“Đờn ca tài tử” -- a fading genre of folk music mainly developed and spread in the south of Vietnam from the last century -- will be submitted to UNESCO by March, 2011 for recognition as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism are now conducting research to trace down its origin and systemize musical theory of the genre and collecting signature songs to send to UNESCO.
Unlike other traditional music genre, the art is presumably rooted from scholarly musical theory of the Vietnamese royal court music in the former capital of Hue and adapted for the masses. No need for a stage nor a theater, don ca tai tu can be “played” solo or by a group of intimate friends to express their own feelings.
“Playing” is commonly used for this genre instead of “performing” to implicate its pastoral characteristics for the masses in the vast rice field Mekong Delta -- a cradle where the art has long become popular and most favored music genre.
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What is Don ca tai tu ?
“It is the unique art of music that subtly combines both folk and scholarly features,” said Professor and master of Vietnamese traditional music, Tran Van Khe. “It also features creativity of players as the genre is not firmly bound to a fixed formula.”
“The art certainly has its rules but the rule is formed in a wide variations to permit players to express their emotions in different tones, melodies and rhythms,” said musician master Vinh Bao during a regular music meeting held two weeks ago at the private house of the professor Khe.
“It represents flexibility and creativity of the Mekong Delta people.”
Professor Tran Quang Hai, son of the connoisseur Khe, added the art is the mother of “cải lương” and “vọng cổ” which are now more popular in the delta, while don ca tai tu has been fading in the past decades.
There are different myths and theories related to don ca tai tu. One story states that it started in the delta over 200 years ago when General Le Van Duyet was sent by Kings Gia Long and Minh Mang of the Nguyen Dynasty to lead an army to explore and reclaim the nowadays southern region of Vietnam.
The general and his soldiers carried Hue imperial court music to the southern region and localized it into don ca tai tu by combining some genres of local folks and spread it among the masses.
Another theory points to an artisan and mandarin Nguyen Quang Dai (alias Ba Doi) of the Nguyen Dynasty. He was sent to the south by King Ham Nghi and publicized the art among the masses after localizing it with local traditional genres of music.
Don ca tai tu is worthy of representing the southern region of Vietnam, alongside with “ca trù” and “quan họ” of the north, Hue royal court music of the central region, and the gong music of Tay Nguyen -- which were already recognized culture heritages by UNESCO, said professor Hai.
The young age of 200 years of don ca tai tu plays no obstruction to be credited as a possible heritage in need of urgent preservation, he added.
It is an art created not to be played on stages or theaters, but possibly anywhere at home, in garden, on river boat for the sake of community, said Ho Van Hoang, vice director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Mekong Delta province of Long An.
“With don ca tai tu , you can find not only pastoral and folk features easily accessible to the masses but also a contrapuntal form on par with western symphonies,” Hoang concluded.
The charm of don ca tai tu
"Đàn ca tài tử" can be played in the scenery of countryside during daily activities as harvesting, drinking and boating on canals
UNESCO has expressed its interest in the reputation and status of don ca tai tu since 1960s, according to Khe.
In 1963, UNESCO officially invited him and a local female singer Bach Hue to record a don ca tai tu clip entitled “Vietnam Traditions of the South” comprising 11 tracks, which was published as part of a UNESCO Collection series then.
Another don ca tai tu clip was produced and publicized in 1972 with professors Khe and Bao playing different musical instruments.
In 1994, Ocora Radio France coordinated with the two masters and Hai Phuong, a female artist playing 16-chord zither, to produce two albums which became best-seller in France during that year.
In Vietnam, don ca tai tu has long been one of the most-searched genres of music by foreign travelers, especially those visiting the Mekong Delta.
But for aficionados or those who have a basic knowledge of don ca tai tu, the charm of the music genre comes from its uniqueness in playing a song. As its theory permits a wide range of variations of melody, players can play impromptu in certain sections to match their own feelings.
And the man who is holding “song lang” -- a small wooden stick beaten on a small bamboo platform served as percussion -- is the one to decide the tone so that singer and others instruments players must follow, said Vinh Bao at a play two weeks ago in the private home of Khe.
“Mr. Ba Tu is holding a “song lang” so he decides the pitch of the song for other players to accompany,” Bao explained.
“It is actually the character and the cultural cachet of the Vietnamese.”
“In nature, don ca tai tu is a scholarly genre of music adapted for the masses. It’s not amateur at all,” said the 16-chord zither player Hai Phuong.
“A lifetime dedication may not be enough to master this music,” she concluded.
In reality, don ca tai tu has been distorted, especially in restaurants and sloppy shows for years.
Someone plays one or two pieces of “vọng cổ” or “cải lương” and label it don ca tai tu.
For locals in the Mekong Delta, playing don ca tai tu is not for earning money but for expressing their emotions and their harmonious feelings with the nature.
And don ca tai tu has become an indispensible food for the soul during meetings of friends, Khe explained the philosophical aspects of the art in real life in the delta.
Professor Hai stressed that should we want to preserve the intangible heritage and submit it for UNESCO recognition, we have to understand it is not just a genre of art and music but also a philosophy of the Mekong Delta people in real life.
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