The national instrument of Armenia is the duduk. Armenian duduk - a musical wind instrument with a thousand-year history

It is a tube with 9 playing holes and a double reed. Distributed among the peoples of the Caucasus. Most popular in Armenia, as well as among Armenians living outside of it.

The traditional name of the Armenian duduk is cyranapoh, which can literally be translated as "apricot pipe" or "soul of an apricot tree."

Music on the Armenian duduk is most often performed in pairs: a leading duduk playing a melody, and a second duduk called " ladies”, which, performing a continuous tonic background with 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, during their training, Armenian duduk players also play two other wind instruments - and.

When performing dance music, duduku is sometimes accompanied by a percussion musical instrument dool. Duduk is widely used in orchestras folk instruments, accompanies Armenian folk songs and dancing, as well as wedding and funeral ceremonies.

The unique sound of the duduk

Duduk has a warm, soft, slightly muffled sound and velvety timbre, 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.

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

The duduk can play music in various keys. For example, a 40-centimeter duduk is considered the most suitable for singing love songs, while a shorter one often accompanies dances.

Armenian duduk throughout its centuries-old history, it has remained practically unchanged - only the style of the game has changed. Despite the fact that its range is one octave, playing the duduk requires considerable skill.

The famous Armenian duduk player Jivan Gasparyan notes: “The Americans and the Japanese tried to reproduce the sound of the duduk on the synthesizer, but each time they failed. This means that the duduk was given to us by God.”

Device

Duduk consists of a tube and a removable double tongue (cane). The length of the Armenian duduk pipe is 28, 33 or 40 cm. There are 7 or 8 playing holes on the front side and one or two for the thumb - on reverse side. The length of the double tongue, known as the exeg, is usually 9-14 cm.

Sound is formed as a result of the vibration of two reed plates and is regulated by changing the air pressure on the tongue 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.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the duduk was defined as a diatonic one-octave instrument. However, despite this, chromatic notes are achieved by partially covering the playing holes.

The earliest instruments like the duduk were made from animal bones and reeds. Currently, the duduk is made exclusively from wood. And the Armenian duduk is made from an apricot tree, the fruits of which were first brought to Europe from Armenia. 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 the Armenian duduk has a soft sound, more like to the voice.

The tongue is made from two pieces of reed, which grows in large quantities along the banks of the Araks River. Unlike other double-tongued instruments, the reed of the duduk is quite wide, which gives the instrument its unique sad sound.

Origin, history of the duduk

Duduk- one of the oldest wind musical instruments in the world. Some researchers believe that for the first time the duduk is mentioned in the written monuments of the state of Urartu. In line with this hypothesis, we can assume that its history has about three thousand years.

Others attribute the appearance of the duduk to the reign of the Armenian king Tigran II the Great (95-55 BC). Armenian historian of the 5th century AD. e. Movses Khorenatsi in his writings speaks of the instrument "tsiranapokh" (Pipe made of apricot wood), which is one of the oldest written references to this instrument. Duduk was depicted in many medieval Armenian manuscripts.

Perhaps 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, but also in Persia, the Middle East, Asia Minor, in the Balkans, the Caucasus, the Crimea, etc., the duduk also spread to these territories.

The duduk could also penetrate beyond its original distribution area thanks to the trade routes that existed at the time, some of which also passed through Armenia.

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 is made.

Duduk in our time

Today we can hear the duduk in many movies. It has become one of the most popular instruments for performing music for Hollywood soundtracks.

The first world-famous film in which the duduk sounded was The Last Temptation of Christ. Other films and television series followed. The most famous of them: "Gladiator", "Ararat", "Alexander", "The Passion of the Christ", "Munich", "Siriana", "The Da Vinci Code", "Ashes and Snow", "Hulk", "Xena - Queen Warriors", "Russian House", "Raven", "Onegin".

Duduk performed by Jivan Gasparyan can be heard in more than three dozen films. Gasparyan co-wrote the music for "Gladiator" with the German film composer Hans Zimmer. In 2001, the soundtrack to the film, in which Gasparyan participated, won the Golden Globe in the nomination "Best Music".

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. Among Azerbaijani musicians Alikhan Samedov is the most famous.

In 2005, the Armenian duduk was recognized as a masterpiece of the World Intangible cultural heritage UNESCO.

