A performance by Ca Tru artists from Ha Tinh province (Photo: VNA) Ha Tinh (VNA) – Morethan 300 artists and instrumentalists from 13 cities and provinces aregathering at the National Ca Tru (ceremonial singing) Festival that kicked offon November 1 night in the central province of Ha Tinh.
The festival is held on theoccasion of the 240th birthday of Nguyen Cong Tru, a poet andscholar under the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945) who greatly contributed to thedevelopment of Ca Tru.
It also aims to affirm Vietnam’s fullimplementation of its commitments to the United Nations Educational, Scientificand Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to protecting and promoting values of thetraditional genre of music.
Furthermore, the festival’soutcomes will serve as a foundation for Vietnam to propose UNESCO remove thesinging from the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguardingto the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The 13 participating localitiesare Hanoi, Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Hung Yen, Thai Binh, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh andPhu Tho in the north, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh in the centralregion, and Ho Chi Minh City.
The best troupes will be honouredat a ceremony on November 5.
Ca tru was includedin the UNESCO list of World Intangible CulturalHeritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2009. It isone of the most uniquely genres of folk music in Vietnam’s treasure oftraditional music.
Ca tru features a female singer accompanied by asmall group of musicians. The art genre appeared in the North around the 15thcentury and thrived until the early 20th century. Since then, it has decreasedin popularity due to the spread of modern recreational and cultural activities.-VNA
VNA
