Xin chao!: Mekong delta folk music recognized as UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage

Content includes

1/ ‘Don ca tai tu’ recognized as UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage

2/ Mekong delta folk music in line for UNESCO credit (Writing and pics of Tuoi Tre newspaper)
3/ Famous songs

‘Don ca tai tu’ recognized as UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage

The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism announced on Dec 5 that Vietnam’s “Don ca tai tu” (southern folk music) has made UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Vietnamese folk music was announced as one of the 11 new inscriptions on UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity at the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage’s 8th session, which runs until tomorrow, Dec 7.

The application was submitted to UNESCO in 2007 and a host of promotion activities were held in the southern provinces to boost the chances of earning recognition for the regional music.

According to music researcher Bui Trong Hien of the Institute of Vietnamese Arts and Culture, following the recognition, the conservation of “don ca tai tu” will become considerably easier, as the art has attracted a large number of practitioners and audiences.

“We should just let ‘don ca tai tu’ develop as it used to, which will be the most efficient conservation approach,” he noted.

“Don ca tai tu,” considered one of the country’s main chamber music genres, originated from Hue court music and folk music of the southern region. The genre has been developing since the 19th century, changing with local taste. It thrived in the early 20th century and remains crucial to the country’s traditional culture.

“Don ca tai tu” is typically performed at festivals, death anniversary rituals, and celebrations by farmer-artists. Instrumentalists and singers express their feelings by improvising and ornamenting based on 20 principal songs and 72 classical songs. The art has been handed down orally through generations.

Among UNESCO’s 11 new inscriptions are “Kimjang”— the making and sharing of kimchi in the Republic of Korea— and the Music of Terchová in Slovakia.

Seven other genres of traditional Vietnamese music, including “nha nhac Hue” (Vietnamese Royal court music in Central Thua Thien-Hue province), “Quan ho” (Bac Ninh Folk Songs in northern Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces) and “ca tru” (northern ceremonial singing), have been recognized by UNESCO in the past as intangible cultural world heritages.

(http://tuoitrenews.vn/lifestyle/15765/don-ca-tai-tu-recognized-as-unescos intangible-cultural-heritage)

Mekong delta folk music in line for UNESCO credit

Coming to life no more than two centuries ago and becoming much loved by southerners of Vietnam, “đờn ca tài tử” is deeply rooted in the culture and spirits of locals and considered a traditional music of the nation.

"Đàn ca tài tử" can be played in the scenery of countryside during daily activities as harvesting, drinking and boating on canals

What is Don ca tai tu ?

“It is the unique art of music that subtly combines both folk and scholarly features,” said Professor and master of Vietnamese traditional music, Tran Van Khe. “It also features creativity of players as the genre is not firmly bound to a fixed formula.”

“The art certainly has its rules but the rule is formed in a wide variations to permit players to express their emotions in different tones, melodies and rhythms,” said musician master Vinh Bao during a regular music meeting held two weeks ago at the private house of the professor Khe.

“It represents flexibility and creativity of the Mekong Delta people.”

Professor Tran Quang Hai, son of the connoisseur Khe, added the art is the mother of “cải lương” and “vọng cổ” which are now more popular in the delta, while don ca tai tu has been fading in the past decades.

There are different myths and theories related to don ca tai tu. One story states that it started in the delta over 200 years ago when General Le Van Duyet was sent by Kings Gia Long and Minh Mang of the Nguyen Dynasty to lead an army to explore and reclaim the nowadays southern region of Vietnam.

The general and his soldiers carried Hue imperial court music to the southern region and localized it into don ca tai tu by combining some genres of local folks and spread it among the masses.

Another theory points to an artisan and mandarin Nguyen Quang Dai (alias Ba Doi) of the Nguyen Dynasty. He was sent to the south by King Ham Nghi and publicized the art among the masses after localizing it with local traditional genres of music.

Don ca tai tu is worthy of representing the southern region of Vietnam, alongside with “ca trù” and “quan họ” of the north, Hue royal court music of the central region, and the gong music of Tay Nguyen -- which were already recognized culture heritages by UNESCO, said professor Hai.

