Maestro Gevorg Dabagyan (State Conservatory of Yerevan)
November 29 – December 1, 2013
11am-1pm | 2:30-4:30pm at Centro Studi e Documentazione della Cultura Armena
Biblioteca Zenobiana del Temanza
Corte Zappa, Dorsoduro 1602 | I-30123 VENEZIA

Fee: €150,00

The music section of the Studies and Documentation Centre of Armenian Culture of Venice, directed by Minas Lourian, in collaboration with the Intercultural Institute of Comparative Music Studies of Giorgio Cini Foundation organizes a course on the Armenian duduk, a double-reed woodwind instrument made of apricot wood. A symbol of the Armenian musical tradition, the duduk (conventionally called the “Armenian oboe”) is a very popular instrument with a warm slightly nasal tone creating evocative sounds. It is played to accompany songs and dancing in all the regions of Armenia and is the principal instrument at weddings and funerals. In 2005 the duduk (or dziranapogh in Armenian) was proclaimed a masterpiece, representing the Armenian musical tradition in the UNESCO “Programme of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”, and then inscribed in 2008 on the new “Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”.

Gevorg Dabagyan is a major living expert on this very ancient instrument. He has founded several ensembles, including Shoghaken, a group dedicated to conserving the very rich Armenian folk music heritage. Liturgical music also features prominently in Dabagyan’s vast repertory and is a fundamental part of a thousand-year old tradition characterised by strong Christian roots, going back to when Armenia was the first country to proclaim Christianity as its state religion in 301.

Born in Armenia (1965), Dabagyan is the main duduk teacher at Yerevan State Conservatory. He lunched its international carreer in 1991 cooperating also with internationally renowned musicians as Gidon Kremer, Jan Garbarek and Yo-Yo Ma (who engaged him in the “Silk Road” project). On the initiative of Studies and Documentation Centre of Armenian Culture of Venice, the Dabagyan duduk Trio was invited several times to Italy, to perform at “Musicarmena” Festival, Ravenna Festival, “Aterforum Festival” of Ferrara, the 5th edition of “East/West Contemporary Music Festival” and the 8th edition of Gong Festival of Torino, at musical events promoted by “Suoni e Pause” of Cagliari, and at Giorgio Cini Foundation of Venice.

Information and applications at:
Centro Studi e Documentazione della Cultura Armena
Corte Zappa, Dorsoduro 1602
I-30123 Venezia (Italy)
Ph./fax: +39 041 5224225
E-mail: oemme.ed@iol.it | www.cini.it
Info: www.unesco.org/venice
Participants are required to enroll oemme.ed@iol.it –
musica.comparata@cini.it
Participation fee of €150,00 to be paid directly at location :
Centro Studi e Documentazione della Cultura Armena –
Bibilioteca Zenobiana del Temanza