Armenian duduk what. History of duduk

Duduk is one of the oldest wind musical instruments in the world, which has survived to this day almost unchanged. Some researchers believe that the duduk was first mentioned in the written monuments of the state of Urartu, located on the territory of the Armenian Highlands (XIII-VI centuries BC)

Others attribute the appearance of the duduk to the reign of the Armenian king Tigran II the Great (95-55 BC). In the works of the Armenian historian of the 5th century AD. Movses Khorenatsi speaks about the instrument "tsiranapokh" (an apricot tree pipe), which is one of the oldest written records of this instrument. Duduk was depicted in many medieval Armenian manuscripts.

Due to the existence of rather extensive Armenian states (Great Armenia, Lesser Armenia, the Kingdom of Cilicia, etc.) and thanks to the Armenians who lived not only within the Armenian Highlands, the duduk is spreading in the territories of Persia, the Middle East, Asia Minor, the Balkans , Caucasus, Crimea. The duduk also penetrated beyond its original distribution area thanks to the existing trade routes, some of which passed through Armenia as well.

Being borrowed in other countries and becoming an element of the culture of other peoples, the duduk has undergone some changes over the centuries. As a rule, this concerned the melody, the number of sound holes and the materials from which the instrument was made.

To varying degrees, musical instruments close to the duduk in design and sound are now available among many peoples:

• Balaban is a folk instrument in Azerbaijan, Iran, Uzbekistan and some peoples of the North Caucasus
• Guan is a folk instrument in China
• Mei is a folk instrument in Turkey
• Hitiriki is a folk instrument in Japan.

The unique sound of the duduk

History of duduk

The young wind flew high in the mountains and saw a beautiful tree. The wind began to play with him, and wondrous sounds rushed over the mountains. The prince of the winds was angry at this, and raised a great storm. The young wind protected its tree, but its strength quickly left. He fell at the feet of the prince, asked not to destroy beauty. The ruler agreed, but punished: "If you leave the tree, its death awaits." Time passed, the young wind got bored and one day rose into the sky. The tree died, only a branch remained, in which a particle of the wind got entangled.

A young man found that branch and cut a pipe out of it. Only the voice of that pipe was sad. Since that time, duduk has been played in Armenia at weddings, and at funerals, both in war and in peace.

Such is the legend of the Duduk, the Armenian national musical instrument.

Design features of the duduk. materials

The Armenian duduk is an ancient folk musical wind instrument, which is a wooden pipe with eight playing holes on the front side of the instrument and two on the back. The components of the duduk are as follows: barrel, mouthpiece, regulator and cap.

It is created only from a certain variety of apricot tree, which grows only in Armenia. Only the climate of Armenia favors the growth of this variety of apricot. It is no coincidence that apricot in Latin is “fructus armeniacus”, that is, “Armenian fruit”.

The great Armenian masters tried to use other types of wood. So, for example, in ancient times duduk was made from plum, pear, apple, walnut and even bone. But only apricot gave a unique prayer-like velvety voice, characteristic of this unique wind instrument. Other wind musical instruments are also made from apricot - shvi and zurna. Blooming apricot is considered a symbol of tender first love, and its wood is a symbol of strength of spirit, true and long love.

The performance of music on the duduk in a duet has become widespread, where the leading duduk player plays the melody, and the accompaniment is played on the second duduk, also called “dam”. When performing the part of the lady on the duduk, the musician is required to possess the following qualities: the technique of circular (continuous) breathing and have a completely even sound transmission.

“Dam” is a continuously sounding note of the tonic, against which the main melody of the work develops. The art of performing by a musician (damkash) lady at first glance may not seem to carry any particular complexity. But, as professional duduk players say, playing just a few notes of a dam is much more difficult than a whole score of a solo duduk. The art of playing the lady on the duduk requires special skills - the correct setting during the game, and the special support of the performer, who continuously passes air through himself.
The smooth sounding of the notes is ensured by the musician's special playing technique, which keeps the air inhaled through the nose in the cheeks, ensuring a continuous flow to the tongue. This is also called the technique of permanent breathing (or it is called circulating breathing).

It is believed that the duduk, like no other instrument, is able to express the soul of the Armenian people. The famous composer Aram Khachaturian once said that the duduk is the only instrument that makes him cry.

Varieties of duduk. Care

Depending on the length, several types of tool are distinguished:

The most common of the modern ones, the duduk in the La system, from 35 cm in length. It has a universal tuning suitable for most melodies.

