The magic of duduk music, the symbol of Armenian national identity that has survived for centuries along with the bloody pages of Armenian history, had to witness another soul-shattering nightmare of Armenian reality last fall. However, soulful duduk music continues to grant serenity to all the devastated souls of the Armenian people scattered throughout the universe.
The unique Armenian duduk is a more than 2,000-year-old musical instrument that has survived along with one of the oldest nations in the world. The duduk, or apricot horn, is a purely Armenian national instrument that has won acclaim in the world music industry due to UNESCO’s acknowledgement in the representative list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008. Never before has there been another national musical instrument capable of conveying the emotional authenticity of the Armenian people as openly and expressively as the duduk.
The distinctive, mournful melodies of duduk music have always been competent in registering the history of the long-suffering and thriving Armenian nation. Armenians are known as a nation of genocide survivors, victims of wars and barbaric invasions, and all these painful events are imprinted so powerfully in folk music, predominantly duduk music. When trying to reflect on the meaning of duduk music, the first thought that crosses the mind of every Armenian is the bloody picture of the Armenian Genocide, which was carried out by the Ottoman government between 1914–1923. This is one of the main reasons why some duduk songs tell heart-rending stories such as the forced withdrawal from the sweet homeland, the dramatic end of a love story, an orphaned child’s lamentation, or a grief-stricken mother’s loss of a massacred child. Through such stories, the duduk not only brings Armenians to tears, but also helps to empty our souls and look at the painful pages of our history with renewed hope and faith. Duduk brings music that encourages all Armenians to never stop creating the brightest pages of our history.
Coping with the hardships of 2020, perhaps the most difficult year of our lives, remains a challenge for the entire universe. But the heaviest burden of an unprecedented military conflict rested on the shoulders of the Armenian people. When war broke out on September 27, 2020 over the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), the tortured but surviving souls of all Armenians around the world burst into tears again. People going through hardships do not even try to remember the healing power of music. But for every Armenian, the magic prayer of duduk music embodies the eternal symbol of hopeful serenity in the most desperate situations.
Duduk music is a plaintive prayer that helps to empty all grieving souls, and when the last tear has fallen, a new ray of light full of optimism is born. We reach a level of awareness that all of our prayers have reached the Holy Savior and embrace the blissful feeling that our oneness with the magic of the duduk has brought us into the arms of love and collected the pieces of our crushed souls with a resilient force of hope for peace and survival. Every representative of the Armenian nation is certain that as long as we have our beloved maestro, the 92-year-old Armenian duduk virtuoso Djivan Gasparyan, who is always there to inspire us with his amazing artistry of playing the soulful apricot horn, nothing can ever defeat our nation.
Even recently, in the midst of war and pandemic, the legendary Djivan Gasparyan, along with his grandson, 38-year-old Jivan Gasparyan, Jr., took the apricot horn and collaborated with other artists to make a video of a new inspiring song for all Armenians: ‘Nothing will ever defeat us.’ Even though the war finale was quite unprecedented for all Armenians, the legendary Maestro was right to believe in the courage and dedication of Armenian soldiers, who gave their lives so wholeheartedly for the bleeding motherland, which more than ever needed every support and commitment of all Armenians. As long as the legendary genius Djivan Gasparyan plays the unvoiced prayer for peace for all Armenians, nothing will ever break our spirits. We no longer want to grieve. Despite the irretrievable losses, we are inspired; our hearts have calmed; our spirits have soared, and the magic of duduk music has forever soothed our aching souls.
Duduk music never holds on to bloody images of history and past memories
Because of its mild tranquility, duduk music, like the Armenian people, was never hostile to the enemies. Duduk produces the kind of music that has sought not only to bring the Armenian and Turkish cultures together, but also to soften the atmosphere of hostility that might arise between the descendants of the new generations of genocide survivors and genocide committers. The tolerant and compassionate aspect of duduk music, also characteristic of the Armenian people, was first demonstrated in a collaboration between the master of duduk Djivan Gasparyan and the Turkish musician Erkan Ogur in 2001 in the album “Fuad: Turkish and Armenian Songs.” In 2015, the album “Adana Review–masterly lament for the dead of Armenia” was released by Armenian Vardan Hovhannisian and Turkish Emre Gületkin in honor of the victims of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide. The album is a painful lament for the massacred city of Adana.