Video: Duduk (tsiranapokh) on video + sound

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Anyone who has never heard its sounds cannot imagine what it is. The Armenian duduk is an ancient instrument, but it cannot become obsolete as long as its singing continues to delight people. No wonder he is known far beyond the borders of Armenia and constantly finds more and more of his new fans. In 2005, the music of this wind instrument was recognized as a masterpiece of the UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Secrets of making Armenian duduk

Duduk is a wind musical instrument. Its device is quite simple - it is a tube and a double tongue that can be removed. It is interesting that the tongue is always made of two plates, for the creation of which only reed collected on the banks of the Araks is used.

The length of both the tube and the tongue is strictly defined. So, the tongue is 9-14 cm, the tube itself can be 40, 33, 28 cm. In addition, on its upper surface there are 7 (sometimes 8, depending on the order) holes for the passage of air and sound, and on the lower - 1 -2 holes that close with the thumb.

While playing the instrument, a person goes over the holes with his fingers, blocking them at the right moments. At the same time, the tongue is exposed to air, as a result of which the plates vibrate.

The tube usually has a special knob that allows you to adjust the desired tone of the instrument. Pressing this knob will increase the pitch. And, conversely, with a slight weakening of the regulator, the tone also begins to decrease.

Armenians have their own name for the instrument - tsiranapokh. This word is translated into Russian as "the soul of an apricot tree." Why apricot? Because the craftsmen who create it are sure that only from an apricot tree can a real magic tool be created.

The history of the origin of the instrument

When exactly and by whom the Armenian duduk was created, there is no exact information. It is only known that it appeared in incredibly ancient times and since then it has practically not changed its design. According to some historians, it has been known for at least 3,000 years, since a wind instrument very similar to it existed in Urartu.

These statements are quite justified, since the state of Urartu was once located on the Armenian Highlands - that is, the territory that is today occupied by Armenia, as well as partially by such countries as Iran, Turkey and. In any case, an instrument resembling the modern duduk is mentioned more than once in the Urartian written sources.

There are other opinions regarding the time of its origin. Some scientists claim that it was created in the 1st century BC, during the reign of Tigran II the Great. Some of the researchers rely on the records of historical chronicles of the 5th century, when the chronicler and historian Movses Khorenatsi lived. He mentions cyranapoh in his writings.

But there is indisputable evidence that in the Middle Ages this musical instrument was already widespread - this is evidenced by illustrations of old manuscripts. It is quite likely that, thanks to the developed trade relations with other states of that time, the duduk became widespread not only on Armenian territory. Apparently, it was used both in the Crimea and in Middle Eastern countries and even in the Balkans.

It cannot be argued that this wind instrument originally had modern look and was made directly from apricot wood. So, its prototypes were created from reed or bone. But over time, people began to use wood. It was noticed that different trees, subject to the same duduk manufacturing technology, are capable of making different sounds. So apricot was chosen, because it is this wood that can resonate in a way that no other can.

In neighboring countries, walnut or plum were chosen to create instruments like tsiranapokh. However, its counterparts, created from the wood of these trees, did not emit a soft, charming sound, but a sharp and not too pleasant sound for the ear.

Armenians are very sensitive to their own national instrument and to its history. There is a whole legend dedicated to duduk. It tells how the Young Wind fell in love with an amazing tree growing in the mountains. But the Old Whirlwind, having heard about this, decided to destroy not only the tree, but all the vegetation in the area.

After the Young Wind asked not to do this, the Whirlwind agreed, but on the condition that the Wind would never be able to move again, otherwise his beloved tree would die. The breeze held on for a long time, until the very autumn, until the last leaves fell from the tree. Then Young Wind forgot his promise for a moment and took off.

But as soon as he did this, the tree immediately withered and disappeared. Only a small branch remained of it - and that only because the Young Wind got tangled in it with the edge of his clothes. Some time later, some poor man picked it up and decided to make a pipe out of a branch. AND new tool sang a magical song about love and fidelity. So the duduk was invented.

Scale tuning and sound features

Perhaps it was this legend that caused the emergence of one ancient custom which, unfortunately, is now a thing of the past. In the old days, this tool was not made to order. If a musician needed a duduk, he had to create it himself. It was believed that in this way he conveys part of his soul - thanks to this, the sound turned out so velvety and alive.

There were also real virtuosos who knew how to enchant any listener with their play. Each of them had their own duduk, which was with the musician throughout his life. Such a master did not pass on his instrument to his sons and students, but he always helped with advice on making their personal musical product. All this testifies to how important this simple instrument was in the life of any musician.

