DUDUK I for soprano saxophone - Gabriel Erkoreka

Performer: Joël Versavaud Soprano Saxophone Image: photo of a traditional Duduk Written in the year 2000 Duduk I is the first of a series of four pieces the other three being for saxophone quartet oboe trio and string quartet whose material is based on the traditional modesscales of Armenia. These modes nourish Armenian popular music as well as liturgical chant. Duduk is the name of the Armenian oboe traditionally made of apricot wood. It is never played alone but is normally accompanied by slightly bigger instruments called drone-duduks which function as harmonic support to the main player only by holding drones for an unlimited period of time the musicians using circular breathing. The mellow and somewhat mournful sound produced by the duduk although being a double-reed instrument is most similar to the timbre that by the use of certain techniques can be achieved by the soprano saxophone. The piece deals with the problem of providing drones that are not present as such and sets its task to give the illusion that there is one. At the same time this polarization between drone and melody carried to the extremes wills to experiment with the material in a way to reflect an equally extreme emotional background: The trauma stemming from a yearning for a lost homeland with a sense of survival against all odds which characterize the Armenian psyche.,

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