The young age of 200 years of don ca tai tu plays no obstruction to be credited as a possible heritage in need of urgent preservation, he added.

It is an art created not to be played on stages or theaters, but possibly anywhere at home, in garden, on river boat for the sake of community, said Ho Van Hoang, vice director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Mekong Delta province of Long An.

“With don ca tai tu , you can find not only pastoral and folk features easily accessible to the masses but also a contrapuntal form on par with western symphonies,” Hoang concluded.

The charm of don ca tai tu

UNESCO has expressed its interest in the reputation and status of don ca tai tu since 1960s, according to Khe.

In 1963, UNESCO officially invited him and a local female singer Bach Hue to record a don ca tai tu clip entitled “Vietnam Traditions of the South” comprising 11 tracks, which was published as part of a UNESCO Collection series then.

Another don ca tai tu clip was produced and publicized in 1972 with professors Khe and Bao playing different musical instruments.

In 1994, Ocora Radio France coordinated with the two masters and Hai Phuong, a female artist playing 16-chord zither, to produce two albums which became best-seller in France during that year.

In Vietnam, don ca tai tu has long been one of the most-searched genres of music by foreign travelers, especially those visiting the Mekong Delta.

But for aficionados or those who have a basic knowledge of don ca tai tu, the charm of the music genre comes from its uniqueness in playing a song. As its theory permits a wide range of variations of melody, players can play impromptu in certain sections to match their own feelings.

And the man who is holding “song lang” -- a small wooden stick beaten on a small bamboo platform served as percussion -- is the one to decide the tone so that singer and others instruments players must follow, said Vinh Bao at a play two weeks ago in the private home of Khe.

“Mr. Ba Tu is holding a “song lang” so he decides the pitch of the song for other players to accompany,” Bao explained.

“It is actually the character and the cultural cachet of the Vietnamese.”

“In nature, don ca tai tu is a scholarly genre of music adapted for the masses. It’s not amateur at all,” said the 16-chord zither player Hai Phuong.

“A lifetime dedication may not be enough to master this music,” she concluded.

In reality, don ca tai tu has been distorted, especially in restaurants and sloppy shows for years.

Someone plays one or two pieces of “vọng cổ” or “cải lương” and label it don ca tai tu.

For locals in the Mekong Delta, playing don ca tai tu is not for earning money but for expressing their emotions and their harmonious feelings with the nature.

And don ca tai tu has become an indispensible food for the soul during meetings of friends, Khe explained the philosophical aspects of the art in real life in the delta.

Professor Hai stressed that should we want to preserve the intangible heritage and submit it for UNESCO recognition, we have to understand it is not just a genre of art and music but also a philosophy of the Mekong Delta people in real life.

People who play don ca tai tu

Unlike other traditional music genre, the art is presumably rooted from scholarly musical theory of the Vietnamese royal court music in the former capital of Hue and adapted for the masses. No need for a stage nor a theater, don ca tai tu can be “played” solo or by a group of intimate friends to express their own feelings.

Most “tài tử” performers are also composers. They don’t earn their life as singers, just act alone or sometimes together for relaxation in their free time. Usually, they are close friends and neighbors joining together to perform the music, as a way of expressing own emotions.

That is the reason why they perform with their whole hearts.

And when don ca tai tu became popular, public demand for it increased and that has urged greatest artists to build the “tai tu" band for greater performances in larger places.

The art

It often takes people from 2 to 3 years to play fluently some of the most famous pieces and to be able to well deploy the techniques of “điệu” and “hơi” (tune and air).

Now there are hundreds of pieces in “tài tử” repertoire, in which 20 typical songs include Luu Thuy truong, Phu Luc Chan, Binh Ban chan, Co ban truong, Xuan tinh chan, Tay Thi truong, Xang xe, Ngu doi thuong, Ngu doi ha, Long dang, Long ngam, Van gia, Tieu khuc, Nam Xuan, Nam Ai, Dao ngu cung, Tu dai oan, Phung hoang, Giang nam – cuu khuc, Phung cau.

