Hanoi Ca Tru Festival to seek young talent
The Hanoi Ca Tru Festival 2016 for young singers will take place in Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature) on November 11-13, aiming to seek young talent and promote the art.
A girl performs ca tru singing (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The Hanoi Ca Tru (ceremonial singing) Festival 2016 for young singers will take place in Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature) on November 11-13, aiming to seek young talent and promote the art.
The event is part of efforts to preserve the art, bringing ca tru off the list of intangible heritage requiring urgent protection and making it part of the intangible cultural heritage of humankind soon.
Ca tru is an ancient genre of chamber music featuring female vocalists, with origins in northern localities of Vietnam, including Hanoi, Bac Ninh and Vinh Phuc in the 15th century. It was inscribed on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in need of urgent safeguarding in 2009.
Ca Tru is a complex form of lyrical poetry using lyrics written in traditional Vietnamese poetic forms.
A ca tru group comprises three performers: a female singer who use breathing tecniques and vibrations to sing, while striking a wooden box, and two instrumentalists who play a three-stringed lute and a praise drum. Some ca tru performances also include dance.
The varied forms of ca tru fulfil different social purposes, including worship, entertainment, singing in royal palaces and competitive singing.
The art fell into disuse in 1945 and was equated to other unhealthy art practices, leading to inadequate preservation efforts, leaving ca tru at risk of disappearing.
Over recent years, Hanoi has conducted a number of activities to conserve the art, including expanded ca tru festivals, conferences and seminars.
Last year, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism started presenting the title of meritorious artists for artists of intangible heritage, including ca tru singing. Among 39 ca tru singers honoured with the title, 17 are from Hanoi .
The city has three venues for ca tru performance every weekend at Bich Cau, Quan De and Kim Ngan Temples, along with 14 ca tru clubs and groups, which have preserved 30 traditional forms of melody and dances, and composed 18 new melodies.
Hanoi also has 50 ca tru singers capable of teaching the art, 220 practitioners and hundreds of learners.-VNA
You should also see
Prime Minister pays tribute to legendary founders of Vietnam
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and other officials offered incense in commemoration of the Hung Kings, the legendary founders of Vietnam, at Kinh Thien Palace on Nghia Linh Mountain in Viet Tri city, the northern province of Phu Tho, on April 18 (the 10th day of the third lunar month).
See more
Culture - Sports
Vietnam draw with Myanmar at 2024 AFC Futsal Asian Cup’s group stage
Vietnam drew 1-1 with Myanmar in their first match of Group A at the 2024 AFC Futsal Asian Cup on April 17.
Culture - Sports
Vietnam’s No. 1 female badminton player qualifies for Paris Olympics
Female badminton player Nguyen Thuy Linh will be the 7th representative of Vietnam to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympics this summer.
Videos
CNN names Vietnamese dumpling among world’s tastiest
Banh bot loc (Vietnamese tapioca dumpling), a specialty originating from the former imperial capital of Hue, has been selected as one of the world’s 35 tastiest dumplings by CNN.
Videos
Korean Cultural Street Festival dazzles visitors
Many residents of Hanoi as well as tourists have recently experienced the unique culture and cuisine of the Republic of Korea along the stone footpath surrounding the country’s embassy in Hanoi’s Bac Tu Liem district.
Culture - Sports
Book series about General Giap released in Vietnamese, foreign languages
A book series titled “Vo Nguyen Giap – The People's General” with a Vietnamese version and five bilingual versions made debut at an event held in the northwestern province of Dien Bien on April 17, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory.
