Press reactions

“A haunting and atmospheric selection of instrumental pieces… An intriguing, often gently exquisite set.” – Robin Denselow, The Guardian

“The undisputed star of the ensemble, though, is the duduk, a reed instrument with a malleable sound that can be porous and fragile or full-throated and uncannily human-sounding. In his transcriptions Mr. Eskenian uses it for mystical chants” – Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, New York Times

“… the results are mesmerisingly beautiful, as different permutations of these instruments create delicately different textures, together with the occasional addition of the human voice.” – Michael Church, Songlines

“…the ensemble makes sounds that are startingly strange and beautiful… The combination of instrumental voices, and the otherness of the voices themselves creates deep, mysterious yet marvelously relaxing soundscapes…” – Phil Johnson, The Independent On Sunday

“Sie präsentieren sich mit berückenden, sehnsuchtsvollen, tief beseelten Klängen, die auf musikalische Rituale des täglichen Lebens zurückgehen, auf Kirchen-, Liebes- und Tanzlieder, Hirtenmelodien und rituelle Musik. Das ist wie eine akustische Brücke über die Jahrhunderte und ein Toleranzprogramm der Weltgegenden.” – Ulrich Steinmetzger, Mitteldeutsche Zeitung

“The duduk permeates everything with its mournful grace, with the oud and tar lute, the kanun zither, and the daf frame drum adding their evocative sound…” – Michael Church, BBC

“Msho Shoror made up of dances from the monastery of Surb Karapet… These dances were part of the religious ritual and include the sound of a jangling censer and plate jingles that were used by the priests… This is a substantial piece of musical archaeology and resuscitation.” – Simon Broughton, Songlines

“A prominent Armenian musician is shedding lovely new light on music hitherto heard on the piano…” – Doug Spencer, ABC

“The combination of instrumental voices, and the otherness of the voices themselves creates deep, mysterious yet marvelously relaxing soundscapes…” – Phil Johnson, The Independent

“Faszinierend anzuhören ist die nun dokumentierte Rückführung dieser für den Konzertsalon `veredelten´ Volksweisen in den ursprünglichen Kontext durch den Komponisten Levon Eskelian, der die ergreifenden Melodien mit Akribie, Einfühlungsvermögen und Sachkenntnis ” – Jürg Sommer, Aargauer Zeitung

“Georges Gurdjieff composed and dictated volumes of piano music. Levon Eskenian’s Gurdjieff Folk Instruments Ensemble reclaims these pieces from the salons of Paris and takes them back to their roots in the Caucasus. […] they reveal their origins and themselves.” – David Honigmann, Financial Times