Preserving folk singing with drums
Bac Ninh (VNS/VNA) - The art of folk
singing alongside drums, hat trong quan in Vietnamese, started in Bui
Xa village, in today’s Thuan Thanh district, the northern province of Bac Ninh,
in the 13th century, but locals still practise the art.
According to Le Thi Mao, 94, the art reached its
golden time before the August Revolution in 1945.
"At that time, this kind of folk singing
was the only kind of entertainment among locals," she recalled.
“In the village, all people, old and young, knew
how to sing,” she says. “Many young couples got married after singing
rehearsals. They courted one another through the songs.”
Mao said she loved the art at a young age and
accompanied her brothers and sisters to performances.
At 18, she performed at night shows. She also
got married to a drum player after performing at such shows.
After 1945, the art got less popular, until it
was revived in 1993.
In 2003, the first club of folk singing and
playing drums was established, which now features dozens of members.
People sing live without any musical
instruments, apart from the drums of course.
“At performances, artists sing in order songs of
greetings, welcoming, wishing and asking,” said Le Ba Dao, 77, a member of the
club.
“Different from singing with drums in other
areas in the north, local lyrics are simple, with quick rhythms, while the
sounds echo well for a long time,” he said.
The techniques require a strong voice, passion
and the capability to respond quickly at contests, he adds.
Artists in the village play a special instrument
– a drum made of clay.
The instrument consists of a bar of wood placed vertically,
with two bamboo sticks on the two sides of the bar. Women would stand on a
stick side, while men on the opposite. The two sticks are connected by a metal
string. In the middle of the string, a drum is placed on the wooden bar. The
string is placed on the face of the drum. When the player beats the string end
near a stick, the string vibrates on the drum and creates sound.
In the past, people used the clay drum
exclusively, but now a normal wooden drum can be used instead.
The club meets each weekend night with about 30
members in attendance, where they practise old songs and write down lyrics and
record songs on CDs based on ancient melodies composed by the artists.
As many as 130 songs have been recorded.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
added the art to its list of national intangible cultural heritages, and three
veteran artists have been honoured for their contributions to teaching the art
to youths.
Thu said her biggest fear is that teaching
activities are now mostly aimed at those above the age of 50 in the club.
“Our first and foremost desire is to be
supported by local cultural authorities to open more training classes for
younger people,” she said.
“Besides training at the club, we also should
set up a teaching programme at schools for children,” she suggested/.