Duduki of Tbilisi

Eldar Shoshitashvili and His Students

Part of the Series: Hugo Zemp Ethnomusicology Collection

While the rural polyphonic songs of Georgia (Caucasus) are internationally appreciated and have become a national symbol, the urban instrumental music of the eastern part of the country is less well known. The Georgian duduki, a double-reed wind instrument of the oboe family, is known by different names in neighboring countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey.

In the 19th century Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, had a large multi-lingual population composed mainly of Georgians, Armenians, Azeri and Kurds, who practised and listened to duduki music. Traditional duduki music, performed by a soloist, a drone player, and a doli drummer who is also a singer, is derived from Middle Eastern styles and repertoires. Georgian musicians in the 20th century developed westernized local styles recalling the famous three-part polyphonic rural singing.