The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh on December 31 held a ceremony toreceive a certificate recognising Cham Rieng Cha Pay, a traditional folkmusic practised by Khmer ethnic people, as part of the nationalintangible cultural heritage.
This genre of music waspopular at hamlets and pagodas of Khmer people in Tra Vinh provincesince the early 20 th century. Tan Hiep commune in Tra Cu district isdubbed as the cradle of the art.
Cham Rieng Cha Payperformers present stories in the form of poems consisting of fourlines, each with seven words. They also extemporaneously create newsongs expressing their emotions.
As a kind of soloperformance, the folk music involves both instrumental and vocal parts,with Cham Rieng meaning the melody while Cha Pay, a two-stringinstrument whose necks is measured at 120 centimetres
.
However, Chan Rieng Cha Pay is standing on the edge of oblivion as only80-year-old Thach Mau in Chong Bat hamlet, Tan Hiep district, can masterthis type of music.
In an effort to preserve the art, theTra Vinh Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has collectedscientific documents and compiled a dossier for the Ministry of Culture,Sports and Tourism to add the music to the list of national intangiblecultural heritages.
The province will also organise classeswhere artists pass down the art to young generations, add this genre ofmusic to regional and provincial art performances as well as boardingschools’ curricula, Tran Thanh Thuong, the department’s Directorsaid.-VNA
This genre of music waspopular at hamlets and pagodas of Khmer people in Tra Vinh provincesince the early 20 th century. Tan Hiep commune in Tra Cu district isdubbed as the cradle of the art.
Cham Rieng Cha Payperformers present stories in the form of poems consisting of fourlines, each with seven words. They also extemporaneously create newsongs expressing their emotions.
As a kind of soloperformance, the folk music involves both instrumental and vocal parts,with Cham Rieng meaning the melody while Cha Pay, a two-stringinstrument whose necks is measured at 120 centimetres
.
However, Chan Rieng Cha Pay is standing on the edge of oblivion as only80-year-old Thach Mau in Chong Bat hamlet, Tan Hiep district, can masterthis type of music.
In an effort to preserve the art, theTra Vinh Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has collectedscientific documents and compiled a dossier for the Ministry of Culture,Sports and Tourism to add the music to the list of national intangiblecultural heritages.
The province will also organise classeswhere artists pass down the art to young generations, add this genre ofmusic to regional and provincial art performances as well as boardingschools’ curricula, Tran Thanh Thuong, the department’s Directorsaid.-VNA
