Vietnamese overseas dan bau (monochord) musician Pham Duc Thanh. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnameseoverseas dan bau (monochord) musician Pham Duc Thanhreturns for his milestone concert at the Hanoi Opera House on March 3, where hewill perform the first Vietnamese traditional instrument.
Entitled Doc Huyen Cam (monochord in Chinese script), the concert will display a widerange of music genres, including folk, pop, rock, new wave and electronicmusic.
"I love Vietnamese folk music and Ilove dan bau," said traditionalmusician Thanh. "Dan bau is a uniqueinstrument which represents typical Vietnamese cultural characteristics. Icall dan bau the"princess" of Vietnamese traditional instruments".
Thanh will perform with singers, includingA-listed Trong Tan, popular Vietnamese overseas singer Quang Le, and his wifePhuong Linh. He also will play with veteran saxophonist Tran Manh Tuan andorchestras using western and traditional Vietnamese instruments.
Trong Tan will open the concert by singing Tieng Dan Bau (Sound of Dan Bau) with musicians Thanhand Tuan. The song by Nguyen Dinh Phuc and Lu Giang highligting dan bau will be performed, for the first time, with asaxophone.
"I like Trong Tan because he has warm vocaltones and he is an expressive singer. Trong Tan and Quang Le, who represent thetwo different kinds of music, will sing Vietnam Que Huong Toi (Vietnam My Homeland). I’m moved just tothink about the performance".
Other music pieces will introduce the root anddevelopment of dan bau, such as xam (blind busker singing) pieces and Ly Koo Chai (a southern folk song). Xam is known as the first music genre to beperformed by dan bau, whilstthe instrument will play the southern folk song with a rock style, said themusician.
Thanh’s composition, entitled Hoi Lang Ta (Our Village Festival), will close theconcert with a performance of dan bau, the orchestra and dance. He wrote the piece in 2013, based onnorthern cheo (traditionalopera).
"I was born in the countryside in thenorth, where I was surrounded by paddy-fields and cheo songs," said Thanh. "These thingsnurtured me and made me feel that I wanted to live in my homeland".
The show is performed with Vang Son Mot Thuo (Once Golden Melodies) to respect the musicianwho has devoted his life to Vietnamese traditional instruments and, inparticular, dan bau.
Thanh is a renowned musician known for hismasterful ability on dan bau. Born to a traditionalmusical family in Gia Phu commune, Gia Vien district in northern Ninh Binh province,his talent was fully apparent in his youth. He began playing chèo drum at age 4 and learned mandolin at age5. He was playing dan bau and dan nhi (two-string fiddle) at age 6.
Thanh joined Vietnam Cheo Theatre and officiallybecame a professional dan bau performer in 1974.Before graduating with top honours at the Vietnam Institute for Musicology’sVietnamese Traditional Music College in 1983, he went to HCM City to furtherstudy the folk music of central and southern Vietnam.
He and his family moved to Canada in 1996, wherehe became a popular performer in Montreal. He also teaches dan bau at the Vietnamese Music School in Canada. He currently isreturning to Vietnam to participate in performances.
"When I perform in the US or othercountries, audiences like dan bau very much. I dream of a concert performing in my homeland tohonour dan bau," said Thanh.
The one-night concert will begin at 8pm at the HanoiOpera House. Tickets are 500,000 VND (22 USD) to 3 million VND. Call 0912600096- 0981843191 for more information.-VNA
VNA
