Djivan Gasparyan, master of the Armenian duduk

December 6, 2012 7:45 AM

Have you experienced the sublimely calm and gorgeously unfolding melodic beauty of Djivan Gasparyan's music? Here's Shepherd's Song, A Cool Wind Is Blowing, I Will Not Be Sad In This World, Ojakhum and Eshkhemed.

There is a lot more of Djivan Gasparyan's music to be found at YouTube, but I selected these few for this post as they represent my personal favorite instrumental setting for showcasing Gaparyan's lovely melodic explorations and gorgeous tone,, namely, a simple drone accompaniment. His work with various other types of ensembles can be good, of course, and I'd recommend checking out a wider variety of his stuff, but for me the simplest, most stripped down arrangements are the best.

Djivan Gasparyan Wikipedia.
Djivan Gasparyan's instrument, the duduk.

posted by flapjax at midnite (13 comments total)

Rad! Thank you! He was one of the musicians mentioned when I asked about Armenian music a couple years back!
posted by Greg Nog at 7:48 AM on December 6, 2012

Never heard (of) him. I have now, and it's great. Thanks.
posted by OmieWise at 7:51 AM on December 6, 2012

I started listening without realizing that the sound was muted and thought "He really does take this calm thing seriously". After a real listen, I'm liking it a lot.
posted by orme at 8:05 AM on December 6, 2012

I highly recommend creating a Djivan Gasparyan channel on Pandora. The selections are a bit limited but you won't be disappointed by the quality.
posted by Currer Belfry at 8:13 AM on December 6, 2012

Absolutely transcendental. I wonder if he was one of Wayne Shorter's influences, thought I detected some similarities.
posted by SNACKeR at 8:23 AM on December 6, 2012

I listened to four tracks. For me, the drone quality and the limited melodic solo structure and non-harmonic quality of his music make it wear awfully thin after a while.
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 10:30 AM on December 6, 2012

For me, the drone quality and the ever-changing melodic structures and tonal colours make this music a delight to listen to almost every time I put it on. It's not for everyone though, and it might take some getting used to. I've been listening to the cd of "I Will Not Be Sad in This World" off and on for 20 years, and it never fails to bring me somewhere I wasn't expecting. It was a gift from my favourite Dr. Who-obsessed geek, too.
posted by sneebler at 12:06 PM on December 6, 2012

Thank you for this beautiful music! I need to spend some time with this; I can tell it will improve my world, as really great music tends to do.
posted by kinnakeet at 3:03 PM on December 6, 2012

Great stuff, thanks.
posted by smoke at 4:25 PM on December 6, 2012

Addendum, Flapjax do you know if there's anywhere I can buy an instrumental album of his, non-iTunes, online?

I could only find a vocal album which I didn't like nearly so much.
posted by smoke at 5:10 PM on December 6, 2012

This duduk sound is all over one of my favorite soundtracks, Peter Gabriel's Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ. According to Wiki, Gasparyan did not play on that, but it looks like he and Gabriel hang out sometimes.
posted by Bron at 5:43 PM on December 6, 2012

Reminds me a bit of Paul Horn's Inside recordings. I wore mine out. Perhaps a bit pretentious they still impressed me and carry a lot of pleasant baggage for me today. I see has new releases of both Taj Mahal and the Great Pyramid. If you have never listened to his music and like Gasparyan's music give Paul Horn a try. 82 years young he has quite the pedigree of collaborations.
posted by pdxpogo at 6:23 PM on December 6, 2012

open all the links at once - instant duduk symphony!
posted by any major dude at 6:03 AM on December 7, 2012