While playing these 20 oriental pieces as well as others, musicians are allowed to improvise new sub-melodies based on “long ban”, which is the basic theme.

Each musical sentence has a fixed number of measures. There are usually two types of sentence: sentence with 4 measures of 4/4, sentence with 8 measures of 4/4. The basic tunes was created on Bac tune (Bac air, Ha air), Nam tune (Xuan air, Ai air, Dao air) and Oan tune (Oan air).

All “tài tử” musicians have to learn by heart the basic tune of each repertoire from which they can improvise, yet maintain the integrity.

A traditional “tài tử” orchestra comprises such instruments as don kim (Vietnamese two-chord guitar), don tranh (Vietnamese 16-chord zither), don ty ba (Chinese four-chord lute), don co (Vietnamese two-chord fiddle), don bau (monochord) and ong tieu (flute).

Since the late middle of 20th century, guitar and violin have been added into the “tài tử” orchestra.

But the guitars’ frets are carved so as to leave a concave surface. With such a deep fret, the guitar, now called “guitar phim lom” or concave-fret guitar, offers a unique sound that goes along well with other acoustical sounds produced by traditional instruments in the “tài tử” orchestra.

Based on “tài tử” music, lyrics are composed for singers. Lyrics soon became a very effective tool to promote the art values and educational functions of don ca tai tu to the public.

Soon after that, “tài tử” singers changed the way of performance which does not only include singing but also acting called “Ca ra bo”, which was the first step for forming “cải lương”.

In 1917, the play “Luc Van Tien” by Truong Duy Toan was opened in Sa Dec and it was considered the first “cải lương”, the third Vietnamese stage art after “tuồng” and “chèo”.

Thanks to great artists and improving repertoire from “tai tu” music, “cải lương” has been developing fast and became one of the most attractive on-stage performances in the south during the 20th century.

In its turn, cai luong plays an active role in helping “tài tử” expand.

Four criteria to list don ca tai tu as traditional

Don ca tai tu is the youngest in comparison with other kinds of Vietnamese traditional music such as “Hát xoan”, “Ca trù”, “Hát văn”, “Ca Huế”, “Hát xẩm” because its age is less than 200 years old. However, the music is considered traditional for the following criteria:

Firstly, it retains the Vietnamese traditional structure with “long ban” structure.

Secondly, it employs the musical scales and the ranges of scale of Vietnamese traditional music.

Thirdly, performers use Vietnamese traditional musical instruments. The instruments are promoted with new techniques by their composers.

Fourthly, professors keep their traditional teaching by direct instruction with traditional songs.

Nowadays, although the Vietnamese culture is greatly impacted by integration, information technology and globalization, the southern people still hold dear don ca tai tu and perform them in their daily life.

Don ca tai tu is thus worthy of being regarded as the Vietnamese spiritual creature.

Famous songs

1/Song: Cho moi (New market)

Composer: Trong Nguyen
Singer: Che Thanh - Ha My
Content: Love song. A young couple's lovely talk at riverside. The man: "I have a lover. She comes to riverside to do washing every late afternoon". The girl: "Coming to riverside is like a date. I wish to have a good love". The man: "In the near future, my parents will bring betel and areca to your family" (Betel and areca are officaly used for engagement)...

2/ Song: Tinh anh ban chieu (Unilateral love story of a man who sells sleeping mat on Nga Bay river)
Composer: Vien Chau
Singer: Minh Vuong

3/ Song: Banh bong lan
Composer: Loan Thao

Singer: Huong Lan and Chi Tam
Content: Love story. The man said to the girl selling Bong Lan cake: "I love to eat Bong Lan cake everyday. Perhaps, I should move to stay in your village". The girl:" My family will teach your wife how to make delicious Bong Lan cake". The man: "But I am not married yet". The girl: "So, how?". With broken words, the man said to the girl: " My home is really far from here. I come here... I come here... because I miss you"