“I fear for you that you may miss something important in your life, as you haven’t known anything about it. What is the question of? Of course, it is about duduk. The sense of this instrument can be understood by listening to it. And when you do it, you want to tell the new comers that the music of duduk is the mountain songs or the tree dialogue, the old cry of elderly people or a simple joy of a child, the fight of warrior or the weddings … Just listen! And you will feel the sense of duduk.” (

So, listen…

Duduk is an ancient Armenian wind instrument made of apricot wood. It has a warm, mild and velvety sound, close to a human voice. Duduk was proclaimed a “Masterpiece of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO in 2005. Read more about Duduk here.

The sound of the Duduk can be heard in popular film soundtracks. Djivan Gasparian played the duduk in Gladiator, Syriana, and Blood Diamond, among others. The Duduk has also been used in The Crow, The Passion of Christ and even in science fiction, like Battlestar Galactica and Children of Dune TV series.

Komitas brought a renaissance to the centuries-old Armenian music. Komitas’ music is the reflection of Armenian spirit and culture.

Many famous western composers found inspiration in Komitas’ music. After one of the concerts the outstanding French composer Claude Debussy exclaimed excitedly: “Brilliant father Komitas! I bow before your musical genius!” He paid high tribute to the merits of Komitas and his significance for the world of music, saying, “If Komitas wrote only “Antuni”, that alone would be enough to consider him a great artist”. In Debussy’s opinion Komitas was a revelation, the most remarkable phenomenon in the world of music.

“Vagharshapat Dance” performed by “Komitas Quartet”

Komitas Quartet was founded in Moscow in 1924. In 1976 the quartet moved from Moscow to Yerevan starting a new page in its history. The quartet made a lot of collection recordings in the USSR and released numerous albums in Russia, United Kingdom, France and USA.

The present team of the Komitas Quartet:

Eduard Tadevosyan 1st Violin
Syuzi Yeritsyan 2nd Violin
Alexander Kosemyan Viola
Aram Talalyan Cello

The Night of Museums will take place on May 16 in Yerevan, Armenia, kicking off at 18:00. A number of museums will not only open their doors for free but will also present their special programs and exhibitions. This is going to be the 5^th Night of Museums organised in Armenia, the first one was held in 2005.

There’s no official list of the museums participating in the event. However, the following could be recommended to visit.

The National Gallery of Armenia, situated on the Republic Square – here’s their program for the Night.

House Museum of Cinematographer Sergei Paradjanov. Address: 15/16, Dzoragyugh Str. Tel: (+374 10) 538473

Matenadaran, one of the world’s largest repositories of ancient manuscripts. Address: 53, Mashtots Ave. Tel: (+374 10) 562578, 583292

Museum of Folk-Art of Armenia. Address: 64 Abovyan St. Tel: (+374 10) 569387

Museum of Modern Art. Address: 7, Mashtots Ave. Tel: (+374 10) 535359

House Museum of Painter Martiros Saryan.  Address: 3, Saryan St. Tel: (+374 10) 581762

House Museum of Painter Minas Avetisyan.  Address: 29, Nalbandyan St. Tel: (+374 10) 560787

Please, check the last two before going there

«Malkhas» jazz club (founded by Levon Malkhasian)
Pushkin str. 52/1
Tel.(374-10) 53-17-78, 53-53-50
www.malkhas.am

«Avantgarde Folk Music» club
Pushkin str. 3a,
Tel.(374-10) 56-14-97
www.afmclub.blogspot.com

“Poplavok” jazz cafe
Isahakyan str. 41 
Tel.(374-10) 52-23-03
 
«STOP» club
Moskovyan str. 37
Tel.(374-10) 56-07-80
www.stopclub.am

Club “12″
Abovyan str. 41
Tel.(374-10) 52-23-50
www.club12.am

“Ulikhanyan Club”
Gevorg Kochar str. 4  
www.ulikhanyanclub.am

The first Armenian jazz orchestra was officially formed in Armenia in 1938 under the direction of Artemi Ayvazian. It was the first official state jazz orchestra in the Soviet republics (second after Russia) and was the first Soviet jazz band that visited USA and became known there. 