The C instrument is only 31 cm long, due to which it has a higher and more delicate sound and is more suitable for duets and lyrical compositions.
The shortest duduk, building Mi, is used in dance folk music and its length is 28 cm.

Like any "live" musical instrument, the duduk requires constant care. Caring for the duduk consists in rubbing its main part with walnut oil. In addition to the fact that apricot wood has a high density (772 kg / m3) and high wear resistance, walnut oil gives the duduk surface even greater strength, which protects it from the aggressive effects of climate and the environment - humidity, heat, low temperatures. In addition, walnut oil gives the instrument a unique aesthetically beautiful look.

The tool must be stored in a dry, not damp place, while it is undesirable to keep it in closed and poorly ventilated places for a long time, contact with air is necessary. The same applies to canes. If duduk reeds are stored in some small sealed case or box, then it is advisable to make several small holes on this case so that air can get there.

If the instrument is not used for several hours, then the plates of the reed (mouthpiece) “stick together”; this is expressed in the absence of the necessary gap between them. In this case, the mouthpiece is filled with warm water, shaken well, closing its rear hole with a finger, then the water is poured out and held in an upright position for some time. After about 10-15 minutes, due to the presence of moisture inside, a gap opens at the mouthpiece.

Having started playing, you can adjust the instrument's pitch (within a semitone) by moving the regulator (clamp) in the middle part of the mouthpiece; the main thing is not to overtighten it too much, because the tighter the knob is pulled, the narrower the mouth of the reed becomes and, as a result, the timbre is more compressed and not saturated with overtones.

The modern legacy of the duduk

What unites the names of Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Hans Ziemer, Peter Gabriel and Brian May from the legendary band Queen? A person familiar with cinema and interested in music can easily draw a parallel between them, because all of them at one time or another collaborated with a unique musician who did more than anyone else to recognize and popularize the “soul of the Armenian people” on the world stage. This, of course, is about Jivan Gasparyan.
Jivan Gasparyan is an Armenian musician, a living legend of world music, a person who introduced the world to Armenian folklore and duduk music.

He was born in a small village near Yerevan in 1928. He picked up his first duduk at the age of 6. He made his first steps in music completely independently - he learned to play the duduk given to him, simply by listening to the playing of the old masters, without any musical education and base.

At twenty, he made his first appearance on the professional stage. Over the years of his musical career, he has repeatedly received international awards, including from UNESCO, but gains wide world fame only in 1988.

And Brian Eno, one of the most talented and innovative musicians of his time, who is rightfully considered the father of electronic music, contributed to this. During his visit to Moscow, he accidentally heard Jivan Gasparyan play and invited him to London.

From that moment on, a new international stage began in his musical career, which brought him world fame and introduced the world to Armenian folk music. The name Jeevan becomes known to a wide audience thanks to the soundtrack, on which he worked with Peter Gabriel (Peter Gabriel) for Martin Scorsese's film "The Last Temptation of Christ."

Jivan Gasparyan begins to tour around the world - he performs together with the Kronos Quartet, the Vienna, Yerevan and Los Angeles Symphony Orchestras, tours around Europe and Asia. Performs in New York and gives a concert in Los Angeles with the local Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 1999 he worked on the music for the film "Sage", and in 2000. - begins collaboration with Hans Zimmer (Hans Zimmer) on the soundtrack to the film "Gladiator". The ballad “Siretsi, Yares Taran”, on the basis of which this soundtrack was “made”, brought Jivan Gasparyan the Golden Globe Award in 2001.

Here is what Hans Zimmer says about working with him: “I always wanted to write music for Jivan Gasparyan. I think he is one of the most amazing musicians in the world. He creates a one-of-a-kind unique sound that immediately sinks into memory.

Returning to his homeland, the musician becomes a professor at the Yerevan Conservatory. Without leaving the touring activity, he begins to teach and produces many well-known duduk performers. Among them is his grandson Jivan Gasparyan Jr.

Today, we can hear the duduk in many films: from historical films to modern Hollywood blockbusters. Jeevan's music can be heard in over 30 films. Over the past twenty years, a record amount of music with duduk recordings has been released in the world. People learn to play this instrument not only in Armenia, but also in Russia, France, Britain, the USA and many other countries. In 2005, modern society recognized the sound of the Armenian duduk as a masterpiece of the UNESCO World Intangible Heritage.