Dle Yaman and other post-genocide songs performed by duduk musicians
“Dle Yaman” (in Armenian Դլե Յաման) is an ancient Armenian folk song performed by duduk musicians and also accompanied by vocalists. This song best represents the grieving Armenian soul. Its title has no specific translation, although “Alas, alas” is the most widely accepted version. “Dle Yaman” was collected and preserved by Komitas Vardapet (Soghomon Soghomonian), one of the most renowned Armenian composers and singers. Originally a love song, “Dle Yaman” has become an anthem for the Armenian Genocide, since it is performed on the melancholic duduk. This is one of the most popular Armenian songs, always aiming to leave its mark on the Armenian cultural heritage. This song helps Armenian musicians to further spread and popularize Armenian music all over the world. After the Armenian Genocide, this love song acquired a new meaning. The lyrics “I miss my beloved” does not mean “I miss my beloved because he is gone or late for our date,” but “I miss my beloved because, he, unfortunately, was massacred along with other Armenians during the genocide.”
The approximate translation of “Dle Yaman” into English sounds like this:
Dle Yaman Kamin ekav kraki pes, Dle Yaman
Alas, Alas, the wind blew like fire, Alas, Alas,
Ekav hasav chur covu kes, yaman yaman,yar
Alas, Alas, blew on half the sea, Alas, Alas,
Dle Yaman, Arev dipav Masis sarin, Dle Yaman
Alas, Alas, the sun touched the mount Masis, Alas, Alas,
Dle Yaman Arev dipav Vana covin, Dle Yaman
Alas, Alas, the Sun touched Lake Van, Alas, Alas,
Karot mnaci es im yarin, yaman yaman yar
Oh, Alas, Still I remain longing for my love, Alas, Alas, O My love!
Dle Yaman mer tun dzer tun irar dimac, Dle Yaman
Alas, Alas, Our houses are facing each other,
Menq sirecinq aranc imac, yaman yaman yar
We loved each other without knowing it, Alas, Alas, Oh my love.
Yaman, yaman, yar
Alas, Alas, Oh my love.
Other Armenian post-Genocide songs like “Adanai Kotorats” (Adana Massacre), “Kele Lao” (Let’s get up and go, my son to our homeland), “Zinvori yerk” (Soldier’s song), and “Trchei mtkov tun” (My mind and my heart want to fly home) are also generally played and performed on the sobbing duduk.
In a way, duduk music is a chapter torn from the bloody pages of Armenian history. Duduk music tells the story of the Armenian soul, of overcoming and discovering a new passion for life. The drama of the Armenian nation is brought together through duduk music, which expands into new dimensions of hopelessness and then turns into epic hopefulness. Together with duduk music, the darkest pages of history and the bloodiest images of the enemy blur, threatening voices muffle, the everlasting sorrow of the Armenian people narrows down, and the evocative sounds of the mourning duduk make us want to live and dream again. The sweetness of the volcanic influence brings a new reason for gathering and dancing the victorious Armenian Kochari again. The berserk rage of hopelessness and injustice no longer imprisons our souls. The soul is longing to cry out, “We are all still alive. No one is gone. Nothing is lost. Even if they are gone, they are in a much better place, sharing with us the same divine sounds of our dearest, most uplifting duduk.”
At this thought, the soul confidently explodes with life and zeal for a new beginning. The crazy feeling of bigger dreams, better ideas, wiser decisions and smarter choices fills our hearts again. There is no more room for sacrifice and pain. This time, we welcome only joy and hope, and the stereotype of the long-suffering nation is a thing of the past. The image of new victories not only stirs our imagination, but also encourages us to take new actions that will lead to new heights of triumph in our history. And we begin to wonder why we did not think of this before.
And duduk plays and sings again: “Dle yaman the sun has touched mount Ararat.” And when maestro Djivan Gasparyan plays the new song “Nothing will defeat us,” this becomes a hopeful message for every Armenian, meaning that love will come in different forms: “We will live, we will create, we will sing and dance again and never surrender. We will play the magic of duduk, which Armenian musicians must pass from generation to generation.”
The lament has once again become a prayer of gratitude to the Creator. This prayer is not only a prayer of hope for all Armenians scattered throughout the world, but also for other people going through difficulties. With this message, duduk music begins to bring back the cherishing moments of unity between all nations and the image of sweet, safe homelands despite the hostilities. Today more than ever, amidst global chaos, political upheavals, terrorist attacks and wars of religions, our tortured souls aspire to start their prayers with duduk melodies that will not only comfort our souls, but also help all of us prosper in these hardest of times. These moments are also very urgent and crucial for Armenians, but living with the sacred duty of passing down the noble mastery techniques of this unique musical instrument from generation to generation is a must for Armenian maestros.
Lilit Zakoyan
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