An exploration of the rich tradition of Armenian folk music forged in the long historical shadow of Mt. Ararat--from Anatolian wedding dance to Transcaucasian lullaby, pagan ritual melody to bardic love song. The Shoghaken Ensemble is Armenia's preeminent group performing this music today, playing on traditional instruments in a lyrical style that captures the haunting beauty of one of the world's oldest musical legacies. Musicians include Gevorg Dabaghyan, Armenia's greatest living duduk player, and the renowned folk singer Hasmik Harutyunyan. Deluxe packaging includes 20 pages of historical notes, pictures and song translations.Gevorg Dabaghyan, duduk & zurnaNorayr Davtyan, kamancha Aleksan Harutyunyan, vocals Hasmik Harutyunyan, vocals Karine Hovhannisyan, kanon Kamo Khachaturian, dhol Grigor Takushian, duduk dham (drone) Levon Tevanyan, shviThe Shoghaken Ensemble, founded by Gevorg Dabaghyan in 1991, has become one of the preeminent traditional music ensembles in Armenia. Dedicated to rediscovering and continuing Armenia's extraordinary folk music history, the group presents music from a broad geographical and historical span using traditional instruments and song styles. The ensemble has performed extensively in Europe, Armenia and throughout the former Soviet Union. The group recently performed on the soundtrack of Atom Egoyan's movie Ararat. In the summer of 2002 Shoghaken performed at the Smithsonian Folk Festival in Washington, DC, and in the spring of 2004 the group performed in an 18-concert tour across the US, including concerts at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Symphony Space in New York and the Annenberg Center in Philadelphia, as well as Harvard University, Cornell University, UC Berkeley and Dartmouth College.