This is an outdoor activity which is organised by the Vietnam National Academy of Music to spread music to local people, improve the spiritual life of Hanoians as well as to offer an opportunity for students from the Academy to improve their abilities.

The program includes solo and ensemble demonstrations for Vietnamese and European traditional instruments, which have been performed by the String Orchestra, Tradition Orchestra, Jazz Orchestra and Accordion Ensemble from the Vietnam National Academy of Music. Students from the Academy will perform famous classical works from Vietnamese traditional and European music.

The program will take place every Sunday from 9am to 10am from November, 2011.

source form: qdnd

 

Job-in-hand: “Folklore Artisan” Minh Man shares her knowledge of traditional music with young students. — File Photo

When Man was a little girl, she was fascinated by melodies of ca Hue – an elaborate chamber music lying at the convergence of Hue’s traditional imperial music (nha ca) and folklore songs since the 18th century. 

Man even played truant from school to enjoy the singing performances, where she started to learn singing by imitating the tunes.

When she was 17 years old, her distinctive and pure voice surprised many people, including the once-famous maestros.

After nearly 70 years of singing, the 86-year-old Man is still the top ca Hue artist and she continues to spread her love for the traditional music to other people.

In 1997, Man, together with late artist Nguyen Thi Loi (who the club was named after) and veteran artist Thanh Huong, founded the Ca Hue Club, aiming to create a playground for people who were keen on the traditional music.

Located in the small house of cultural researcher Buu Y at No 9 Pham Ngu Lao Street, the club gathers local people who have a desire to preserve the dying music. “The youth of today do not have much interest in ca Hue because it requires a very skillful singing technique which is not easy to develop without serious training. That’s why only those people that really love ca Hue can sing the tunes,” said Man, who was bestowed with the title “Folklore Artisan” in 2008.

Over the past 14 years, the club has attracted many people of different ages and professions, including white-collar workers and students.

“The youngest member is a 16-year-old student,” Man said.

Despite difficult weather conditions and other obstacles, the club members, including monochord player Tran Dinh Khac Du and 16-chord zither player Nguyen Thi Thanh Van, gather every Saturday afternoon to listen to Man’s guidance and practise.

“Housewife Dieu Hue has to cycle a 5km journey while veteran artist Huong has to take xe om (motorbike taxi) to get to the club every Saturday,” researcher Y said.

Man and Huong have also received support from the Vietnamese Heritage Institute – an NGO providing opportunities for the less fortunate in Viet Nam — to conduct a class for children aged 10-15 at the Xuan Phu Orphanage Centre in Hue twice a week.

source form: vietnamnet

HCMC’s Student Cultural House will hold a Vietnamese traditional music program this weekend.

Titled “Traditional Music Exchange Program”, the event will feature performances of well-known local artists including dan tranh (sixteen stringed zither) artist Hai Phuong, Outstanding Artist couple Dinh Linh and Tuyet Mai, the traditional music band from the HCMC Conservatory of Music, Phu Xuan Ca Hue (Hue Folk Music) Club as well as of students from universities around the city.

The event, which aims to bring traditional music closer local youths, will take place at 6:30 pm on December 25 at the cultural house at 643 Dien Bien Phu Street in District 3.
Admission is free.

source form: tuoitrenews

Bach Tuyet, a well known artist of cai luong, or southern folk opera, is inspiring young Vietnamese with her cai luong course at HCMC-based Tran Huu Trang Theater.

Though the course’s enrollment has dropped from 25 to 20 after 4 semesters, Bach Tuyet said it still showed young people did care about the traditional art.

Tuyet said the first lesson she taught students was respect for this precious and sophisticated art form.

Nguyen Van Meo, who won the golden medal at the nationwide cai luong singing contest Chuong Vang Vong Co this year, is one of Tuyet’s student.

Though he graduated from the HCMC University of Economics, Meo said he dreamt of becoming a cai luong artist.

“In the beginning, I just wanted to learn cai luong to perform with my friends,” Meo said.
“But after meeting artist Bach Tuyet, who is teaching me with dedication, I’ve become passionate about it.”

Meo said Bach Tuyet’s enthusiasm motivated him not to give up on cai luong.

After each semester, Tuyet also gives her students opportunities to perform at Thu Do Theater to get acquainted with the stage.

Thanks to this experience, most of her students have been invited to perform on stages around the city.

Born in 1945 in the southern province of An Giang, Bach Tuyet has been known for such roles as Huong in “Nua doi huong phan” and Le Thi Truong An in “Tuyet Tinh Ca”.

In 1988, she received the prestigious state title of Outstanding Artist.