Even in the modern world, through the centuries, the soul of the apricot tree continues to sound.

“Duduk is my shrine. If I didn't play this instrument, I don't know who I would be. In the 1940s I lost my mother, in 1941 my father went to the front. There were three of us, we grew up alone. Probably, God decided so that I would play the duduk, so that he would save me from all life's trials, ”says the artist.

Top photo provided by https://www.armmuseum.ru

Who is the duduk crying about? Who is he praying for? About those who left, Or about those who stayed?

A young wind flew in the mountains and saw a beautiful tree. The wind began to play with him, wondrous sounds rushed over the mountains. The Prince of the Winds was angry at this, and raised a great storm. The Young Wind defended his tree, but his strength quickly left. He fell at the feet of the Prince, asked not to destroy the beauty. The ruler agreed, but punished: "If you leave the tree, its death awaits." As time passed, the Young Wind got bored and one day rose into the sky. The tree died, only a branch remained, in which a particle of the wind got tangled.

A boy found that branch, cut out a pipe. Only the voice of that pipe was sad. Since that time, duduk has been played in Armenia at weddings, and at funerals, both in war and in peace.

This is how the legend of the Duduk (Arm: Դուդուկ), the Armenian national musical instrument, is said. Some researchers believe that the history of the Armenian duduk dates back more than three millennia. The old Armenian name for this instrument is tsiranapokh (ծիրանափող), which means “soul of the apricot tree”. This name is found in the annals of the reign of the Armenian king Tigran II the Great (95-55 BC).

Mentions of tsiranapokh and its images are found in many medieval sources.

Depending on the length, several types of tool are distinguished:

1. The most common of the modern ones, the duduk in the La system, from 35 cm in length. It has a universal tuning suitable for most melodies.
2. The C instrument is only 31 cm long, due to which it has a higher and more delicate sound and is more suitable for duets and lyrical compositions.
3. The shortest duduk, building Mi, is used in dance folk music and its length is 28 cm.

Very often one can meet the performance of music on the duduk in a duet, where the leader plays a melody, and a continuous background is played on the second instrument, with a certain pitch, also called “dam”.

Smooth sounding is provided by the musician's special playing technique, which keeps the air inhaled through the nose in the cheeks, ensuring a continuous flow to the tongue. This is also called the technique of permanent breathing (or it is called circulating breathing).

Modern duduk and the world around.

In the modern world, the sad sounds of the duduk can be heard not only at the performances of ethnic ensembles. On the contrary, the modern duduk sounds everywhere: from conservatories to cinemas. Hollywood sound engineers love the expressiveness of this instrument, so suitable for tragic scenes and movie soundtracks.

Among the musicians who achieved world fame with the help of the duduk, it is impossible not to mention Jivan Gasparyan. People's Artist of Armenia was born in 1928 in the village of Solak. The Armenian duduk was his first musical instrument. At the age of six, he taught himself the game. At twenty, he made his first appearance on the professional stage. Over the years of his musical career, he has repeatedly received international awards.

Having become a professor at the Yerevan Conservatory, he brought up many well-known duduk performers. Among them is his grandson Jivan Gasparyan Jr. Jivan Aramaisovich worked with many famous artists and groups. His duduk can be heard in the recordings of Peter Gabriel, Brian May, Boris Grebenshchikov.

In 2005, modern society recognized the sound of the Armenian duduk as a masterpiece of the UNESCO World Intangible Heritage.

Over the past twenty years, a record number of musical singles and albums with duduk recordings have been released in the world. People learn to play this instrument not only in Armenia, but also in Russia, France, Britain, the USA and many other countries.

Even in the modern world, through the centuries, the soul of the apricot tree continues to sound.

Musical instrument: Duduk

Armenia is an amazing ancient country. Who was lucky enough to visit there at least once, impressions and pleasant memories will remain for a lifetime. Armenia is famous for its extraordinary beauty of landscape nature with the mountain peaks of Ararat, kind people, national cuisine, the most delicious apricots in the world and interesting traditions. But there is another attraction, which the Armenian people treat with special trepidation, their pride is the ethnic musical instrument - the duduk. It is called an instrument with the soul of an apricot tree. The cultural life of Armenia and the duduk are inseparable from each other, it reflects the social identity inherent in the colorful and diverse Armenian people. Armenians assure that the duduk expresses all spiritual subtleties and experiences, the pain of their hearts. All important events in the life of the people: weddings, funerals, various celebrations and public holidays are accompanied by a prayer-like sound of this unique instrument.

