The Armenian duduk
Perhaps no other nation is similar to the Coptic nation than the Armenian nation is. There are great similarities between them in religion (both are non-Chalcedonian Orthodox believers), culture, history and the pride and pain that are attached to it. The soul of the Armenian people is not unlike that of the Copts; and there is a deep appreciation and respect between the two nations. They are connected in many ways.
And if we should borrow anything from any nation to enrich our culture, it is from the Armenian, our soul mates. And one thing which we can learn from them is their duduk music which represents, in my opinion, historical agony and pride, mood and spiritual qualities that are very similar in both nations.
The duduk music, which is indigenous to Armenia (it is dated to the reign of the Armenian king, Tigran the Great [r. 95-55 BC]), is played using the duduk instrument, a unique type of oboe that accompanies popular songs and is played at social events, such as weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, popular festivities and funerals. Though it conveys mainly sorrow, it can express happiness too. The duduk has a wide, double reed, woodwind mouthpiece (called, ‘ghamish’ or ‘egegn’) that is usually sliced from cane growing along the Arax River, and a slender tubular body with holes in it made of apricot (the national fruit and a symbol of Armenia) wood; and is usually played in pairs a duduk player is called, ‘dudukahar’, in Armenian): the first player sustains a drone (continuous low humming sound) and the second plays the song melody. The duduk music is a most beautiful music with haunting sounds that are mystical and mournful, and speaks directly to the heart and soul of its listeners. In 2005, UNESCO, declared the duduk and its music as ‘Masterpiece of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity’, and set up a project to safeguard the music in a threatening world. I include below four videos of the duduk music to demonstrate its spiritual beauty:
This is the kind of music we should adopt; and in all cases we should avoid music that is fundamentally alien to our history, soul and spirit. Arab music is just one example of this, but also some Western music, such as hip hop and rock. A nation’s music should enrich its soul as much as it should emit from it. When adopting the Armenian duduk music, we should add to it, and put our unique stamp on to it. The duduk music will not threaten our sacred ecclesiastical hymnodies but complement it: we shall have music close to our hearts and souls to play in our celebrations and festivities: in our weddings, birthdays, funerals, and other occasions. This will help reviving our nation. A nation needs both religious and secular music to satiate its needs in both spheres. When a nation doesn’t develop a music of its own that suits its soul and reflects its history and culture, it will allow into its life, into its intimate festivities and social and family celebrations the music of those who dominate the state. To prevent Arab and Islamic music from invading these aspects of our lives, we must fill the vacuum with a music we consciously and wisely chose to prevent our assimilation into the alien cultures around us.