Aching to restore Ca Tru

(Baonghean) -For nearly 30 years pursuing Ca Tru, artist Bach Van said her greatest happiness is finding elderly artisans and persuading them to return so they can pass on their skills to the younger generation. On the day Ca Tru was honored as a World Cultural Heritage, Bach Van suddenly received many congratulatory messages from strangers who knew her well about her contributions in bringing Ca Tru back to modern life...

Born in 1957 in Thanh Huong commune, Thanh Chuong district, Bach Van is always filled with pride when talking about her family. Her father is a lover of poetry, likes to recite Tang poems, and recite Kieu. Her mother is famous for singing folk songs. Her siblings mainly pursue poetry and painting. She herself is a lover of literature but turned to singing. During a trip to Vinh city, Bach Van tried to participate in the student selection of Nghe An School of Culture and Arts. Two years later, Bach Van studied at the Vietnam Music School (now the Vietnam National Academy of Music). However, due to a sore throat, Bach Van ended her 4 years of vocal music studies to take the entrance exam to the University of Culture, Faculty of Mass Culture, majoring in Music.

The milestone for Bach Van to come to Ca Tru was in 1984, while waiting for a job assignment. She said: “I was sweeping the yard when I suddenly heard a strange melody coming from the neighbor's radio. I quickly asked my brother, he said: "That's a geisha singing". The melody made me feel a stir in my heart, I really liked it. Later I found out that the voice belonged to People's Artist Quach Thi Ho". From then on, Bach Van determined to find the former actresses who are now in their 10s, such as Mrs. Pham Thi Mui, a famous geisha singer in Cua Dinh Lo Khe (Hanoi), Mrs. Quach Thi Ho (alley of Kham Thien market, Hanoi), Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tuyet, Nguyen Thi Chan (Thuong Mo, Hanoi), Nguyen Thi Thuy (Thuan Thanh, Bac Giang);... musicians like Mr. Nguyen Van Nham (Dan Phuong, Hanoi), Nguyen Khanh Ha (Quoc Oai, Hanoi),... Just like that, she traveled all over the provinces to find Ca Tru artists.

Before 1945, many artists and intellectuals were fond of Ca Tru, but later on, because Ca Tru was discriminated against by the people, most of the geishas retired, went into hiding and did not want to mention their past. Therefore, finding them was difficult, convincing them to return to the profession was even more difficult. Quach Thi Ho advised Bach Van: "If you recite poetry well, then recite poetry to make a living, but you cannot make a living with this profession" and she refused to teach. But touched by Bach Van's perseverance, she taught her 4 muou verses. Pho Thi Kim Duc, whose father was a choirmaster of Kham Thien ward, sang Ca Tru since he was 13 years old, but later switched to Cheo singing and became a famous singer at the Voice of Vietnam. Duc bluntly said: "If I die, I will take you with me." After 5 years of Bach Van's persistent persuasion, she gave up and said: "This girl has virtue" and then taught her 3 songs. Besides, Bach Van studied zither and clapper from Chu Van Du, a zither artist and deputy choirmaster of Kham Thien ward.

Receiving the consent of the elderly artists, Bach Van discussed with Mr. Chu Van Du to establish the Club. Referring to the book "Vietnam Ca Tru Compilation Research" (Do Bang Doan, Do Trong Hue, published in 1962), she used the words "ca tru" and "ca nuong" instead of the common names "co dau" and "a dao". In 1991, the Hanoi Ca Tru Club was launched at the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam, becoming the first and only Ca Tru Club in the country at that time, with Bach Van as the chairman, Mr. Quach Thi Ho and Ms. Pho Thi Kim Duc as advisors. The Club organized performances and art discussions on Ca Tru; organized "memorial ceremonies" and "longevity celebrations" for artists and people who contributed to the restoration of Ca Tru art such as musician Nguyen Xuan Khoat, Meritorious Artist Nguyen Thi Phuc, etc. At first, the Club was lacking in many ways. Bach Van personally took the elderly to her house, or if it was too crowded, she went to her sister's house. Once a month, her brother-in-law drove her on a motorbike to Hai Phong, Bac Giang, Thai Nguyen... sometimes inviting more than 200 people to listen to Ca Tru. Every month, she wrote articles and published news in newspapers about the club's activities. During this period, the members were mainly elderly people, the club's policy was not to collect tickets to attract more young people, but because of that, the financial burden became even greater. To have more funds, Bach Van did many other jobs such as teaching music, writing for newspapers, performing folk songs, reciting poetry... even selling at the market. In 1993, the club moved to operate at the Bich Cau Dao Quan relic (14 Cat Linh, Dong Da District). This place later became a familiar address for those who love Ca Tru to participate and learn about this traditional art. The day the event "5th Anniversary of Establishment" was announced, the Hanoi Ca Tru Club was not allowed to organize, Bach Van felt very sad. Finally, the celebration was held at the headquarters of the Vietnam News Agency, with the participation of veteran artists and artisans from many provinces and cities. The Hanoi Ca Tru Club was supported by many artists and cultural figures such as Vu Dinh Lien, Tao Mat, etc. Musician Nguyen Xuan Khoat, now old and bedridden, encouraged her: "Do it."

