Duduk

The word düdük is of Armenian origin.[8]

This instrument is not to be confused with the northwestern Bulgarian folk instrument of the same name (see below, Balkan duduk).

Very similar instruments used in other parts of western Asia are called mey and balaban.

A duduk mouthpiece

The duduk is a double reed instrument with ancient origins, having existed since at least the fifth century, while there are Armenian scholars who believe it existed more than 1,500 years before that.[9] The earliest instruments similar to the duduk's present form are made of bone or entirely of cane. Today, the duduk is exclusively made of wood with a large double reed, with the body made from aged apricot wood.[10]

The particular tuning depends heavily on the region in which it is played. In the twentieth century, the Armenian duduk began to be standardized diatonic in scale and single-octave in range. Accidentals, or chromatics are achieved using fingering techniques. The instrument's body also has different lengths depending upon the range of the instrument and region. The reed (Armenian: եղեգն, eġegn), is made from one or two pieces of cane in a duck-bill type assembly. Unlike other double-reed instruments, the reed is quite wide, helping to give the duduk both its unique, mournful sound, as well as its remarkable breath requirements. The duduk player is called dudukahar (դուդուկահար) in Armenian.

The performer uses air stored in their cheeks to keep playing the instrument while they inhale air into their lungs. This "circular" breathing technique is commonly used with all the double-reed instruments in the Middle East.[11]

Duduk "is invariably played with the accompaniment of a second dum duduk, which gives the music an energy and tonic atmosphere, changing the scale harmoniously with the principal duduk."[12]

Armenian musicologists cite evidence of the duduk's use as early as 1200 BC, though Western scholars suggest it is 1,500 years old.[13] Variants of the duduk can be found in Armenia and the Caucasus. The history of the Armenian duduk music is dated to the reign of the Armenian king Tigran the Great, who reigned from 95–55 B.C.[14] According to ethnomusicologist Dr. Jonathan McCollum, the instrument is depicted in numerous Armenian manuscripts of the Middle Ages, and is "actually the only truly Armenian instrument that's survived through history, and as such is a symbol of Armenian national identity ... The most important quality of the duduk is its ability to express the language dialectic and mood of the Armenian language, which is often the most challenging quality to a duduk player."[15]

While "duduk" most commonly refers to the double reed instrument described on this page, by coincidence there is a different instrument of the same name played in northwestern Bulgaria. This is a blocked-end flute resembling the Serbian frula, known also as kaval or kavalče in a part of Macedonia,[16] and as duduk (дудук) in northwest Bulgaria.[17][18] Made of maple or other wood, it comes in two sizes: 700–780 millimetres (28–31 in) and 240–400 millimetres (9.4–15.7 in) (duduce). The blocked end is flat. Playing this type of duduk is fairly straightforward and easy, and its sound is clean and pleasant.

The sound of the duduk has become known to wider audiences through its use in popular film soundtracks. Starting with Peter Gabriel's score for Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ, the duduk's archaic and mournful sound has been employed in a variety of genres to depict such moods. Djivan Gasparyan played the duduk in Gladiator, Syriana, and Blood Diamond, among others.[19] It was also used extensively in Battlestar Galactica.[20] In the TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender, its computer-altered sound was given to the fictitious Tsungi horn, most notably played by Iroh and often being featured in the show's soundtrack. The sound of the duduk was used in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for a lullaby which Mr. Tumnus plays on a fictitious double flute.[21] It was also used in the theme song of the Dothraki clan in the TV adaptation Game of Thrones.[22]

The 2010 Eurovision Song Contest entry from Armenia "Apricot Stone", which finished 7th in the final, featured prominent duduk played by Djivan Gasparyan.

Film soundtracks

The duduk has been used in a number of films, especially "to denote otherworldliness, loneliness, and mourning or to supply a Middle Eastern/Central Asian atmosphere".[23]

• Ararat (2002) by Mychael Danna
• Avatar (2009) by James Horner, in the track Shutting Down Grace's Lab
• Bedtime Stories (2008) by Rupert Gregson-Williams[24]
• Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) by Joseph LoDuca
• Chilean Gothic (2000) by Fractal
• Constantine (2005) by Brian Tyler, Klaus Badelt, in the track Circle of Hell
• The Crow (1994) by Graeme Revell featuring the duduk player Djivan Gasparyan
• Dead Man Walking (1995) by David Robbins
• Elektra (2005) by Christophe Beck[24]
• Gladiator (2000) by Djivan Gasparyan in the track Duduk of the North[25]
• Hotel Rwanda (2004) main theme music[26]
• Hulk (2003) duduk by Pedro Eustache by Danny Elfman[27]
• The Island (2005) by Steve Jablonsky[24]
• The Kite Runner (2007) by Alberto Iglesias[24]
• The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) by Peter Gabriel, featuring the duduk player Vatche Hovsepian
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) by Harry Gregson-Williams, in the track A Narnia Lullaby[28]
• Munich duduk by Pedro Eustache (2005) by John Williams
• Mayrig (1991) by Omar Al Sharif
• Next (2007) by Mark Isham[24]
• The Passion of The Christ (2004) by Mel Gibson, composer John Debney duduks by Pedro Eustache and Chris Bleth
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) by Hans Zimmer[24]
• Rendition (2007) by Paul Hepker and Mark Kilian, duduk by Pedro Eustache
• Ronin (1998) by Elia Cmiral, duduk by Albert Vardanyan
• Syriana (2005) by Alexandre Desplat, duduks by Djivan Gasparyan and Pedro Eustache
• The Russia House (1990) by Jerry Goldsmith
• The Siege (1998) by Graeme Revell, in the track Torture
• Vantage Point (2008) by Atli Orvarsson[24]
• Wanted (2008) by Danny Elfman[24]
• Warriors of Heaven and Earth (2003) by A. R. Rahman[29]
• You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008) by Rupert Gregson-Williams[24]

Benik Ignatyan playing the duduk at the Armenian Genocide memorial complex in Yerevan, Armenia, 1997.

Duduk player at the Forom des langues du monde in Toulouse, France.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Duduk.

• Nercessian, Andy (2001). The Duduk and National Identity in Armenia. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9781461672722.