Armenian Dhol

[MosJan]

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PERCUSSIVE NOTES 32 APRIL 2002

Duhole and its Use in

Khachaturian’s Work

BY ARTUR YEGHIKYAN

TRANSLATED BY ANAHIT ALADZANYAN

 

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Many kinds of percussion instruments are used in the

territory of Armenia. A variety of cymbals, tambou-rines,

drums, and other percussion instruments have

been used throughout the ages of Armenian history in rites and

ritual ceremonies.

The earliest mentions of Armenian percussion instruments

found in historical documents pertain to the time period of

3000–2000 B.C. According to ancient manuscripts, several

kinds of timpani were used during worship of the goddess

Anahit (Srbuhi Lisitian, Armenian Folk Songs and Dances, Vol.

2). Ancient cymbals, dated about 800 B.C., were found at

Karmir Blur (Red Hill) excavations.

An instrument that has remained from pre-Christian rites—

a metallic, decorated disk with little bells on the edges called

Kushowthes—is still used in the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Considering that Armenia adopted Christianity as its official

religion in the year 301, it is obvious that the age of the instru-ment

dates back to much earlier times.

Of the many percussion instruments presently used in Arme-nia,

the most widely used and popular is the duhole—a drum

with a cylinder-shaped body that is covered with either one or

two membranes. Both the cylinder and the heads can be made

from different materials. Ancient people used ceramic, walnut,

and copper shelled duholes. It is generally agreed that the best

duholes are made from walnut. However, because walnut is dif-ficult

to work with and is prone to cracking, other kinds of wood

and plastics are more widely used today. Nevertheless, and de-spite

its heavy weight, duhole players mainly favor walnut

duholes due to their rich timbre. The membrane(s) can be on the top, or on both

the top and bottom of the duhole. If there is a mem-brane

on both sides of a duhole, they must be con-nected so that the instru-ment

can be tuned. They must be stretched from both sides of the duhole

with a string that zigzags from hole to hole and from one membrane to the other.

Tightening or loosening the string tunes the instrument.

 

Membrane material could very well depend on the type of

duhole.

The duhole can be played with hands or drumsticks. Drum-stick-

played duholes are called copal duholes. (Copal is a name

for a particular stick.) Depending on the copal’s place of origin,

it can be of different shapes and sizes. Copals from some re-gions

have club-like shapes, while others are simple sticks 30 to

40 centimeters long and 1.5 centimeters in diameter.

Independent of shapes and sizes, copals always have the

same performing function. Copals are used to strike the upper

membrane to produce low-pitched sounds and to accentuate

strong beats of a rhythmic pattern. Copal duholes may have dif-ferent

names, which also depends on the dialect of the place

from which they come. For example, combal (from the

Artsax region), chomakh (from the Balu region), and

toghmagh (from the Little Armenia region) are all names for co-pal

duholes.

Another stick, called tchipot, is used to strike the bottom

membrane. It is a thin stick, which might be a tree branch, 30

to 40 cm long. They are usually made from cornelian cherry

wood or wayfaring tree wood, and are therefore strong and flex-ible.

There are two main types of tchipots, and they vary ac-cording

to the region from which they come. One is a regular 30

to 40 cm long branch; the other is the same length but has a

leather strap at one end in which one or two fingers are placed.

They both have the same function.

The left hand of a duhole player has multiple functions. In

addition to holding the tchipot it also holds the bottom of the

duhole and balances its position.

The method of holding the sticks for copal duholes is similar

to that of military drums. The right hand holds the stick deep

into the palm, while the stroke goes downward from above. The

holding of the tchipot stick and the striking technique is differ-ent

and rather interesting as well. It is usually held by the

thumb and index fingers. However it is also held by the index

finger with a leather strap attached at the end of the stick. The

stroke goes from below to above. Unlike the copal, tchipot

strikes are of many different types. There are plain (straight)

strikes to the membrane, strikes with the whole surface of the

stick, and the press-roll strike.

High and low pitches of a copal duhole depend not only on

the type of copal or tchipot, but also on the type of membrane.

Upper membranes are made mostly from sheepskin, while bot-tom

membranes are made from goatskin. However, today’s

duholes are made of a large variety of skins and even plastics.

Depending on the function and regions from which they come,

copal duholes vary in size, ranging from 30 to 90 centimeters of

cylinder length.

 

Copal duholes, like other drums, usually perform a support-ive

function, although in some Armenian dances they do hold

 

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the solo position. For example, in “Bert” and “Kochari” (two Ar-menian

dances), the soloist is the duhole player. In addition to

playing the duhole, the player also dances in these dances.

Recently, copal duholes become widespread in the Kurd-populated

regions in Armenia. Some Armenian composers used

copal duholes in symphonic orchestras, such as “The Dance of

Kurds” from “Gayaneh” Ballet by Edgar Hovannesyan.

