Original sounds

With a rich historical culture, the land of origin of Phu Tho has many ethnic folk songs imbued with regional cultural identities, closely associated with daily life and contributing to nurturing the soul, character, and identity. nationalities. These melodies are also effective spiritual tools, creating a connection effect, transcending all frameworks of space, time and geographical distance.

Performing Xoan Singing at the Intangible Cultural Heritage Festival registered by UNESCO - Hung Temple Festival, Dat To Culture and Tourism Week 2023.

Sounds from thousands of years

Phu Tho is the cradle of Lac Viet culture, the gathering center of the Ancient Vietnamese people during the Hung Kings' founding of the country. Over thousands of years of history, each ethnic group in the province has left its own rich and unique quintessence. Among them, music is a close art form, imbued with the unique identity of each nation that has been passed down and preserved for many generations in the homeland...

Mr. Dang Dinh Thuan - Vice President of Phu Tho Folk Arts Association shared: "Phu Tho folk songs are very diverse, rich, typical, imbued with regional identity and characteristics. The most typical is the representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity Phu Tho Xoan Singing; Besides, there are also Hat Gheo singing, Trong Quan singing... Ethnic people in the province also have very typical folk songs such as: Rang singing, Vi singing, Trong swing dancing, Ho du singing... of the people. Muong, Sinh Ca singing of the Cao Lan ethnic group... Each type of music comes with its own rituals and customs, expressing the cultural beauty and community of the ethnic groups...".

Musician Trinh Hung Khanh used Xoan singing material to compose the famous song “Phu Tho, my hometown”.

Phu Tho Xoan singing - a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity recognized by UNESCO as a multi-element art form, including music, singing, and dancing serving the religious needs of the community. Phu Tho Xoan singing is considered a very complex folk song genre, with many ancient words and very long songs, not easy to listen to and understand the entire content. In order for professional artists to memorize the lyrics and perform the entire Xoan performance, it requires a lot of time and effort to practice. However, in an environment with good direction, Xoan singing is always welcomed and loved by the young generation.

Musician Cao Hong Phuong - Chairman of the Provincial Literature and Arts Association said: "The path to turn the ancient capital of our ancestors into the material of modern music needs to be built on the basis of knowledge and understanding of music. national culture, with creativity in harmony, ethnic musical instruments, electronic music... With cultivated cultural knowledge, with acumen and awareness of music and political trends. Today’s youth are the ones who will make folk music have lasting vitality in contemporary life."

Every type of music, especially ethnic folk songs, is associated with the community activities where that melody was born and becomes a part of the history of the land and people there. Ms. Ha Thi Song (Vung 1 area, Lai Dong commune, Tan Son district) - an artist who dedicated her life to Vi and Rang singing, confided: "Singing Vi and Rang is the custom of the village. Muong people sing Vi, Rang in all activities of life, in production labor and on happy days and important occasions. Not only is it a simple song filled with joy on full moon nights, dispelling hardship and hardship early in the day... Vi, Rang is also a “string” that connects love, building a lifestyle and morality in every family and generation of Muong people."

Let "for thousands of years" echo forever

It can be said that there is no “history book” more vivid and practical to tell about the gratitude, life and aspirations that ancestors have conveyed to future generations than in songs and lyrics. singing, acting, presentation. Therefore, orienting musical aesthetics and creating a good environment for young people to “listen” and “know how to listen” is an important factor, contributing to preserving and promoting national cultural values, and guiding They come to the good values of truth, goodness, and beauty in the work of development.

With unique values recognized by the world, Phu Tho Xoan Singing is being accepted by the younger generation as a natural thing. In addition to music lessons or group performance activities of students in schools, in many localities, especially in original Xoan wards, the image of teenagers and children happily learning Xoan singing has become familiar. belong. People’s Artist Nguyen Thi Lich - Boss of Xoan An Thai ward, Phuong Lau commune, Viet Tri city shared: "In the ancient Xoan villages, three generations of Xoan singing have now been formed, including senior artisans, artists, and artists. neighboring artists and many promising young people. This is the core force that can replace senior artisans to continue teaching, preserving and promoting the value of Xoan singing."

Teaching Vi singing, Rang singing and other types of traditional music to the Muong community, Tan Son district.

Recently, in parallel with continuing to orient and maintain the activities of Xoan Singing and Folk Song clubs in Phu Tho, every year, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has organized hundreds of performances to political and propaganda tasks integrated to serve all strata of the people. Along with the active activities of schools, in localities, cultural and artistic activities take place vibrantly, with special emphasis on preserving and promoting traditional art forms such as Singing. Xoan, folk songs, Gheo singing, Rang singing, Vi singing...

Letting the melodies, rhythms, sounds... that have existed throughout the country’s history blend into the breath and rhythm of contemporary life is a job that musicians always try to do. In the province, there have been a number of musicians who have incorporated Phu Tho folk songs into their compositions and have been very successful, such as: Musicians Dao Dang Hoan, Trinh Hung Khanh...

There is nothing more proud and beautiful than showing gratitude to previous generations by continuing to preserve, transmit, and promote what our ancestors have left to the descendants of today’s nations. . In order for ancient echoes to continue to resonate in life, it is necessary to create more cultural activity spaces, invest in teaching, and promote propaganda so that young people understand the origin and meaning. of various types of folk songs and ethnic music, thereby consciously protecting and promoting cultural beauty and sounds transmitted from the origin...

Le Hoang