Armenian Troubadours - Goussan

Goussan: Armenian Troubadours -
Gaguik Mouradian
Accords Croises AC 120, recorded and released 2007

Goussan is the name given to the Armenian itinerant Bards, these troubadours and poets that are found all around Central Asia. This bardic tradition underlines the musical connections that existed between different cultures in the Middle Ages, having a cousinly relationship to the sounds of the medieval troubadours of Acqutaine and the Languedoc, but with overtones which make it completely it's own.
In 17th century these bards were called «ashik», from the Arab word «ashough», meaning enamoured.

Gaguik Mouradian, a kamantcha player (a fiddle of Persian origin), is a modern bard who bring that great Armenian tradition back to life.
His Goussan ensemble includes a kanon (a plucked-stringed zither), percussions, an ud and a saz (a 2-stringed luth), a shvi (a wood flute) and a duduk (the Armenian doubled-reed oboe).