Education ‘Nova,’ has studied in the US and worked with the ‘Erisioni’ Singing and Dancing State Ensemble. He first heard the incredible story of Chakrulo in his childhood. However, due to the lack of access to information (no google!), children knew very little about it. That is why he established the foundation to get young children interested in science. “If we inspire them in the right way, maybe another Einstein will be born,” he tells GEORGIA TODAY. “When I went to study in the US, I stumbled upon the name Alexander Kartveli, a prominent Georgian-American aircraft designer. I spent the next 2.5 years researching his life. I went to every archive in the States: NASA, the Pentagon, museums, etc. People thought Kartveli was Russian and, since he didn’t have any children, no one remembered him. While researching his life at NASA, I had a chance to ask about Chakrulo. They gave me the contact of Ann Druyan, widow of the legendary Carl Sagan. I emailed her as a Georgian. I still have a copy of the email. She replied that she was happy to hear from me and told me the incredible story of how the decision was made to send a message from Mankind. They needed several pieces of music from all over the world. Chakrulo was one of the chosen ones,” Bluashvili says.
Three days after the decision was made, NASA got a call from Moscow pointing to the fact that Georgia was not an independent country, but a part of the Soviet Union. They even nominated a famous Russian song, ‘Moscow Nights,’ instead of Chakrulo. Reportedly, ‘Moscow Nights’ was a nice song, but was not the masterpiece the NASA team were looking for. Official Moscow even translated Chakrulo’s words into English. It belongs to the Medieval Ages, when Georgian was at war. They tried to push the idea that it did not make sense to send such an aggressive song as part of a peace-project. “But Carl Sagan was not that easy to manipulate,” Bluashvili explains. “Despite Moscow’s push, the decision was made and Chakrulo ended up going into space”.
The story was so impressive that he decided to make a film about it. “It wasn’t easy. But I was lucky enough to get to meet literally everyone from the management team of Voyager 2 who was still alive,” Bluashvili continues. “I will never forget arriving in Los Angeles and the next day getting an invite to Rob Manning’s house with my cameraman. They put me in touch with Voyager’s Scientific Director, Ed Stone, John Casani, former project manager, and Susan Dodd, current Voyager project manager. Now, we’re all great friends. After I met them, I had the even more ambitious idea to celebrate Voyager’s 40th anniversary in Georgia. Casani and Manning agreed to come. So, I’m glad to say that on September 25-28, there will be a lot of meetings with schools and children and interactive lectures. Manning also agreed to give an open lecture for children at the Opera House. The main event will be on September 28, when the Georgian State Singing and Dancing ensemble ‘Erisioni’, the same ensemble which is on the gold disc sent into space, will perform at a concert dedicated to the anniversary. At the end of the show, Rostom Saginashvili, who is 70 years old and whose voice is in space, is going to meet 80-year-old John Casani. It will be one of the most important events to promote Georgia, because this event, the 40th anniversary, is a worldwide event right now. I can name media outlets such as CNN, BBC, The Guardian, The New York Times, all talking about it. I already read around 50 articles about it. The fact that Georgia is a part of such a global event first of all makes me proud and should make everyone proud. We have 27 musical examples on Voyager 2 and one of them is Georgian. It’s not an American project, but one of all Mankind. We have to tell everyone that we Georgians contributed to the only message sent from Mankind to outer space”.
Gia Baghashvili, well-known Georgian pianist and folklorist, told GEORGIA TODAY about the importance of Chakrulo from the musicological perspective: “Chakrulo is not only a masterpiece of Georgian polyphonic singing and a symbol of national unity for Georgians, it’s part of the tangible heritage of humanity. The reason Chakrulo was selected and put on the disc can be described through the words of Rostropovich, a genius musician and open-minded person who said that the Georgian song allows you to ‘get a taste of eternity’. Listening to Chakrulo, you feel the dignity of the song. It has a perfectly consistent harmony and incredible musical dramaturgy which changes the concept of singing forms of folk music. The incredible power of Chakrulo has something in the deep roots of the past and yet it is very modern. While children continue to sing Chakrulo, this will also be part of the future. It has the simultaneous existence of past, present and future, which I believe gives it that taste of eternity. I’m very thankful to Ramaz, not only for giving me the chance to say some words about Chakrulo, but also for the idea to celebrate it in Tbilisi”.
Maka Lomadze