Read the history of the duduk and many interesting facts about this musical instrument on our page.

Sound

Listening to the duduk, it is impossible to remain indifferent to its soft and warm, similar to a human voice, velvety expressive sound. The timbre of the instrument, distinguished by lyrical emotionality, is capable of conveying subtle emotional experiences and shades of human sorrow.

For a more colorful performance of music on the duduk, pair performance by two musicians is typical: one performs the main theme, and the other, who is called dam or damkash, creates a continuous background sound. It is in this performance that music brings a sense of peace, high spirituality and makes it possible to feel the breath of time.

A very small range of duduk is a little more than an octave. With the diatonic structure of the instrument, but with incomplete overlap of the sound holes on it, it is permissible to extract chromatic sounds. Therefore, it is possible to perform music written in different keys on the duduk.

The sound of the duduk appears as a result of the reed tongue vibrating and the vibration in the instrument of the air jet that creates the performer.

A photo:

Interesting Facts

• Duduk today has three names: tsiranapokh (translated from Armenian as “apricot pipe” or “soul of an apricot tree”), duduk (the name passed from the Turks a little over 100 years ago) and the Armenian clarinet.
• Many peoples have instruments that are similar in structure to the duduk. Macedonian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Croatian forged; Georgian duduki; Dagestan, Azerbaijani, Iranian balaban; Chinese guan; Japanese hitiriki; Korean piri; Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian pipes; Moldovan, Romanian, Uzbek, Tajik Nai; Turkish mei is just a small list of instruments that are similar in design to the duduk.
• Duduk player is the name of a duduk performer.
• In order to achieve a beautiful sound, craftsmen who make duduk experimented a lot with the material, using different types of wood and even crystal.
• In Armenia, duduk is made from apricot trees that grow in this country, and according to the belief of its inhabitants, they symbolize strength of mind and true long-term love.

• Outstanding Armenian Composer A. Khachaturyan said that of the instruments, only the duduk could make him cry.
• In Armenia, the duduk is a very famous and beloved instrument, and the performers on it are very respected and revered. However, this was not always the case; in the past, duduk players were considered frivolous and insolvent people, contemptuously calling them “zurnachs”. Families even denied them the matchmaking of their daughters.
• Varpet - this word in Armenia means not just a great master, but a creator. The Armenians still call Vache Hovsepyan the Great Varpet and King of the Duduk.
• In Armenia, there is a unique ensemble in which performers play only Armenian duduks. This musical group has the corresponding name - "Dudukner". The overall range of the ensemble, which is three octaves, allows you to perform music of various musical styles, from classical to jazz.
• Film directors from Hollywood are very interested in the burning voice of the duduk, including its sound in the musical accompaniment of their films. "Gladiator", "The Last Temptation of Christ", "Munich", "The Passion of the Christ", "The Da Vinci Code", "Ashes and Snow", "Onegin", "Syrian", "Raven", "Alexander", "Hulk" , "Xena - Warrior Princess", "Ararat", "Game of Thrones" - this is only a small list of 60 famous films, the soundtracks of which are decorated with the sound of the duduk.
• The international organization UNESCO in 2005 recognized the music performed on the Armenian duduk as a masterpiece of the intangible cultural heritage of mankind.

• In February 2015, according to the original idea of ​​the production director A. Titel at the Musical Theater. Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko at the premiere of the opera " Khovanshchina "The duduk for the first time as part of an ensemble of Armenian folk instruments sounded in a Russian opera.
• In Moscow in 2006, a monument to the Armenian duduk was erected in Shemilovsky Lane. The monument, symbolizing the inseparability of generations and loyalty to national traditions, is called "The Song of the Motherland".

Design

Duduk, being a reed woodwind instrument, has practically not changed its external form during its centuries-old history. His very simple device includes a pipe and a reed, which is a double tongue.

• On the tube, which has a cylindrical shape, the length of which varies from 28 to 40 cm (28, 33, 40), sound holes are located: 7, sometimes 8, on the front and 1 or 2 on the reverse side. A special kind of apricot tree, which grows only in Armenia, is traditionally used as a material for making pipes. It is believed that it is its wood that has special resonant properties that give the instrument such a soulful and emotional sound.
• The reed, which is 9 to 14 cm long, usually has a cap, and it is also equipped with a tone control, which makes it possible to adjust the sound of the instrument.

