Preserving and spreading Phu Tho’s Xoan singing heritage in cyberspace

Implemented in 2023, the project “Introducing the musical heritage of Xoan singing” by music researcher Nguyen Quang Long and his colleagues has brought Xoan singing to cyberspace, contributing to preserving and spreading the values of this UNESCO - registered intangible cultural heritage.

Music researcher Nguyen Quang Long said that the project is planned from 2022 and will be commenced in early 2023. He, together with Musician and singer Phan Thanh Cuong, MC Hoang Chung and musician Tung Lam (Vietnamese Musicians Association in Phu Tho) went to Xoan wards in Phu Tho, talked, recorded, and videotaped the artisans and posted it on the YouTube channel named Folk songs & traditional music founded and run by Music researcher Nguyen Quang Long

The artisans invited to participate belong to Xoan Thet ward, one of the four original Xoan wards currently operating in Kim Duc commune, Viet Tri city, Phu Tho province. Researcher Nguyen Quang Long said that the team chose Xoan Thet ward because this is a Xoan ward that still preserves many ancient songs, and is one of the four original Xoan wards with a particularly important position in the origin of formation and process of nurturing and promoting the art of Xoan singing.

In addition, according to researcher Nguyen Quang Long, Xoan Thet ward is also a place with a tradition of preserving and promoting Xoan art through many generations. Currently, the Xoan ward also organizes Xoan singing classes for children who have talents and love Xoan art.

Participating in this project are excellent artisans of the Xoan Thet ward and also of the current Xoan singing art, including: Meritorious Artist Bui Thi Kieu Nga (Ward Head), Meritorious Artist Nguyen Thi Nga, Meritorious Artist Le Thi Nhan. Besides, there is also the participation of Artist Nguyen Van Thuyet and Young Artist Nguyen Minh Tri (born in 2005).

According to Researcher Nguyen Quang Long, Xoan singing is divided into 3 main stages: Worship singing, Qua Cach singing and Festival singing. In the project, for the first time, all 13 songs in the Qua Ca singing stage were recorded and introduced to listeners, along with 3 songs in the Worship singing stage, including the songs “Nhap tich moi vua”, “Tho nhang” and “Dong dam”.

The images were recorded by the team at 4 historical relics directly related to Xoan singing: Lai Len Temple (Xoan Phu Duc Ward), Thet Communal House (Xoan Thet Ward), Kim Doi Communal House (Xoan Kim Doi Ward) and An Thai Communal House (Xoan An Thai Ward). All four relics are located in Viet Tri city, Phu Tho province today. The images are made for the purpose of illustrating backgrounds, introducing historical relics directly related to Xoan singing.

Musician and singer Phan Thanh Cuong also said that what the team is always concerned about is how to preserve the rustic and folk nature of the Xoan singing art in recording! For example, in Xoan Thet ward, artisans singing and playing musical instruments live together in harmony, although very rustic but very unique. If we separate and record each person into individual tracks and then put them together, it will give a feeling of “electronic” and no longer retain the intact emotions in the Communal House space! Therefore, the team arranged the microphone position according to the space when recording so that the artists could comfortably perform together, while still being able to produce the sound of drums and artists’ singing in harmony.

Researcher Nguyen Quang Long has a great affinity with Xoan singing. He has many times carried out projects introducing Xoan singing for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Phu Tho province and Vietnam Television (VTV1 and VTVcab). In 2013, for the first time, he made a 2-DVD set “Phu Tho Xoan Singing - 26 ancient Xoan songs” ordered by the State and produced by Dihavina - Music Publishing House. Nguyen Quang Long shared that his wish is to record, preserve and spread all the Xoan songs of Phu Tho Xoan wards, so that the public can see the beauty of Xoan heritage.

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