Ancient Rhythms : ‘Uniquely Armenian’ music comes to the stage in Glendale program.

The sound is uniquely mournful, a plaintive wail from some timeless source, with a nuanced timbre somewhere between a woodwind instrument and a human voice. It is the duduk, a 1,500-year-old instrument made of apricot wood.

The duduk embodies the soul of traditional Armenian musical culture--itself one of the oldest musical cultures on the planet. And it’s coming to a theater near you, as part of the diverse musical program called “Uniquely Armenian: A Rhythmic Journey” Friday night at the Alex Theatre.

Part of the agenda of the concert, presented under the auspices of the Armenian General Benevolent Union, is to provide definition. Artemis Shamanian, who is helping to promote the event, asserted that “so often, Armenian culture has been immersed in Arabic and Middle Eastern culture, and it’s sometimes hard to disseminate what’s truly Armenian.

“That’s why this series is called ‘Uniquely Armenian,’ and this particular concert is called ‘A Rhythmic Journey.’ It is just that, a journey from the genesis of Armenian music, from its pre-Christian origins, dating back several thousand years, to what we’ve developed today. The idea is to bring it out of that Middle Eastern melee, if you will.”

The person responsible for bringing the various musical strands together is Stepan Partamian, who, at 36, has become a prime local force in supporting the roots of Armenian music. Although originally a film student at CSUN, Partamian started a record label called Garni Records. From its first release in 1994, the label has showcased Armenian musicians who might otherwise not have found an outlet.

“Everybody knows that I always have ideas that are not the norm,” Partamian said. “So I approached [the AGBU] with the idea of presenting this to the community at large--not only the Armenian community. Because of my being involved in the world music industry, I was able to grab hold of artists functioning in different styles and yet having the Armenian element strongly in them. The idea was born that way.”

In assembling the program at the Alex, Partamian wanted to demonstrate both the roots and the variations of Armenian tradition. The concert’s first half will feature the 14-piece Garni Folk Ensemble, which plays traditional fare. In the second half, the music celebrates hybridized music, which takes Armenian influences in different directions.

Listeners will hear a premiere of a piece from classically trained composer Robin Fate Bealmer, from duduk master Megertich Malkhasian and also the young percussionist Jacob Armen, whose resume includes a stint with Prince. Among the crossover artists are the jazz-oriented Artashes Kartalyan Quartet and the New Age keyboardist Armen Chakmakian (formerly of Shadowfax).

Also on the program is the Armenian artist known as Raven, who specializes in Native American-flavored music. Native American? Partamian explained that “the musical connotations are with the typical Native American drumbeat, but with Armenian melodies on top of that. The two cultures have similarities in their history, as having seen so much persecution. Here is the merger of these two cultures in a fusion, which adds a new flower to the bouquet of flowers that this world consists of.”

Ancient cultures can always use a helping hand from the machinery of pop culture to spread their gospel, and the duduk has become a familiar--or at least easily found--sound in the last several years, thanks to the intervention of English pop icons and world music champions Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno.

Gabriel used traditional Armenian music in his cross-ethnic score for Martin Scorsese’s film “The Last Temptation of Christ,” and soon thereafter, Eno introduced duduk master Djivan Gasparian to the West, re-releasing Gasparian’s mesmerizing recording “I Will Not Be Sad in This World,” originally on the Soviet-run label Melodeon, on Warner Bros. The album’s popularity instilled a new fascination with this genuinely venerable musical heritage.

Still, Partamian wants to dig deeper and offer a wider spectrum of musical instincts from the Armenian perspective.

“The reason I call this program ‘A Rhythmic Journey’ is that, usually when people talk about Armenian music, especially among Armenians, it’s usually about the melancholic elements,” he said.

“I’m saying that, even though there are strong melancholic and mellow elements, there are rhythmic elements in there, too. For me, even if I hear duduk music--which is very melancholic--I hear the rhythm in it. I hear the heartbeat of a culture and of a nation. Armenian music talks to the soul, and not so much to the physical being. I think that’s why it has lasted so long.”

Ironically, the growing interest in world, or non-Western, music has posed a threat to indigenous cultural values.

“With the fusion of world cultures,” Partamian said, “I see the Armenian element getting lost. It’s basically because of economic aspects, because people are gravitating toward rhythmic music, Latin or Arabic or Middle Eastern influence.

“You hear a lot of music now without any traditional Armenian structure to it, although they are singing in Armenian. People in Los Angeles are exposed to that, and they think it is Armenian.”

As it happens, Southern California boasts the largest enclave of Armenians outside of that country, estimated at 500,000, and the AGBU seeks to clarify the heritage of Armenian culture, to fend off the potentially diluting effects of assimilation with Western ways.

The AGBU introduced the “Uniquely Armenian” series a year ago, with a program at the Los Angeles Public Library involving literature, art and music. Friday’s event is the first to focus strictly on music, visually enhanced with elaborate staging by Armen Cevada.

With the program, Partamian said, “The emphasis is to present to the larger Los Angeles community not the stereotype of what every ethnic community carries in this country. Usually, the bad stories are the ones that follow each ethnic community. Here, the idea is to present the cultural values and the individual values, in this case, the Armenian culture, to see how rich it is.”

Moreover, he said, “The idea is to show the connection of the culture to the universal culture at large. I think the individual exists to enrich the whole universe. So here, it is a moment to present to Los Angeles what this 4,000 years of culture has to offer.”

BE THERE

“Uniquely Armenian: A Rhythmic Journey,” Friday at 8 p.m. at the Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. $10-$35; (626) 794-7942.