Today, the duduk player does not manufacture independently. The Armenian musical instrument duduk is created by the hands of specialists who know all the subtleties of the selection of material and technology. However, the legendary one, who is considered the most sought-after duduk player today, is known for making his first instrument with his own hands, deciding to emphasize that he chose the path of a musician of his own free will and follows Armenian traditions.

Probably, the custom to create duduk independently has some mental foundations. This wind instrument is capable of producing unusually expressive sounds. Experts emphasize that no analogue has such a timbre. Listening to the sound, a person opens his own soul.

In some magical way, he can stir up all the most sublime in the heart. How can one not recall the words of the composer Aram Khachaturian, who claimed that the only musical instrument in the world that can make him cry is the duduk.

Researchers in the field of music have classified it as a one-octave diatonic. Yes, there is only one octave here, but, nevertheless, chromatic notes can also be extracted from the instrument. For this, a certain skill must be present. It has long been noted that the Armenians can create those very magical melodies that made the instrument famous. According to the same Gasparyan, at one time the Japanese and Americans made attempts to reproduce the sounds of this instrument using a synthesizer. However, they didn't succeed.

The sound largely depends on the order and length of the product. For example, in Azerbaijan they play the duduk in the B system, and call it “balaban”, and in Armenia, most often, in the A system. The short instrument is mainly used for dancing melodies. But the longest - 40 cm long is ideal for performing love and lyrical compositions.

The sound of this amazing instrument is a little muffled, which makes it seem velvety. He sounds in the key of soprano and alto, while being very emotional. Most often, it is played in pairs, where the leading duduk and the ladies duduk perform. At the same time, the dam produces only the general background, and the leading duduk player plays the melody.

A feature of the dam duduk is the game with continuous breathing. This technique has to be learned for a long time. In addition, it is impossible to play a solo on it - it only sounds amazing in pairs.

Significance in world culture and cinema

Cyranapoh is an important part traditional Armenian culture. In this instrument was played in honor of a variety of events. Duduk players accompanied funeral ceremonies and played at weddings. Their presence at the general folk holidays, where music was required.

Today it can be heard on Hollywood movie soundtracks, in ensembles and national orchestras. Often the instrument is included in the accompaniment musical compositions. It is impossible not to mention Jivan Gasparyan once again - this composer collaborated with many famous Russian and foreign musicians.

A real breakthrough in the popularization of the instrument was the soundtrack to American film"Gladiator". Names after the film was released, the duduk had thousands of fans. People were interested in the unusual sonority and melodiousness of the national wind instrument.

The most famous duduk players include:

• Jivan Gasparyan;
• Hovhannes Kasyan;
• Mkrtich Malkhasyan;
• Ludwig Gharibyan;
• Vache Hovsepyan;
• Sergey Karapetyan;
• Gevorg Dabaghyan.

Many are interested in where you can get such a tool. Buying a real artisan Armenian duduk is not so easy, since this is a piece goods. by the most famous masters on are Armen and Arkady Kagramanyan - father and son. For 40 years they have made several hundred duduks. You can order wind instruments of the Kagramanyan family in the KavkazSuvenir.ru store.

Musical instrument: Duduk

Armenia is 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. Cultural life 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 tool.

The history of the duduk and many interesting facts read 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, which is distinguished by lyrical emotionality, is capable of conveying subtle soul feelings 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.

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. The Music band 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 musical accompaniment 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 in musical theater them. 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 "Song of the Motherland".

Design

Duduk, being a reed woodwind instrument, has practically not changed its style during its centuries-old history. outer shape. 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 a person in " last way". He emotionally sings at various holidays: weddings, birthdays, state celebrations. In addition, attracting the sound of performers in various modern musical genres 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 films. musical directions, How jazz , rock, blues, pop music, rock'n'roll And classical music.

The repertoire for the duduk is very limited due to the small range and is mainly based on the folk Armenian music. IN Lately, 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 classical music I.S. Bach, V.A. Mozart, S. Rachmaninov, D. Gershwin, and also Armenian composers A. Khachaturian, A. Spendiarov, Komitas, G. Narekatsi, N. Shnorali, M. Yekmalyan.

Performers

In Armenia, they believe that only musicians who have a family of Armenian roots because 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 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 very popular instrument not only on the territory of 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.

Duduk is ancient instrument always respected and loved. performing arts it flourishes and attracts an increasing number of musicians and just 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