Varieties

The duduk family can be divided into solo and ensemble instruments. Solo instruments differ in size and tuning.

• Duduk in G tuning. Range - mi small octave - la first octave Length - 38 cm. It has the lowest sound. The timbre is velvety, but penetrating.
• Duduk in A scale. Range - f-sharp of a small octave - si of the first octave. Length - 36 cm. The most common tool.
• Duduk in B scale. Range - salt of a small octave - up to the first octave. Length - 34 cm. Also very common.
• Duduk in the H scale. Range - G-sharp of a small octave - C-sharp of the second octave. Length - 33 cm. The color of the sound is light and bright. It is used in the performance of dance melodies.
• Duduk in C tuning. Range - la small octave - re second octave. Length - 30 cm. It sounds bright, high and piercing. It is used in ensembles as a solo and accompanying instrument.
• Duduk in D tuning. Range - B-flat of a small octave - D-sharp of the second octave. Length - 29 cm. The sound is light and clear. Quite often used as a solo and accompanying instrument.

Ensemble instruments include duduk-tenor, duduk-baritone and duduk-bass. They were designed relatively recently to create a unique ensemble, which consists of instruments of this type only.

Application

Duduk has become an integral part of Armenian culture throughout its centuries-old history. All vital events of the inhabitants of the country are accompanied by the sound of this unique instrument. His quiet philosophical lamentation accompanies man on his "last journey". He emotionally sings at various holidays: weddings, birthdays, state celebrations. In addition, attracting performers in various modern musical genres with its sound, today the range of its application is very extensive. In addition to participating in folk ensembles, duduk's voice very often adorns soundtracks for various films with its timbre color, as well as compositions in such musical directions as jazz , rock, blues, pop music, rock'n'roll and classical music.

The repertoire for the duduk is very limited due to its small range and is mainly based on Armenian folk music. Recently, with the advent of new varieties of the instrument, such as duduk-tenor, duduk-baritone and duduk-bass, the range of its sound has expanded significantly. In the ensemble performance on these instruments, it became possible to hear works of classical music I.S. Bach, V.A. Mozart, S. Rachmaninov, D. Gershwin, as well as Armenian composers A. Khachaturian, A. Spendiarov, Komitas, G. Narekatsi, N. Shnorali, M. Yekmalyan.

Performers

In Armenia, they believe that only musicians who have Armenian roots in the family can really play the duduk beautifully, since they have it genetically.

Vache Hovsepyan is still considered one of the greatest duduk players of the 20th century, whom no one could surpass in the virtuosity of playing the instrument.

At the present time, an outstanding performer, well known all over the world and who has done a lot to popularize the instrument and its international recognition, is Jivan Gasparyan. His concerts, held in the best concert halls, are scheduled for many months ahead.

Of particular note is the contribution to the development of the instrument by a gifted musician-performer, teacher Georgy Minasov. Expanding the range and performance capabilities of the instrument, he created a unique ensemble of duduk players.

Among the talented performers who at the present time adequately represent the duduk on concert stages and delight listeners with the sound of a unique instrument, I would like to note O. Kasyan, G. Malkhasyan, L. Gharibyan, S. Karapetyan, G. Dabagyan, A. Martirosyan, K. Seyranyan , O. Ghazaryan, N. Barseghyan, R. Mkrtchyan, A. Avedikyan, Argishti.

From time immemorial, the duduk in Armenia was considered an exclusively male instrument. However, the first female duduk player who violated this stereotype was the laureate of the All-Union Music Festival Armine Simonyan.

Story

When the duduk appeared and who was the first to carve an instrument from an apricot tree, now no one can say for sure. But the fact that it has existed since ancient times, no one argues with this. Even in the ancient manuscripts of the state of Urartu, which existed in the third millennium BC on the territory that now partly belongs to Armenia, historians found information about the instrument extremely similar to the duduk. Then the instrument is again indirectly mentioned in the ancient sources of the first millennium before the birth of Christ, during the reign of the ruler Tigran the Great. And only the Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi, who lived in the 5th century AD, gives more reliable information about the instrument, calling it "tsiranapokh", that is, a pipe made of apricot wood.

But thanks to the images that have come down to us in the old manuscripts of the Middle Ages, we learn that the duduk was a very popular instrument not only in Armenia, but also in the countries of the Middle East, in the Crimea and the Balkans.

