Some names to know when studying Vietnamese traditional music
Source: VTCnews
1 - Quan Họ folk songs - the Vietnamese traditional music recognized by UNESCO
Referring to Quan Ho, every person in Vietnam will utter Bac Ninh province at once. The unique feature of this folk art form is the reciprocal singing of couples exchanging feelings with topics about love and patriotism. Every spring and autumn, Bac Ninh resounds with sentimental and lyrical songs that vibrate villages, dispelling fatigue in the days of non-stop work. Brothers in traditional costumes with turbans and áo dài and the charming sisters in colorful clothes, wearing flat palm hats with fringes, together sing loving verses in traditional singing styles.
This kind of Vietnamese traditional music feature no accompaniment but still full of music, showing the delicate culture of Quan ho people. This Vietnamese folk music is a treasure that needs to be preserved and honored so that the beauty of the collective culture is maintained forever. Nowadays, starting from January 4th of the lunar calendar, the Quan Ho villages in Bac Ninh begin to bustle with the singing of brothers and sisters to prepare for the festival. Quan ho verses are simple, but very meaningful, like the people of the countryside of Bac Ninh. On the 10th and 11th, there are often competitions to sing Quan Họ.
2 - Chầu Văn - a popular Vietnamese traditional music
Source: vietnam.vnanet.vn
Chầu Văn singing, also known as Văn singing or shadow singing, is an art form of traditional music in Vietnam. This form of music ceremony is associated with the “spirit medium” rite of mother worship and the worship of Saint Tran (Tran Hung Dao, a Vietnamese folk belief originating in the Northern Delta region). Chầu Văn is also seen in the form of folk poetry, sometimes borrowed from scholar literary works. The melody of the song is now smooth and charming, now fast, strong and cheerful.
The poetic characteristics of that song were raised to the highest level in the spiritual atmosphere of reverence, prayers and incense, with orchestra, accompanying lyrics, supporting the dances performed by saints imparted by the dancer. With this feature, today's chau van singing is not only attached to ritual use but is also considered a form of benign folk music that can be performed in front of a large audience.
3 - Ca Trù
Existing with many different names such as Ả Đào singing, Cô Đầu singing, Nhà trò singing, Nhà Tơ singing, ... Ca Tru is a popular form of Vietnamese traditional music, especially in the North and North Central regions. Ca Tru is a performance art form that adopts many literary forms such as story, and poem, but the most popular one is singing. "There is no Ca Trù without geisha". The hum of geisha, which carries the distinctive melody of both peaches and traditional musical instruments such as bottom lute, beat, drum, etc., has become a great attraction of this art form. In October 2009, Ca Tru was recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
4 - Tuồng
Tuồng, also known as Bộ singing or Bội singing, is a popular Vietnamese folk music which is easily found in central Vietnam. The story of the plays often revolves around the role models who have devoted their lives to great causes, the lessons about human behavior towards the public and the private, between the family and the country. Therefore, Tuồng has a majestic sound and it can be said that this is a characteristic of Tuồng. In addition, the performance, costumes and makeup full of rituals are also another characteristic of Tuong.
The two localities with the most developed Tuồng in central Vietnam are Hue and Binh Dinh. These are the places where the art of Tuong becomes unique and highly scholarly with its acting, singing and dancing reaching its peak.
Hope the topic “Top 4 popular Vietnamese traditional music” above may interest you!