MASTER CLASS ON THE DUDUK AND CONCERT BY GEVORG DABAGHYAN

ArmRadio.am
25.05.2007 10:46

In collaboration with the music section of the Studies and
Documentation Centre of Armenian Culture, Venice, directed by Minas
Lourian, the Intercultural Institute of Comparative Music Studies
has organized its first seminar on the duduk, a double-reed woodwind
instrument made of apricot wood. A symbol of the Armenian musical
tradition, the duduk (conventionally called the " Armenian oboe")
is a very popular instrument with a warm slightly nasal tone creating
evocative sounds. It is played to accompany songs and dancing in all
the regions of Armenia and is the principal instrument at weddings
and funerals.

In 2005 the duduk was decreed a masterpiece representing the Armenian
musical tradition in the UNESCO "Programme of Masterpieces of the Oral
and Intangible Heritage of Humanity". The director of the relevant
section is the celebrated musician Gevorg Dabaghyan, who will be the
leading player in the concert and seminar. He will be accompanied by
the two musicians from his trio, a second duduk player who plays a
continuous drone, thanks to a circular respiration technique, and a
percussionist who will play the dhol.

A teacher at the Yerevan State College, Dabaghyan is a major living
expert on this very ancient instrument. He has founded several
ensembles, including Shoghaken, a group dedicated to conserving the
very rich Armenian folk music heritage. Liturgical music also features
prominently in Dabaghyan’s vast repertory and is a fundamental part
of a thousand-year old tradition characterised by strong Christian
roots, going back to when Armenia was the first country to proclaim
Christianity as its state religion in 301.