Over the years of its long existence, the duduk has not actually changed, but since ancient times there has been a belief in Armenia that the instrument will sound only if it is made by the musician himself, so that the duduk and the soul of the performer can merge into one. At present, no one adheres to this tradition, and craftsmen who know the hidden secrets of this delicate work are engaged in the manufacture of tools.

One of the initiators of the improvement of the duduk, which has remained unchanged for thousands of years, is the enthusiast and gifted musician-performer Georgy Minasov. Together with the talented master of musical instruments Sergey Avanesov, they created a set of instruments: tenor duduk, baritone duduk and bass duduk. The total range of instruments now began to be three octaves and allowed the performers to significantly expand their repertoire.

The duduk is an ancient instrument that has always enjoyed respect and love. The performing arts flourish there and attract more and more musicians and music lovers. Duduk, with its passionate and deep voice, reaches every heart, regardless of nationality and religion, thereby conquering cities and countries.

Video: listen to the duduk

Variants are common among the peoples of the Caucasus, the Middle East, and the Balkan Peninsula.

In 2005, the music of the Armenian duduk was recognized as a UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage Masterpiece.

Etymology

The duduk is distinguished as a kind of whistle or mouthpiece flute in different countries (Turkey, among the Kurds, southwest Bosnia, Eastern and Southern Serbia, Albania, Bulgaria) and as an Armenian wind instrument with a double reed. The name duduk-flute comes from the word tour. duduk, düdük, which in turn comes from Persian. tutak ‎ .

Armenian folk etymology associates "duduk" with the imitation of syllables pronounced while playing the instrument when attacking: doo, fu, tui. This is where the earlier name of the Armenian duduk came from. tuitui .

Story

The Armenian historian of the 5th century Movses Khorenatsi also mentioned the duduk called “tsiranapokh”.

The duduk instrument and duduk music are an integral part of the cultural life and social identity of the Armenian people. For many centuries, it has accompanied all important social events in the life of Armenians: folk celebrations, celebrations, songs and dances, wedding and funeral ceremonies, and more.

According to the study of ethnomusicologist Dr. Jonathan McCollum, the duduk is depicted on numerous Armenian manuscripts of the Middle Ages, symbolizing the Armenian national identity. As McColman notes, the most important quality of the duduk is its ability to express the dialectic and mood of the Armenian language [ ] .

general information

Duduk consists of a tube and a removable double tongue (cane). The average length of the tube is 32 cm, the reed is 12 cm. There are eight holes on the front surface of the duduk, and one on the back.

The sound is generated by the vibration of two reed plates and is regulated by changing the air pressure on the reed of the instrument, as well as closing and opening the playing holes. The reed is usually capped and has a tone control for fine tuning. Pressing the control in increases the tone, and decreasing it decreases the tone.

Duduk music is most often performed in pairs: the leading duduk, which plays the melody, and the second duduk, called “dam,” which, playing a continuous tonic background of a certain height, provides a specific ostinato sound of the main steps of the mode. A musician playing the lady (damkash) achieves a similar sound using the technique of continuous breathing: inhaling through the nose, he keeps the air in his puffed cheeks, and the air flow from the oral cavity at the same time creates pressure on the tongue of the duduk.

Usually duduk players (musicians who play the duduk) also practice playing two other wind instruments, the zurna and the shvi, during their training. When performing dance music, the duduku is sometimes accompanied by the percussion musical instrument dhol. The duduk is widely used in folk instrument orchestras.

To varying degrees, musical instruments close to the duduk in design and sound are found among many peoples:

Materials for manufacturing

The earliest instruments like the duduk were made from animal bones and reeds. Duduk is made from mulberry, apricot, plum and walnut wood. The tongue is made from two pieces of cane. Unlike other double-tongued instruments, the reed of the duduk is quite wide, which gives the instrument its unique sad sound.

Making an Armenian duduk

The Armenian duduk (tsiranapokh) is made from the apricot tree because of its characteristic ability to resonate. The Armenian duduk has a soft sound, more like a voice, in contrast to duduk made from other materials, which are characterized by a rather sharp sound. In the 1920-1930s, the Armenian duduk was improved by V. G. Buni, who, having basically preserved the type of folk instrument, created three varieties of the duduk of different registers. The last of them, a lower, baritone register, was named after the designer - "Bunifon". The length of the Armenian duduk pipe is 28, 33 or 40 cm.