The first place in the city with life jazz music, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, where jazz was subject to strict censorship, was restaurant “Poplavok”. Its art director was Levon Malkhasian, a so-called “Godfather of the Armenian jazz”. Levon Malkhasian, or simply Malkhas, organised in 1998 the first International Yerevan Jazz Festival, where jazz bands from all over the world played their music.  In 2000 one of the participants on the Festival was Chick Corea and his “Origin” band. Unfortunately the Festival does not take place every year.

Last year, 2008, the 70th anniversary of the Armenian jazz was celebrated with numerous events related to this music genre, so beloved by Armenians. What makes Armenian jazz unique is inclusion of the elements of traditional Armenian music.

Now, the most popular jazz bands in Yerevan are ”Time Report”, “Katuner”, “Chiko & Friends”, “Art Voices” and “Armenian Navy Band”. There are several jazz clubs, the most popular of which is ”Malkhas”, a cult jazz club, where you can some evenings listen to maestro Levon Malkhasian.

Malkhas’s Jazz Club is a bar and restaurant with live jazz music.
Address: 52/1 Pushkin Street, close to Mashtots Street, in the Opera Square area.
Phone: (+374-10) 53-17-78; 53-53-50

Malkhas playing Nocturne by Arno Babajanian

Malkhas jamming in “Malkhas” club

LOVE SONG

Thy face is like a moon that shines on earth,
Like a thick night thy clustering tresses be; 
Apples of paradise thy temples are,
And thy deep eyes were lent thee by the sea.
Thou hast arched brows and dark, dark eyes, my love;
Peerless art thou among earth’s countless girls.
Thine eyelashes are arrows to my heart;
Thy mouth is a moist tulip, full of pearls.

Nahapet Kuchak (date of birth is unknown, date of death is supposedly 1592) is the Armenian medieval poet. According to the legend (his biographic data is not well-founded) he was born in the village of Kharakkonis, near Lake Van (now in Turkey).
Kuchak wrote ayrens, poems consisted of quatrains, every line of which has 15 syllables and is divided by caesurato 7 and 8 syllables. Kuchak brought this ancient Armenian poem style to perfection. Most of his poems are dedicated to love, however, the poet saw also sufferings of the people, social inequality and grieved about Armenian exiles (“Ayrens of Wandering”), had phylosophical judgements about events and people’s destiny (“Ayrens of Reflection”)

Nahapet Kuchak’s grave near Lake Van is now the place of pilgrimage.

(Translation source: www.armenianhouse.org)

“There is no other land in the world so full of wonders as the land of Armenians…
But whatever may have been their destiny, and it has been bitter, whatever it may be in future, their country must ever be one of the most interesting in the world”

George Gordon Byron

In 1816, Byron visited Saint Lazarus Island in Venice where he lived for some time in the Armenian monastery and acquainted himself with Armenian culture. He learned the Armenian language and wrote “English grammar and the Armenian” in 1817, and “Armenian grammar and the English” in 1819. He participated in creation of the “English Armenian dictionary” in 1821 and wrote the preface, where he described the peculiarities of the Armenian history. His two main translations are the “Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians“, several chapters of Khorenatsi’s “Armenian History” and sections of Lambronatsi’s “Orations“. When he discovered discrepancies in the Armenian vs. the English version of the Bible, he translated some passages that were either missing or deficient in the English version because he considered the Armenian one to be more reliable. G.Byron may be credited for the birth of Armenology and its propagation.

Of my motherland Armenia, its sun-soaked word I adore,
Of our old, mourning saz, the deep, moving string I adore,
The radiant scent of blood-red roses and sun-dipped flowers I adore,
And the humble, graceful dance of women of Nairi I adore.

I love our sky – deep blue and high, the waters – clear, and the lucent lake,
The sun in summer, and the winter’s ferocious frost outbreak,
The black, dreary walls of the old huts – drowned in the dark,
And the thousand-year-old, tattered stones of the ancient cities I adore.

Never will I ever forget the mournful tunes of our songs,
Will not forget the iron-script books that have become prayers long,
However deep my heart is hurt by our blood-drained wounds of fate,
Still, time and again, though orphaned, weak, but my Armenia I adore.

For my homesick, yearning soul there is no better tale told,
Than Narekatsi’s and Kuchak’s, there are no brighter shining thoughts.
Cross-pass the world, yet Ararat is the whitest peak to be sought,
As an everlasting walk to fame, my Mount Masis I adore!

(Translated by Armine Grigoryan, a resident of Yerevan, Armenia)