In the same year, she also graduated from the directing department at the Bulgaria National Academy of Theater and Cinematography Arts in Sofia.

In 1995, she became the first doctor of cai luong in Vietnam with her thesis titled “The adaptation of traditional theater art in South East Asia” at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

source form: tuoitrenews

Tran Van Khe, renowned Vietnamese music professor has proposed the Southern Vietnamese folk music be included on every school curricula during a meeting held to discuss ways to promote and preserve the traditional form of art.

“The government should bring traditional folk music to schools. It’s necessary for students to deeply understand our traditional music and appreciate its beauty,” said Tran Van Khe, renowned Vietnamese music professor, at a meeting titled “Southern Vietnamese Folk Music Preservation” in Ho Chi Minh City on October 25.

At the meeting, held by Bong Sen Traditional Music Theater in collaboration with the Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism, the 90-year-old professor also said new lyrics could be written for folk songs to accommodate contemporary tastes in music and increase its attractiveness to the young generation.

Other experts also emphasized the importance of preserving the southern folk music.

Dang Thanh Loan, former Director of Vietnamese Institute for Musicology, suggested organizing folk song-singing clubs in southern villages and communes to establish a place for interested people to gather together as well as drawing public attention to the traditional music.

Dan tranh artist Hai Phuong said it is necessary to establish libraries where archives on the southern folk music are kept and made accessible to all interested people who want to learn about the music.

In addition, documentaries about the music and its famous performers should be made and broadcast on television to reach a wide audience, Vo Trong Nam, deputy director of the Culture Department said.

source from: tuoitrenews

Many may think that young people today are o­nly interested in modern pop music and turn away from traditional Vietnamese music, however, when watching and listening to students who are passionate about learning Ca Tru (traditional ceremonial singing) at the Hanoi Ca tru club, o­ne can feel the vitality of this world intangible cultural heritage.

Every evening in the ancient house at 87 Ma May street in Hoan Kiem district, the sounds of instruments and voices performing Ca Tru can be heard, not from older artists, but from very young pupils and students. With her clear voice full of emotion, 10th grader Doan Linh Huong surprises a lot of people, especially when they find out she has been a ‘senior’ member of the Thang Long ceremonial singing troupe for four years.

The Ca Tru club consists of 20 official members and hundreds of other participants; the youngest is o­nly 12 years old. They all share o­ne thing in common: the love for this traditional art form. Thanks to the guidance of artist, teacher Pham Thi Hue, all 20 official members of the troupe are able to sing and play the traditional musical instruments fluently. After hours of hard work and study, if there is no performance scheduled, the club members will dress up in traditional costume and perform for each other to practice.

It is not easy to learn Ca Tru because it is impossible to write down the notes, so the learners must listen carefully and memorise the melodies in relation to their own feelings. During each lesson, the young learners have the chance to listen to the velvety voice of artist Pham Thi Hue and get to know the traditional musical instruments; they also learn how to understand the meanings and sing each sentence in the lyrics. “I love to sing Ca Trubecause through its melodies and words, I have learned more about the country’s history and literature”, said young singer Linh Huong. Third-year student Bui Viet Trung from the Faculty of Culture and Arts Management under the Hanoi University of Culture, said he had strong feelings for the rhythms and lyrics of Ca Tru after he saw a show about it o­n television. He then came to the Thang Long ceremonial singing troupe and the young Ca Tru club to find out more about this type of music and collect further cultural information to support his studies at university.

In addition to the group at 87 Ma May street, FPT University has recently put a Ca Tru course into their curriculum. The course lasts in 12 days and students are taught about three typical Ca Tru songs. Pham Thi Hue said she hopes that such activities will attract more and more young people, promote interest in Ca Tru singing, and provide them with knowledge about its history and poetry, thereby raising awareness of preserving traditional cultural values.

source from: hanoitimes

(File) Costumes of the Po Sah Inu Goddess being carried on a palanquin.

An estimated 20,000 residents and visitors will be attending the annual cultural event.

The Cham people carried a procession of their Goddess on a palanquin accompanied by traditional music from Nguyen Thong Street to the Po Sah Inư Temple on September 25.

The festival is also holding various contests such as brocade-weaving, pottery-making, cake-baking and a variety of folk games.

A procession of palanquins and costumes of the Po Sah Inu Goddess will be on display. A ceremony will be held to open the tower gates and a religious ceremony to wash the linga and yoni prayer alter will also held take place as will many traditional music shows on September 26.

The Kate Festival is the biggest traditional annual cultural event of the Cham ethnic people in Binh Thuan Province.

source from: saigon-gpdaily

The audience of about 20 sit in rapt silence, their eyes glued to the female soloist. The strains of traditional ca tru (chamber) music reverberate around the dimly lit prayer hall in Quan De Temple.