On the front side of the instrument there are 7 (or 8) playing holes and one (or two), for the thumb, on the reverse side. The length of the double tongue, known as "eheg" (arm. եղեգ), is usually 9-14 cm.

sound

The duduk can play music in various keys. Duduk has a warm, soft, slightly muffled sound and a velvety timbre, despite the double reed, which looks not like an oboe, but like a saxophone (alto and soprano) or clarinet, it is distinguished by lyricism, emotionality and expressiveness. When music is performed in pairs (leading duduk and dam duduk), there is often a feeling of peace, tranquility and a high spiritual beginning.

Popularization

Execution

One of the most famous performers of music on the duduk is the musician and composer Jivan Gasparyan, nicknamed the master of the duduk, the author of the soundtracks of many Hollywood films, such as, for example, The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Gladiator (2000) (for which he received an award Golden Globe). He has worked with many famous musicians, including Andreas Vollenweider, Lionel Richie, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Hans Zimmer, Brian May, Boris Grebenshchikov, Irina Allegrova, Vladimir Presnyakov, Igor Krutoy, Michael Brook and Derek Sherinian.

In Armenia and among the Armenians living beyond its borders, there are nocto-known Dudukists, the most outstanding of which are Ludwig Garibyan (լյուդվիգ ղ), Jivan Gasparian Jr. (grandson of Jivan Gasparyan) (ջիվ գ), Gevorg Dabagyan (գեվորգ դ), Sergey) Karapetyan (Սերգեյ Կարապետյան), Mkrtich Malkhasyan (Մկրտիչ Մալխասյան), Vache Hovsepyan (Վաչե Հովսեփյան). We should also mention the outstanding duduk player Hovhannes Kasyan (Հովհաննես Կասյան), who played an important role in the development of this art in Georgia.

see also

Notes

1. Duduk // Dictionary of the Russian language in 4 volumes. T. 1. - 1999 (text)
2. Duduk- article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (3rd edition)
3. http://www.ksu.ru/uni/sank/db/filebase/files/360.doc
4. Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language by Max Fasmer
5. Chernykh P. Ya. Historical and etymological dictionary of the modern Russian language. - 2nd ed. - M.: Russian language, 1994. - T. 1. - S. 273. - ISBN 5-200-02283-5.
6. TSB
7. Duduk // Great Soviet Encyclopedia: [in 30 volumes] / ch. ed. A. M. Prokhorov. - 3rd ed. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978.
8. Duduk and its music (English) // UNESCO
9. Playing the duduk // Masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of mankind (indefinite) . unesco.ru(2005). Retrieved 21 December 2018.
10. Armenian musicologists claim the existence of the duduk as early as 1200 BC. e., while the Western ones estimate its age at 1,500 years(English)
11. Duduk // Dictionary of the Russian language in 4 volumes. T. 1. - 1999
12. S. A. Kuznetsov. Great Dictionary of Russian language. Duduk. - I: Norint, 1998
13. Turpin, Andy. Nothing Sounds Armenian Like a Duduk: ALMA Lecture (indefinite) . The Armenian Weekly(February 12, 2010). Retrieved February 22, 2010. Archived from the original on February 22, 2012.

Armenian duduk - reed flute.

Duduk is an ancient Armenian reed wind instrument, which is carved from an apricot tree. Sound is produced by the vibration of two reed records. On the front side of the Armenian duduk there are seven (sometimes a different number) sound holes and one more on the reverse side.

Usually two musicians play the duduk. One soloist, the other (damkash) accompanies the melody.

The most famous performers of duduk music are Jivan Gasparyan, Mkrtich Malkhasyan and Sergey Karapetyan. The velvety, trembling voice of the duduk accompanies Hollywood films today. Serious composers write music for the duduk. All this is the merit of the remarkable Armenian duduk player Jivan Gasparyan. He lives in Yerevan and travels all over the world with concerts. Thanks to him, the faded interest in the duduk flared up in the republic with renewed vigor. Every Armenian boy dreams of becoming like Uncle Jivan.

Uncle Jivan orders all his instruments from Hovsep Grigoryan. This is a well-known master in Armenia. Son Arthur works with his father - he also makes duduks. Gasparyan asks to be sure to show him the blanks. Arthur brought some. Of these, Uncle Jeevan will choose the best one. The maestro has about a hundred duduks in his collection. Gasparyan: "They are different. Any duduk is like a person. You have five sons - they are all different people. And so these duduks. One person did, but the sound sounds different, the timbre is different."

