The Shoghaken Folk Ensemble ( hy, «Շողակն» ժողովրդական համույթ) is an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

musical group that performs and records Armenian folk and ''

ashugh An ashik ( az, aşıq, ; tr, âşık; fa, عاشیق) or ashugh ( hy, աշուղ; ka, აშუღი) is traditionally a singer-poet and bard who accompanies his song—be it a dastan (traditional epic story, also known as '' hikay ...

'' (troubadour) music. The ensemble was founded in 1991 in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

. It has since performed in various countries, including France (including a 2006 performance at the

Théâtre de la Ville (meaning the City Theatre) is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century by Baron Haussmann at Place du Châtelet, Paris, the other being the Théâtre du Châtelet. It is located at 2, place du Châtelet in the 4th arrondissement. Inc ...

in Paris), Germany, Estonia, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates. In the US, they performed at an eighteen-concert 2004 tour and at the 2002 Folklife Festival as part of the

Silk Road project Silkroad, formerly the Silk Road Project, Inc., is a not-for-profit organization, initiated by the cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1998, promoting collaboration among artists and institutions, promoting multicultural artistic exchange, and studying the ebb and ...

organized by

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (''Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

. The ensemble was also featured on the soundtrack to the

Atom Egoyan Atom Egoyan (; hy, Աթոմ Եղոյեան, translit=Atom Yeghoyan; born July 19, 1960) is a Canadian filmmaker. He was part of a loosely-affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge in the 1980s from Toronto known as the Toronto New Wave. Egoyan m ...

film '' Ararat''. In 2008, Shoghaken gave concerts during their second major tour of the US and Canada; the tour coincided with the release of the ensemble's latest CD, ''Shoghaken Ensemble: Music From Armenia''. Among its founding members are sibling singers

Hasmik Harutyunyan Hasmik Harutyunyan ( hy, Հասմիկ Հարությունյան; born December 26, 1960, in Yerevan) is an Armenian folk singer. She is the leading member of the Shoghaken Folk Ensemble and directs the Hayrik Mouradian Traditional Song and Danc ...

and Aleksan Harutyunyan, and duduk player Gevorg Dabaghyan. Its members play a variety of traditional Armenian instruments, including but not limited to the

duduk The duduk ( ; hy, դուդուկ ) or tsiranapogh ( hy, ծիրանափող, meaning “apricot-made wind instrument”), is an ancient Armenian double reed woodwind instrument made of apricot wood. It is indigenous to Armenia. Variations of th ...

, the

pku Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an inborn error of metabolism that results in decreased metabolism of the amino acid phenylalanine. Untreated PKU can lead to intellectual disability, seizures, behavioral problems, and mental disorders. It may also resu ...

, the

zurna The zurna (Armenian language, Armenian: զուռնա zuṙna; Classical Armenian, Old Armenian: սուռնայ suṙnay; Albanian language, Albanian: surle/surla; Persian language, Persian: karna/Kornay/surnay; Macedonian language, Macedonian: з ...

, the

dhol Dhol (IPA: ) can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent. Its range of distribution in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan primarily includes nort ...

, the kanon, the

kamancha The kamancheh (also kamānche or kamāncha) ( fa, کمانچه, az, kamança, hy, Քամանչա, ku, کەمانچە ,kemançe) is an Iranian bowed string instrument used in Persian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Kurdish, Georgian, Turkmen, a ...

, and the

shvi The shvi ( hy, շվի, "whistle", pronounced ''sh-vee'') is an Armenian fipple flute with a labium mouth piece. Commonly made of wood ( apricot, boxwood, or ebony) or bamboo and up to in length, it typically has a range of an octave and a-half. T ...

Members

: vocals * Aleksan Harutyunyan: vocals * Gevorg Dabaghyan: solo duduk, zurna * Vardan Baghdasaryan: kamancha * Karine Hovhannisyan: kanon * Kamo Khachaturian: dhol * Levon Tevanyan: shvi, tav shvi, blul, pku and parkapzuk * Grigor Takushyan: dham duduk (drone) * Tigran Ambaryan: kamancha * Artur Arakelyan: ud * Norayr Davtyan: kamancha

Discography

* 1995: ''Music of Armenia'' * 2002: ''Armenia Anthology'' * 2002: ''Gorani: Traditional Dances of the Armenian Homeland'' * 2004: ''Traditional Dances of Armenia'' * 2004: ''Armenian Lullabies'' * 2008: ''Shoghaken Ensemble: Music From Armenia''

References

External links

Traditional Crossroads

{{Authority control Armenian musical groups