Hand duholes differ from copal duholes because they are

played with hands and not sticks. Hand duholes are from 20 to

60 cm long. They are mainly made from walnut. However, they

can also be made from teeth, plastics, metals, or ceramic. Their

membranes also differ from copal duholes, in that they are usu-ally

made from sheepskin and calfskin. However, modern

duhole players use pigskin, some fishskin, and different kinds

of plastics.

Duhole players are referred to as “duholchees,” “tumbook-chees,”

and “tumpkahars.” Hand duholes are played both stand-ing

and sitting. While standing, the duhole is held by a specific

rope around the shoulder. While sitting, the duhole is placed on

the left foot and leaned on by the left elbow. Because the right

hand is free, it performs the main and strong beats. The left

hand plays the accompaniment and uses unique Armenian fin-ger

techniques.

Three main areas are beaten on the duhole, and beating in

different ways will produce different sounds. For example, the

sound produced near the center is called “dump.” In Armenian,

“dump” means many things: low, pitch sound, and main. A

“dump” sound may be produced by the palm or the fingers. The

palm can have the fingers touching each other or separated

from each other. Any finger can be used in addition to any fin-gertip.

Another sound is called “zil.” Once again, “zil” has many

meanings in Armenian: good, good sounding, and loud. The “zil”

sound is produced by beating the edge of the membrane using

the palm or finger(s). One other sound produced is called “kut.”

Snapping the middle and ring finger produces it.

Just as eastern music varies in many ways, so do the tradi-tions

of duhole players. In Armenia, you may come across many

drums covered with golden plaques received by the musician

from his or her fans. You may also come across duholes covered

with valuable stones showing how much the musician values

his or her duhole. One Armenian tradition is that elder duhole

players give their duholes to young ones so that they continue

the elder’s style of playing the duhole.

The duhole sounds equate to the notation in the following

musical examples as follows: “dump” (center) = C, “zil” (rim) =

R, and between “dump” and “zil” = normal notation (N).

Many composers used different folk instruments in classic

and contemporary music. Armenian composers used many folk

percussion instruments. For example, Alexander Spendarian

used the duhole in “Erevanian Portraits.” Avet Terterian used

the “dupp” in “Symphony #7” with a symphony orchestra.

Composers of many nationalities, especially Caucasians, used

folk percussion instruments in their music. In my opinion, the

very best use of these instruments in symphonic music was by

Aram Khachaturian.

“Gayaneh” (often spelled “Gayne”) was performed for the

very first time (with the participation of Aram Khachaturian) in

Armenia. Some parts of this ballet were performed by playing

the duhole. When this ballet was to be performed in Armenia,

Khachaturian didn’t have to give specific details to the

duholchee. However, when other countries around the world be-gan

performing this ballet, it became necessary to use other

symphonic instruments instead of the duhole or duppe. Many

tests took place using tom-toms, bongos, timpani, etc., to see

which one worked the best. In Armenia, the use of snare drums

without snares and timpani became widespread. Khachaturian

was very satisfied with this.

The principle of transferring a part to be played on one in-strument

to another instrument is simple: the timbre and

melisms (music ornaments) of the snare drum or timpani must

be as much like the duhole’s timbre and melisms as possible.

When the “Gayaneh” ballet was played outside of Armenia,

equivalents to the rhythms and sounds played by duholchees

became necessary. Discussions and disputes arose pertaining to

this matter and, therefore, many experiments took place.

For exploration purposes, let’s look at “Lezginka” from

“Gayaneh” ballet. The Lezgins are people who live in the moun-tain

regions of Georgia and Aphasia. Many composers have

written a “Lezginka,” including Ipolitov-Ivanov, Paliashvily, and

Edward Mirzoyan. In all such examples, the composers’ rhyth-mic

structure is basically the same.

Iplitov-Ibanov wrote “Lezginka” from “Iberia” in 6/8:

 

Artur Yeghikyan is a performer and educator living in Los Ange-les.

He teaches percussion and composition at the International

School of Music in Glendale, California. He served as Principal

Percussionist of the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra from

1985–99, and was founder and director of the Armenian Phil-harmonic

Orchestra’s percussion ensemble. In 1995 he founded

the Armenian Percussion Art Union and was their President

until 1999. From 1997 to 1999 he was President of the Arme-nian

PAS Chapter. As a composer he has produced several

works for percussion including the ballet “Grigor Lusavorich”

(for percussion and duduk) as well as works for percussion en-sembles

and solos.

 

[ April 17, 2002, 12:55 PM: Message edited by: MosJan ]

[hachik]

Recently, copal duholes become widespread in the Kurd-populated regions in Armenia.

 

What does "recently" mean? 10, 100 years?