Djivan Gasparyan – I Will Not Be Sad In This World / Moon Shines At Night – (All Saints)
DMC World Magazine
As All Saints look to make more of their music available once again (see the review of the Compilation of the Week this week!) they alight on two albums by the Armenian Djivan Gasparyan. All you need to know here really is that Brian Eno called his music ‘without doubt one of the most beautiful and soulful recordings I have ever heard’ – but why so? Gasparyan plays the duduk, a traditional woodwind instrument from his home country, and it makes a sound that pierces the brain immediately. So much so that it barely needs accompaniment, and as you listen to the 1993 album ‘Moon Shines At Night’ all you can hear in the background is a drone. You could easily be outside in a moonlit field, taking in the unusual shadows and fleeting spotlights the Earth’s satellite offers. ‘Apricot Tree’ is a journey through the desert at night, and works best on headphones under cover of darkness – deeply personal music. Meanwhile ‘I Will Not Be Sad In This World’, which dates from ten years later, finds Gasparyan in the company of a second duduk and drone, playing shorter pieces that are no less substantial in their impact, even if they don’t perhaps carry the impact of the original. Try before buying, because this is a very original sound – but I’ll wager its pure and lasting ambience will win you over.
