Joy for a soulful instrument

Thanks for the interesting articles on the duduk, a beautiful-sounding instrument [“It’s Enough to Make You Cry” and “An Instrumental Maker,” Oct. 5].

A great example of the duduk’s use in a pop/rock format was in Paul McCartney’s 2005 “Chaos and Creation in the Backyard” CD, in the track “Jenny Wren.” I believe the liner notes indicated McCartney hired a duduk player for the session, and the result adds just the perfect atmosphere to McCartney’s tune.

TONY VALENCIA

Highland

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Thank you very much for the two well-deserved pieces on the Armenian duduk, an ancient instrument whose sound was once described by the Armenian American writer William Saroyan as “the sound of prayer.”

Readers who enjoyed [“It’s Enough to Make You Cry”] might be interested in checking out the Winds of Passion, a local all-duduk group that recently recorded Komitas’ Divine Liturgy.

Also, for the first time in almost 20 years, the great album of Djivan Gasparian, “I Will Not Be Sad in This World” -- thus named because it was released shortly after the devastating 1988 earthquake in Yerevan -- is available again, finally. It is one of the most soulful and profound albums I’ve ever heard.

TOM SCHNABEL

Venice

Schnabel is host of “Cafe L.A.” on KCRW-FM (89.9).