GARYAN ENSEMBLE
Garyan Ensemble is the most genuine representative of Kurdish music, in which the different wind, string and percussion instruments achieve a refinement rarely found in other kinds of music.
The musicians of the Garyan Ensemble, all authentic virtuosos, come from Suleimaniye, now the cultural capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. Ever since the fall of Saddam Hussein, the part of Kurdistan inside Iraq has earned a great deal of autonomy, becoming virtually independent, a factor responsible for the Kurdish cultural renaissance mainly taking place in the city of Suleimaniye.
Kurdish music is extremely lively, with a great deal of rhythm and songs that talk of the simple pleasures of life and warring feats, a common theme in the villages dotted over the Caucasus and Iranian mountains.