Only the stage is illuminated, which at the beginning of the performance is separated from the audience by a bamboo curtain. After the first song, the curtain is raised.

“This highly refined music does not reveal its secrets immediately, but grows on you, taking one gradually into a different world, away from the hustle and bustle (and inescapable vehicular horns) of Old Quarter traffic,” wrote Chang Tou Liang from Singapore.

“It is a magical feeling that is difficult to describe, one that goes beyond the superficiality and surface glitz of many more popular art forms (the water puppets come to mind here),” he added.

Traditional chamber music is performed every Sept. 24 night in the temple on Hang Buom street . They do not use microphones, and the audience is usually dominated by foreigners, who pays 10 USD each for a ticket.

“The secret to attracting tourists to the sounds is the light,” said singer Pham Thi Hue. “If we lit the whole room, the audience would immediately be distracted from the performers and the instruments.”

Some tourists complain that it is too dark to take photos but most of them understand that the dimly lit room helps one to focus on the singing and the music, Hue said.

The fact that we don’t use microphones or a speaker system means they have to concentrate that much harder on the melodies and the words, she added.

The show lasts just an hour, during which the artists also explain to the audience in Vietnamese and English the meaning of the music and the names of the instruments.

“I have a lot of questions on the content of the songs,” said Joachim Nguyen, an overseas Vietnamese from France . “Though I can speak Vietnamese, I cannot understand all the songs as they often use a strange type of Vietnamese.”

While listening to the artists’ explanation of the music, members of the audience are invited to drink Vietnamese green tea and eat sweetened bean cakes.

In addition to the Sept. 24 performance at Quan De Temple, the musicians also perform at an ancient house at 87 Ma May street.

Musicians from the Hanoi Chamber Music Club at Kim Ngan Temple on Hang Bac street also perform every Sunday.

Nguyen Thu Thuy, an official from the Hanoi Old Quarter Management Board, said linking traditional arts with tourism had proved very popular with visitors.

“Though the shows in the Old Quarter have been run for more than a year, most of our guests are independent travellers not members of a tour group,” Hue said. “We have signed contracts with some tourism companies, including the Vietnam Tourism and Hanoi Tourism companies. Yet the number of guests taking package tours coming to our shows is still limited.”

Travel agents are not particularly interested in ca tru compared with say water puppetry, she said. Maybe because the language is far more important than the music in ca tru, and many people can’t understand the worlds.

Thuy said she planned to promote the art form in the local media and hold some more cultural activities in the Old Quarter.

In addition to the performances in the Old Quarter, ca tru fans can also attend shows every Sept. 24 night and in the morning of the last Sunday of each month at Bich Cau Dao Quan, 14 Cat Linh street , and between 9am and 10am on the first Sunday of each month at the Museum of Ethnology , Nguyen Van Huyen street .

source from: tuoitrenews

The Vietnamese Institute of Musicology proposed a VND3.5 billion ($170,000) plan to preserve ca tru, a Vietnamese traditional music genre, at a meeting in Hanoi yesterday.

Under the plan, the institute will publish two CD-book collections of ca tru songs and organize classes in major cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hai Phong.

Ca tru, which originated in northern Vietnam, is an ancient genre of chamber music featuring female vocalists.

It is considered one of the Intangible Cultural Heritage that needs preservation by the Vietnamese government.

source from: tuoitrenews

The performance offers a chance for both locals and tourists alike to hear a type of traditional Vietnamese music which rarely played anymore.

Ca Tru was recognised by UNESCO, in October of 2009, as an Intangible Cultural Heritage after Hue Royal Music, the Space of the Gong Culture in the Central Highlands and Bac Ninh Love Duets.

Ca Tru’s revival at the house in Ma May Street:

Ca Tru performance

Tourists partake

Hanoi at night

Waiting for the music to start

Thang Long, a Ca Tru group, joins the daily programme

Musicians prepare

Attendees enjoy the performance

Artist Nguyen Thi Chuc (Right) and Pham Thi Hue (Left), head of Thang Long club

Taking a bow

Artist Pham Thi Hue can sing Ca Tru while playing Đàn Đáy (a Vietnamese lute with three strings, and a long wooden neck and ten frets)

There are few musicians proficient playing in Ca Tru. Nguyen Thi Chuc and Nguyen Phu De, some of the oldest Ca Tru artists of Vietnam

Young artist Nguyen Hue Phuong

The house on Ma May hopes to attract more visitors with these performances

source from: dtinews