Where a whole culture fits in a single reed
Armenian music has a way of carrying enormous feeling in very small forms. The duduk — that warm, aching apricot-wood flute recognised by UNESCO as a masterpiece of intangible heritage — can hold the grief and hope of a nation in a single sustained note. RadioArt exists to give that music, and everything around it, the attention it deserves.
From chant to Komitas to now
Our story runs along a single unbroken thread. It begins with the medieval sacred chant and the sharakan hymn tradition, one of the oldest continuous musical practices in the world. It passes through the towering figure of Komitas, the priest-musicologist who rescued thousands of Armenian folk songs from oblivion and, in doing so, gave a nation back its own voice. And it arrives at a living contemporary scene — folk revivalists, jazz players, rock bands, classical soloists and electronic producers — that treats this inheritance as raw material rather than a museum.
What RadioArt makes
- Features — essays and interviews on the music that matters, old and new.
- Sessions — recordings of live performances, often filmed with LyunSe TV in courtyards, churches and workshops.
- Playlists — guided listening that connects a first-time listener to a whole tradition.
- New releases — a steady eye on the records, singles and debuts emerging from the Armenian scene at home and across the diaspora.
An open ear
RadioArt is a champion by temperament: we would rather tell you why to love something than why to dismiss it. If you are a musician, a label, a venue or simply a listener with a discovery to share, our ear is open — get in touch, and read more of our Culture coverage while the music plays.