Born in Yerevan, Vache Hovsepyan began performing Armenian popular and folk music on Yerevan radio in 1945 and is described by sources as having set the standard for duduk playing before Djivan Gasparyan. He performed duduk, with Andranik Askarian, on The Feeling Begins, the opening track of Peter Gabriel’s Passion soundtrack for The Last Temptation of Christ. He died on December 1, 1978, at age 53.

Mood and energy: Plaintive, foundational, folk-rooted. Recommended uses: reflection, meditation.

Sacred Ground Confidence Score: 4 out of 5 stars   Final recommendation: Approved.

Why this artist belongs in Sacred Sounds: A historical predecessor whose work directly shaped the standard later associated with Gasparyan, giving the collection a generational anchor rather than starting the Armenian duduk story in the 1980s.