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The Duduk and its Music

The duduk accompanies popular Armenian traditional songs and dances of the various regions and is played at social events, such as weddings, festivities and funerals. It is impossible to imagine the past, the present as well as the future of the musical culture of Armenia without the admirable sonority of duduk and without its magic musical modulation. It has accompanied Armenians on the roads of relocation, in Siberian deportation camps, in cathedrals and modern concert halls.

The prototypes of the duduk are met in the national cultures of Transcaucasia, North Caucasus, Middle Asia and Iran. However, they greatly differ from the structure of the Armenian duduk which brings to the differences also in sound and technical possibilities. Armenian duduk which is also called tsiranapokh (apricot tree pipe), has a warm, soft, slightly nasal timbre. The sound peculiarities of the Armenian slang are noticeable in the sonority of the duduk.

In a course of centuries and with the development of technical means, the instrument has got better and now it has ten holes, eight of which are on the front face and two are on the opposite side.

The duduk is mainly played by two musicians. One player creates the musical environment for the lead melody by playing a continual drone that is held by circular breathing, while the other player develops complex melodies and improvisations.

In 1920-30s a new performing school founded by Margar Margaryan, Levon Madoyan, Khachik Khachatryan and Vache Hovsepyan was established in Armenia. The latter and Jivan Gasparyan, continuer of Hovsepyan's traditions, created a new repertoire based on Armenian folklore and dance melodies which is performed mainly during festive occasions.

The best duduk players of today are Jivan Gasparyan, Gevorg Dabaghyan (Yerevan), Mkrtich Malkhasyan (Gyumri), Vladimir Kroyan (Vanadzor), Georgi Minasov (Artsakh) and others.

Inscribed in 2008 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (originally proclaimed in 2005).