A Journey on the Great Eurasian Steppe
The softly rolling hills and endless grasslands of “The Great Eurasian Steppe” are home to the mournful, archaic tones of the Armenian duduk—a more soulful member of the double reed family of woodwind instruments, like the western oboe and English horn.
A “steppe” is an eco-region of grassland plains with no trees except next to rivers and lakes. “The Great Eurasian Steppe” is the world’s largest, extending some 5,000 miles from today’s Eastern Europe, across Russia and the “stan” countries of Central Asia, through Manchuria and Mongolia to the western edge of China.
Since the Middle Paleolithic era over 100,000 years ago, the Eurasian Steppe has been the main overland route between Europe and Asia—the much older economic, political, and cultural predecessor of the more famous Silk Road, which matured during the Middle Ages.
In 2005, UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) proclaimed the Armenian duduk and its music a “Masterpiece of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity,” along with other traditional creations of cultural communities.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space from our friendly Canadian guest producer D.J. EGAN, a program inspired by the ethno-ambient music of the Great Eurasian Steppe, with influences and instruments from ARMENIA, GREECE, TURKEY, LITHUANIA, FINLAND, and RUSSIA, and music by ARA DINKJIAN, SAVINA YANNATOU & PRIMAVERA EN SALONICO, DMITRY SOUL, DELAYMAN, SANS, SAULIUS PETREIKIS + RASA SERRA + THE UNIT 7 ALLSTARS, C.DIAB, and TWILIGHT TAPES.
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