When opened, the common gray door gives way to a small room no more than 12 square meters in size. A cat, with eyes closed, is curled up in a ball next to a non-functioning electric heater. The room’s other resident is a dog brought from Tibet belonging to an unpronounceable breed. The dog leaps upon me out of the obvious pleasure that my visit has engendered.

Musical instruments occupy every square centimeter of the room. It’s as if a silent orchestra is performing in that cold room.

This is the crafts shop of Manuk Harutyunyan. The shop resembles a scene out of a fairy tale and he, as the master craftsman of national musical instruments and virtuoso, is the magician whose fingers touch the instruments and produce wondrous music.

Both Armenian instruments and those from around the world are placed on the tables and hang from the walls. Manuk’s creation and pride and joy, the “djut”, (a type of violin), lies in its case so that its strings aren’t damaged from the cold air.

Today Manuk Harutyunyan mostly repairs instruments. As he puts it, “...Now I prefer to preserve what already exists rather than making something new.”

The path that led Manuk to the Armenian national instrument, the “djut”, began with the cello. At an early age his accordion teacher, noting the boy’s musical abilities, encouraged Manuk’s parents to have their son attend musical classes. At the Tigran Chukhajyan Musical School Manuk quickly selected the cello as his own.

Manuk relates that, “It was the look of the instrument that attracted me. Later on my friend said he’d take up the violin and I’d attend cello lessons in order to maintain our friendship. In a way the cello became a symbol of friendship; something that I hold very dear. The cello transformed my life in a very decisive way.”

Afterwards, while pursuing studies at the Komitas State Conservatory, he and a few friends formed the “Gandzer” ensemble devoted to ancient musical forms. The group’s musical director was Mr. Grigor Danielyan, now known as the musician Daniel.

Manuk says, “I learnt a lot fro collaborating with him on early Armenian and European music. I really focused on classical music during those years and it actually served as a first step towards national music. In 1983 I was invited to join the State Ensemble of Armenian National Musical Instruments. That’s how I immersed myself in the national music scene.”

While with the group Manuk played all the various forms of the ancient Armenian instrument the ‘kemani’ (bambir) - the bass kemani, small kemani and large kemani. The group toured all over Europe and Manuk was the first to introduce these instruments to a western audience.

The ensemble also performed in all the regions of Armenia, researching the lifestyles and local arts of the local residents along the way. Group members also took time to familiarize themselves with the musical instruments played in these regions and with the craftsmen who produced them.

“No matter how skilled your hands might be you just can’t start to making ancient Armenian instruments out of the blue, says Manuk. You must not only know the history of your own people’s musical instruments but of national instruments worldwide and the roots of those instruments. The ‘djut’ was a product of such extensive research.

The ‘djut’, an instrument of the 5-7th centuries, as well as other Armenian national instruments, was used to perform popular songs. The ‘djut’, just like the ‘kyamancha’, ‘tar’ and the ‘saz’ was played by the ‘ashuks’ (bards) at both joyous and solemn occasions, ceremonies and various gatherings.

Manuk based his creation of the ‘djut’ on the cello parts that Johan Sebastian Bach wrote for his cantatas and liturgical compositions. His exquisite and rich tempos were tied to the instrument’s dimensions and Manuk took those dimensions into account when fashioning the ‘djut’. This instrument is slightly smaller than the cello and the craftsman rounded off the angular points particular to the cello to closely resemble the curves of a woman’s anatomy.

Manuk doesn’t use a spike to prop the instrument when being played arguing that, “the ‘djut’ is like a beautiful, soft and passionate woman. You wouldn’t place a woman up on a prop but rather embrace her in your arms and hold her close to your heart, no?”

The sound emanating from the 5 stringed ‘djut’ is irreproducible. It encompasses the sharp, passionate and soulful strains of the kyamancha, cello and violin.

The body of the ‘djut’ is formed from the wood of the pear tree.” Even the renowned violinmaker Stradivarius used pear wood, says Manuk. It’s very strong and holds a maintains a fine timbre.” The top portion of the instrument is fashioned from 200 year-old cane. The fingerboard, which is formed from ebony in really fine violins, is shaped from walnut wood especially brought from Van.

Manuk Harutyunyan plans to form a national music ensemble that will bring the sounds of his resurrected national instruments to life, the pure sounds of our Armenian natural world. He also dreams of establishing a museum devoted to ancient national instruments. But all this hinges on the question of finances.

“For the past 15 years it has been the Vernisage Market that’s kept me afloat, says Manuk. With just a small amount of government support things would be a whole lot easier. Given existing conditions one cannot support a family and work to preserve these traditional values at the same time. And this work is really very important, no? It’s really quite true that when the right chords are struck a certain positive energy is created within a person that sets the soul a flight.”

Mr. Harutyunyan describes himself as a man who lives in his own small world of musical instruments. He’s a person who survives on the hope that one day this world of his will expand and transform into an entire universe embracing all humankind.