Sound UbuWeb

Simon Chikovani (1902/3 - 1966) Tsira Sound poem, fragment, ca. 1920s, 0'21". MP3 Voice – Ernest Peshkov Recording – Miguel Molina, Audio Laboratory of the UPV Dpt. of Sculpture (Valencia, Spain) Production Date – 2007 Simon Chikovani, real name Simon Ivanovich Chikovani (b . Naesakovo 1902/3 - d. Tbilisi 1966) was a poet and the driving force and leader of the Dadaist group H2SO4 (1922-28). His poetry is a fusion of avant-garde and Georgian folklore, nonsense-syllables and rich assonance. One example is this fragment of the poem "Tsira" which reminds us of the propitiatory ritual of a witchdoctor. Chikovani incorporates dialecticisms and quotes from spoken Georgian, abstracting it towards the "enchantments" of a rhythmic, sonorous cadence,like these verses of the poem Tsira. Tsira (fragment) Bade baidebs Bude baidebs Zira muxlebze gulpiltvs daidebs Aida-baidebs, aida baidebs... [transcription by Shota Iatashvili] RELATED RESOURCES: Russian Futurists from the GLM Collection (1920-1959) Sound Experiments in The Russian Avant-Garde (1908-1942)