The duduk is Armenian musical instrument, which sounds like a cry

The duduk is easily the most recognisable Armenian musical instrument, featuring perhaps more often in funerals, due to its melancholy tone, than in weddings, although it is also used during celebrations or for dances. With different variations and names, it is used throughout the region – the Balkans, the Middle East, the Caucasus, and Central Asia – but it is considered to be a national symbol in particular by the Armenians, a status that was cemented with UNESCO recognition in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008.

The duduk’s more traditional name is “tsiranapogh” in Armenian (“dziranapogh” in Western Armenian pronunciation), or “apricot-horn”, referring to the use of wood from the apricot tree in making this wind instrument. Duduk players often perform in pairs, with one holding the same note as the background to the melody played by the other. A special breathing technique is used to continue playing the same note without any pause.

Jivan Gasparyan is the most famous Armenian duduk virtuoso in the world today; his music featured, among elsewhere, in the 2000 movie Gladiator – an indication of how the duduk has been making its mark in Hollywood in recent years.