There are many well-known duduk players in Armenia and among the Armenians living outside of it, the most prominent of which are Ludwig Gharibyan, Jivan Gasparyan, Gevorg Dabaghyan, Sergey Karapetyan, Mkrtich Malkhasyan, Vache Hovsepyan. Alikhan Samadov is the most famous among Azerbaijani musicians. We should also mention the outstanding duduk player Hovhannes Kasyan, who played an important role in the development of this art in Georgia.

The music of the Armenian wind instrument duduk is recognized by UNESCO as a masterpiece of the intangible cultural heritage of mankind. A UNESCO press release says that in recent decades, the duduk has been used less and less in folk celebrations, gradually moving into the category of a concert instrument, Radio Kultura reports. Thus, it becomes an attribute of high culture.

Duduk is an ancient Armenian instrument .

Duduk is an ancient Armenian reed wind instrument made from apricot wood. The sound is produced by the vibration of two reed plates. There are 7-8 sound holes on the front side of the instrument and one or two more on the reverse side. In the process of instrument evolution, the craftsmen tried dozens of wood species. However, the real sound of the instrument was given only by the apricot growing in Armenia. It is not for nothing that in its Latin name "Fructus Argdenika" it is considered a truly Armenian fruit. Ridley Scott's film "Gladiator" essentially opened the duduk to the world. After the Oscar ceremony for the film, The New York Times remarked, "how strange that there are still hidden sounds in this godlessly cruel world." This wind instrument, beloved by the people, is distinguished by its light sound, velvety timbre and emotionality. In some regions of Armenia, it is called “nai”, which means reed in translation.

The Armenian duduk is made exclusively from the apricot tree. The apricot tree has a unique ability to resonate. Variants of the duduk in other countries are made from other materials (plum wood, walnut wood, etc.), but, according to experts, such a duduk is characterized by a rather sharp, nasal sound, while Armenian duduk has a soft sound, more like a voice. The tongue is made from two pieces of cane. Unlike other double-tongued instruments, the reed of the duduk is quite wide, which gives the instrument its unique sad sound.

Duduk among other nations

When the duduk was created, there are so many experts, so many opinions about it. Some argue that already in the VIII century BC, others - that seven hundred years later, during the reign of King Tigran II. The quiet voice of this instrument accompanies almost any Armenian feast - no matter if people have gathered for a cheerful or sad occasion. Recently, we have been hearing the duduk more and more often in the cinema, on radio and television.

Duduk(from Tur. düdük) - a wind musical reed instrument, is a tube with 9 playing holes and a double reed. Distributed among the peoples of the Caucasus, the Middle East and the Balkan Peninsula.

To varying degrees, musical instruments close to the duduk in design and sound are also found among many peoples:

• in Armenia - duduk(arm.), less often tsiranapo x(Armenian), which can literally be translated as “apricot pipe” or “soul of an apricot tree”.
• in Azerbaijan - tyutek(Azerb. tüt k). Azerbaijan also uses the name balaban .
• in Georgia - duduki(cargo.).
• in Turkey - dudu'k(Turkish duduk). The name is also used May .

Duduk music is most often performed in pairs: the leading duduk, which plays the melody, and the second duduk, called “dam,” which, playing a continuous tonic background of a certain height, provides a specific ostinato sound of the main steps of the mode. A musician playing the lady (damkash) achieves a similar sound using the technique of continuous breathing: inhaling through the nose, he keeps the air in his puffed cheeks, and the air flow from the mouth at the same time creates pressure on the tongue of the duduk.

Usually duduk players (musicians who play the duduk) during their training also play two other wind instruments - zurna and shvi. When performing dance music, duduku is sometimes accompanied by a percussion musical instrument dool. Duduk is widely used in folk instrument orchestras, accompanies folk songs and dances, as well as wedding and funeral ceremonies.

Since all duduks are made by hand, they require tuning. Adjustment is made by changing the diameter of the holes. In terms of complexity, the tuning procedure is comparable to the manufacture of a tool. This explains why tuned duduks are more expensive than other instruments.

Duduk has a warm, soft, slightly muffled sound and a velvety timbre; it is distinguished by lyricism, emotionality and expressiveness. When music is performed in pairs (leading duduk and dam duduk), there is often a feeling of peace, tranquility and a high spiritual beginning. The duduk can play music in various keys.