Course of Armenian duduk

20 — 22 March 2009

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 a course 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 (or dziranapogh
in Armenian) was decreed a masterpiece representing the Armenian
musical tradition in the UNESCO “Programme of Masterpieces of the Oral
and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”.

Gevorg 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.

Participants are required to enrol musica.comparata@cini.it
Location Centro Studi e Documentazione della Cultura Armena – Biblioteca Zenobiana del Temanza
Corte Zappa, Dorsoduro 1602, 30123 VENEZIA
Time Friday 20 March, 2.00-6.00 pm/ Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 March,
11.00 am – 3.00 pm