Vietnam to bring folk music piece to int’l seminar
“Vu khuc Dong Duong” was notated by Julien Tiersot, a famed French
ethnologist and musicologist, in 1900 when a Vietnamese “don ca tai tu”
band performed at the Paris World Fair in France as a
representative of Indochinese culture. At the fair, celebrated French
artist Cléo de Mérode also danced with the piece in the background.
Nguyen Le Tuyen, a Vietnamese music researcher and lecturer at the
Australian National University , has recently discovered the piece
at a French museum and then sent it back to local researchers.
Over 100 years after the piece was notated, it was performed once more
by six seasoned local artists in Ho Chi Minh City on July 5.
These performing artists said they had never seen this piece before
and encountered several difficulties, particularly in covering the
piece, which was notated on Western notations, in the original band’s
improvisational style.
The piece, along with nine
others, including signature “Da co hoai lang” (Missing husband at
nightfall), will be performed at five 60-minute sessions during the
Shanghai seminar.
“Don ca tai tu” is considered one of the
country’s main chamber music genres. It is originated from the Hue
court music and the southern region’s folk music and has been developed
since the 19th century.
Despite its origin of royal
music, the singing style is entertaining and highly improvisational. The
genre is simplified for laborers and farmers with lullabies and rustic
songs, and is often performed on a small stage to entertain audiences
after hard working hours or to celebrate bumper crops.
Musicians typically play string and percussion instruments. Apart from
harmonising with one another, they also accompany singers. Musicians and
singers often reply to or challenge one another with music or songs,
which appeals greatly to common audiences.
The genre remains crucial in the country’s traditional cultural activities./.