Vi and Giam folk songs fly far after 10 years of UNESCO recognition
Vi and Giam folk songs are the core soul of the language and culture of the people of Nghe An, created by a Nghe style. They are simple, honest people in a land of lyrical but arduous landscapes to create the spirit and character of the Nghe people.
Vi and Giam folk songs are the soul of Nghe people.
According to the natural mechanism and laws of life developmentFolk songs of Nghe Angradually faded away. The melodies of the folk songs, vi and giam sung on the river, in the fields, in the mountains... gradually became sparse and turned into other forms such as festival singing, funeral singing...
If we only sing without responding, it will gradually become monotonous and cannot convey enough, so researchers and musicians began to upgrade to a step of theatricalizing folk songs. When researching innovation, the authors, in addition to keeping the ancient melodies intact, at the same time, took the structures of Cheo, broke the lines, adjusted the rhythm, used Nghe tones and dialects to create melodies that adapt to dramatic situations, so that now we have a full system of adapted melodies that are very effective on stage.
During its long history of development and existence, Nghe Tinh Vi and Giam folk songs have undergone three major transformations. At first, only the performance method and location were changed, while the traditional Vi and Giam music and lyrics were still preserved (no one has yet determined the exact time). The earliest transformation of Vi and Giam entertainment space was probably by itinerant artists. Vi and Giam lovers have also created countless lyrics with different content and different arrangements of melodies to perform in the community.
In addition, around the middle of the 20th century, Vi and Giam folk songs became a means of expressing situations and moods of dramatic characters on Vi and Giam stage. Therefore, folk music and lyrics were replaced by lyrics and music serving the dramatic story and dramatic characters. Thus, it is clear that Vi and Giam folk songs were not only preserved in their original form but also had qualitative developments, which was the transformation from folk singing to professional music and then stage opera.
The strongest changes were from 1967 until now such as:Not me, when the team is awayand privateLam River Girl... The authors wrote many melodies not only from the original folk songs like Vi and Giam.Anger, Love, Sing Advice...but also melodies mainly adapted from Cheo and other genres such as:Vague, Four Flowers…More than 80 melodies were created, which was a leap to give Vi and Giam folk songs a new life.
New life of Vi Giam folk songs
Currently, we are forming the third transformation, which is the interaction and support between the two art practitioners after 10 years since the Vi and Giam folk songs were recognized by UNESCO (2014). The melodies on the folk theater stage have been applied by the people to put into skits to serve the community's cultural activities such as:Hat Khuyen, TuhOh, Toad…
Vi and Giam folk songs continue to follow their own path to adapt and suit contemporary society. The folk singing movement has been enhanced, especially since UNESCO recognized it as a source of encouragement for the people of Nghe An. It is not only exciting among the people but also the authorities at all levels have strongly participated. Every year, festivals at ward, commune, village levels, youth and women's organizations, etc. are organized; every house sings folk songs, everyone sings folk songs. Wherever there are Nghe An people, there must be Vi and Giam folk songs. Musicians have written many songs, choruses, etc. developed from Vi and Giam folk songs, creating a strong step forward in the community throughout the country and abroad.
On the basis of preserving the original ancient melodies and continuing to promote and develop them until today, Vi and Giam folk songs have only experimented with melodies, responses and adapted plays, but have not yet had a performance script. The pinnacle of singing is "Test of fidelity"Compiled by the late Meritorious Artist Dinh Bao, Poverty teasingby People's Artist Tien Dung.
To revive the performances, in 2007, People's Artist Hong Luu took inspiration and title from the painting of the late artist Tieu Cao Son. The first performance script "Moonlit Night in Fabric Ward" was born. She basically used 3 stages, 9 steps of antiphonal singing from Nam Dan fabric vi guild and Truong Luu fabric vi guild as the pillars and then added vi and giam to enrich it to perform on stage.
At first, public opinion and the press did not agree, but gradually accepted it and until now, People's Artist An Ninh's performances include:Men of the fishing village - women of the fabric village; Red afternoon sun on Lam River; Conical hat village...or likeSong of the fields…by amateur author Meritorious Artist Cao Xuan Thuong has enriched and enriched the folk songs of Vi and Giam.
In particular, in the Program: “Celebrating 10 years of Nghe Tinh Vi and Giam folk songs being recognized by UNESCO"Here, People's Artist An Ninh and People's Artist Hong Luu continue to experiment with original folk songs, ancient lyrics, and ancient professions."Pot Village"on contemporary music, Xam on Rap, Hiphop in“Vi, Giam, the soul of the countryside shines”to reach the young generation more easily, not only the young generation of Nghe An but also the whole world.
Artist Le Thanh Phong is also practicing Nghe Tinh folk songs very well by renewing folk songs combined with familiar songs in the genre.Tan Co Giao Duyen - Tu Hoa, Vi on rhythmic music...
Nghe An Provincial People's Committee is implementing the Project "Protecting and Promoting the Value of Nghe Tinh Vi and Giam Folk Song Heritage in Nghe An Province for the period 2021 - 2025". The Provincial Traditional Arts Center opens classes to teach Vi and Giam Folk Songs to talented students in the districts during the summer.
The playground "Teacher Ga, Teacher Set - Space for performing folk songs Vi and Giam" at Ho Chi Minh Square, Vinh city on the weekend attracted a large audience as well as celebrities from all over the country to attend.
In addition, training courses are held annually for artisans. For the first time, the center organized a training course on composing lyrics for Nghe Tinh folk songs in October 2024 and opened a contest for writers, which was very successful. Hopefully, this will be the most effective resource for exploiting the people for Vi and Giam folk songs in the future.
Vi and Giam Folk Song Clubs in Vinh City always organize Vi and Giam Folk Songs on the walking street on weekends. Thus, Vi and Giam Folk Songs have come to the streets, blending with the taste of enjoying street culture of the people and tourists here.
In recent times, many artisans, artists, and writers have joined in making Vi and Giam folk songs mature, affirming that not only the Nghe people but also folk song lovers see that we are worthy of an intangible heritage recognized by UNESCO.
The richness and diversity of folk songs in general, and Vi and Giam in particular, are the result of the creative talent of the Vietnamese people from generation to generation, allowing the world to recognize a global folk tradition. Their rise and fall depends on many factors, of which the role of those working in the fields of music, art, and culture are the foundations on the path of Vi and Giam folk songs to fly far.
From November 22 to 30, in the two provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh, many special activities will take place to celebrate the 10 folk singing heritages recognized by UNESCO.
- In Nghe An province, there are two main activities, including: The 10th anniversary of the UNESCO recognition of Nghe Tinh Vi and Giam folk songs heritage and the exhibition "Colors of cultural heritage, nature and traditional handicrafts of Vietnam".
In addition, there are also special activities such as: Traditional Folk Art Festival "Vietnam - Heritage Colors"; Awarding ceremony of the Folk Song Composition Contest; Light Sculpture Art Exhibition; "Vietnamese Ao Dai" Exhibition; Art exchange programs.
- In Ha Tinh province, there are activities including: Festival "Returning to the Vi, Giam region - Connecting the quintessence of heritage" and TV bridge of the art program "Two banks of Vi, Giam"; Festival of Vietnam's intangible cultural heritage recognized by UNESCO and National Conference - Workshop to evaluate the work of preserving and promoting the value of Nghe Tinh Vi, Giam folk heritage.
