For Beyond Silence, the Vlaams Radiokoor and the Kebyar Saxophone Quartet place Arvo Pärt’s Miserere alongside an intense plea for human connection by his contemporary Giya Kancheli (1935–2019).

In Amao Omi (2005), Kancheli has the choir sing words chosen not for their meaning but for their sound – creating a purely vocal soundscape. The title, which literally means “senseless war,” reflects Kancheli’s melancholic view of the world: a protest against cruelty and violence, but also an ode to the resilience of the human spirit. The saxophone quartet wraps itself around the choir’s fervent plea like a soft veil – a musical movement from darkness to light, from despair to hope.

The sung text consists of a selection of Georgian words, mostly in their basic form, chosen for their sound and singability rather than their meaning. They form no coherent narrative, but rather a landscape of sound, colour, and emotion – where the human voice itself becomes an instrument that speaks beyond language.

Amao Ori · Giya Kancheli

Tsa Mze Aremare,
Didebuli maleba,
mare, mare
Alleluia
Alilo, lileo, elesa, voisa,
Dilano
Alilo, alilo
Lileo, lileo
Elesa, elesa Lileo, lile Lileo, lile Lileo, lile

Mzeo, mzeo amodu
Alleluia
mzeo alleluiawnana
idumaleba alionia
Gamoanata Dilagatenda
dila, dila, dila, dila, dila, dila
Ananuri
Alioni alionia alionia alionia
Dio dilano dio
Lileo, lileo, lileo, lileo

Odoia odoia Idumaleba
Dibebamtas, dibeba
Didebaupals upals, upals, upals
Du du du du esdudunia
Wis duduni, duduni, duduni?
Misiduduni, duduni, duduni
Dudu, dudu, dudu es dudunia
Amao omi, amao omi, amao omi
Lileo, lileo, Lileo, lileo
Alioni, alioni, duudnia Ali,
Alai alia, alia, ali, ali,
Alioni alioni Elesa, elesa, elesa
alia, alia, alia, alia
Ala ali, ali, ali
Alleluia, alleluia
ali, ali, ali, ali
Sad? Aq iq iq aq
Omia amao, omia amao
Dio, dio , dio
Omi, omi, omi
Win? Win? Wis? Sad? Rad?
Man? Mas? Mis? Mat?
Rad? Rad? Rad? Rad?
Drotsa mze Ai ia, ia, ai ia, ia,
Lio, lio, lio, lileo
Odiodoia, Dio, dio, dio
Nana, Nana, Nana
Vica, Vica, Vica
Nana Vica, Nana,
Nisli piqrua mtebisa
mzeo amodi, mzeo amodi
Alleluia alleluia
Alioni batonebo, alioni batonebo,
amaoa omi amao!

Batonebo napralia eridet, eridet mze
Duduni Dumili madlia, madlia
idumaleba Dumili, dumuli idumaleba
Dumli madlia madli, madli
Molodini molodini, molodinits madlia
Iawnaninao angelozta tsao
Mariamis maldit aremareao
omi amaoa, amaoa omi
Alilo, alilo, alilo elesa, elesa, voisa naduri
dilano brewalo amaoa omi, omi amaoa
Amao omi, omi amaoa, amaoa omi,
Alleluia, amaoa omi, omi
Alleluia, alleluia.

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