In 1999, Bach Van planned to organize the "First Thang Long - Hanoi Ca Tru Workshop". The workshop was successful with 18 presentations from Central and Hanoi Culture - Art researchers. In 2000, Bach Van boldly proposed a project to coordinate with the Hanoi Cultural Foundation, the Science Center of the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam and the Hanoi Ca Tru Club to organize the Hanoi Ca Tru Festival, with the participation of artists from 13 provinces and cities. This was the first large-scale Ca Tru event, honoring actors and actresses from many regions of the country after nearly 70 years of Ca Tru fading away and at risk of extinction. At the festival, the outstanding talent of Dan Day artist Nguyen Phu De was discovered. Bach Van proactively and earnestly invited him to his private home to care for him and teach the instrument to 6 students at home, including singer Pham Thi Hue, currently the President of the Thang Long Ca Tru Club.

Meritorious Artist Bach Van (center) at the Hanoi Open Ca Tru Festival in 2000.

In 2004, Bach Van successfully defended her thesis "Dao Nuong and the art of singing in Ca Tru". She was asked by the Department of Performing Arts to provide professional assistance in organizing the first National Ca Tru Festival. Bach Van also provided many important documents for Mr. Hoanh Loan, Deputy Director of the Institute of Music, to submit to the Ministry of Culture and Sports to prepare a dossier to request UNESCO to review and recognize Ca Tru as a World Cultural Heritage.

Besides her job as the head of the Hanoi Ca Tru Club, Bach Van is also the main singer, leading her students. Every week, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday nights, she is present at the ancient Kim Ngan Temple (42, Hang Bac, Hanoi) to perform. Bach Van loves singing, a friend joked: "With Ca Tru, Bach Van can be healthy even when seriously ill, but without Ca Tru, even when healthy, she can be sick." I still remember in June 2011, the first time I met Bach Van at her place, it was a hot attic that had to have three fans on, and an extra basin of water, but she was still sweating like she was taking a shower. Bach Van was lying there exhausted, but when talking about Ca Tru, she was excited as if she had new life. She sat up, took out her clappers and started singing passionately. Her emotional voice made me feel the charm of Ca Tru. A young audience once confided to Bach Van that, now listening to her sing, he understood why his grandfather had sold his house for Ca Tru. Even international friends who do not understand Vietnamese come to her to learn and study this art. Yet there was a monk who lived and died hoping to marry her. Then at the age of 43, she got married. The couple went everywhere together, the husband played the guitar and the wife sang. But then her husband became engrossed in his vegetarian restaurant, she was still engrossed in her Ca Tru career, the couple gradually drifted apart and then broke up. Bach Van is still engrossed in her "phu suy" career tirelessly. Her biggest concern now is training the next generation of young people because those who are passionate and talented are very rare.

Ca tru is a combination of poetry and music. Ca tru singers not only need a good voice but also a cultural background and experience to be able to understand the profound philosophies of the lyrics, thereby creating emotions and spirit when performing. Besides, learning ca tru must be done orally. Ca tru songs are difficult to copy into music, and even after copying, it is difficult to sing or play the song correctly. Meanwhile, ca tru artists are all at a rare age. Bach Van highly values ​​the work of teaching young people, she mobilizes students' families to teach for free, even taking them to school. Bach Van said: "The good news is that more and more young people are interested in ca tru, devoting themselves to learning to play instruments, learning to sing, and doing research; but to achieve anything, it still takes time...".

Nguyen Trang (Contributor)