Songs of Armenia Vol. II - Ensemble Karot - songs album

	- Duduk (wind instrument)
	Armenian oboe. A single or double reed wind instrument made of apricot wood with a sound that has a humanlike voice quality. It has a cylindrical wooden pipe, a broad reed and nine holes (8 finger-holes and one thumb-hole). It has a warm, soft, slightly nasal timbre and full tone. This instrument is equally used for slow lyrical tunes (accompanying folk songs) and faster dance-tunes and it is also played solo. The tuning is basically untempered diatonic, though chromatic notes can be obtained by partially opening or closing the finger holes. The double reed is a slit-tube-like reed. The origin of the duduk goes back to times before Christ..
	- Sring (wind instrument)
	Shepherd's flute of medieval Armenia. Sring is also the common term for end-blown flutes in general. These flutes are made either of a storke bone or bamboo (with the pitch of a piccolo) or wood from the apricot tree or cane and have seven or eight finger holes, producing a diatonic scale. Shepherds play on the sring various signals and tunes connected with their work, as well as the tunes of lyrical love songs called chaban byaty orl programme pieces. The sring is also played together with the def and the dhol for dance music. Specimens of sring have been found at Garni and Dvin (Armenia) and have been dated to the period between the 5th century BC and the Middle Ages. These flutes are analogous to the contemporary blul. The Armenian musicologist Komitas thought that the sring is the most characteristic among the Armenian national instruments. It originates from Eastern Armenia (Caucasus region).
	- Kanun (string instrument)
	The kanun is a plucked box zither of the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Asia. It is trapeziform in shape, one of the sides being rectangular. Armenian models never have more than two string-levers. To play the instruments, the musicians place it either on their knees or on a table. The strings are plucked by ring-shaped plectra put on the index fingers. The range of the kanun varies between three and four octaves. In Armenia it is played as a solo instrument or in ensembles. The instrument has 24 triple courses of gut strings tuned to a diatonic scale of D major.
	- Dhol (percussion instrument )
	Double-headed cylindrical drum. One membrane is thick and produces a deep sound, the other is thinner, generating a higher pitch. The membranes are made of sheepskin or goatskin, which are tensioned to each other by a variety of zigzag lacing around the cylinder. It is either played with two wooden sticks (one usually thicker than the other) on both membranes, or with the fingers and palms on one membrane. A variety of dances and songs are accompanied by the dhol. Many rhythmic patterns are used, giving the music an improvisatory character and its beat. In medieval times, the dhol was also known as the gos.

- more information Traditional Music and Instruments of Armenia

The Ensemble Karot (means nostalgia) was founded in 1999 by Aleksan Harutyunyan. All members of the ensemble have either studied at the Yerevan State University or at the Komitas State Conservatory. Nowadays, they teach in Yerevan the traditional music of their ancestors, choir singing, playing the traditional instruments, folk dance and the basics of music.

The repertoire of the Ensemble consists of songs that belong to the old tradition. The performance is based on the idea to preserve the songs of the different regions of Armenia, as well as to represent Armenia's "old roots" and the design of the original costumes in local traditions.

The art of Armenian folk music is as old as the Armenian nation itself. Songs reflect a people's soul like a mirror, and in this way, we can become acquainted with the traditions, the mentality, and the history of Armenian life. The Armenian people have a past with considerable historical events. Armenia was often the object of a tug-of-war between various belligerent nations, struggling to maintain national independence. After the tragedy of the 1915 massacres, Armenia recovered and gained again a foothold to continue on the way to a hopeful future.

The musicologist Komitas has described Armenian music with these words: "The songs of a people are their life; their entire life is inspired by their songs....". Because of the Armenians' difficult fate, their music is rich and of an unparalleled depth and colour. Under the influence of various foreign political and economic tendencies, Armenian musical creativity was enriched, while still following its own path and maintaining the ties to the traditions that link the past with the present.

	Face Music - Catalog - Ensemble Karot
	Ensemble Karot - Vol. II - Traditional Songs of Armenia