Meet the Nghe An musician who has written many songs about Uncle Ho

Cong Kien• May 13, 2020 17:51

(Baonghean.vn) - With over 50 years of experience in the music industry, composing hundreds of songs, Van The is known as one of the musicians in Nghe An with many songs written about Uncle Ho.

Joy of Origin

Starting his artistic career in 1959, starting with the Nghe An Art Troupe, musician Van The (born in 1937) began his creative journey for the culture and music of Nghe An. Up to now, his musical legacy includes hundreds of songs, many of which have the folk music of Nghe Tinh, which are loved and highly appreciated by the public.

In particular, one of the successful topics of musician Van The is composing songs about Uncle Ho. With 15 works published in the song collection “Song Lam Tinh Bac”, he is considered one of the musicians in Nghe An with many compositions about President Ho Chi Minh, including songs that are highly appreciated and have won a number of awards.

Musician Van The has 15 songs written about Uncle Ho. Photo: Cong Kien

“The first song about Uncle Ho that I wrote in 1969 was “Celebrating Uncle Ho’s Spring Poetry”, a version of his New Year’s greetings. Immediately after that, the Nghe An Art Troupe was mobilized to perform for the Central Party delegation on duty, led by Comrade Le Duan - First Secretary. The song “Celebrating Uncle Ho’s Spring Poetry” was the opening act of the night and was praised by many people” - musician Van The recalled.

Some time later, the song "Celebrating Uncle Ho's Spring Poetry" was sent by musician Do Nhuan, then General Secretary of the Vietnam Musicians Association, to be published in the Magazine of the Ministry of Culture and Information and broadcast on Voice of Vietnam Radio.

"Celebrating Uncle Ho's Spring Poetry" is the first song written about Uncle Ho by musician Van The. Photo: Cong Kien

Previously, Uncle Ho's New Year's Poem in 1969 was successfully set to music by musician Huy Thuc with the song "Forward Soldiers, Compatriots", which was broadcast on the Voice of Vietnam Radio and was considered an encouragement and call to arms for the people of the whole country. The song was highly appreciated, deeply touched the hearts of people, imbued with the traditional folk songs of the Northern countryside and the folk songs of Nghe Tinh, Uncle Ho's hometown.

For musician Van The, when composing music for Uncle Ho's New Year poem in 1969, he determined to make a difference by highlighting the song with a rapid and decisive melody. Especially the line "Fight to make the Americans leave, fight to make the puppets fall" clearly shows the fighting spirit and victory of the army and people of the North and South.

To do this, Van The effectively exploited the sounds of Nghe folk songs. In other words, the solidity and strong but no less profound rhythm of the folk songs and vi melodies were "breathed" into the music by the Nghe musician, creating the success of the song "Celebrating Uncle Ho's Spring Poetry".

Bác Hồ là nguồn cảm hứng sáng tác vô tận cho văn nghệ sỹ. Ảnh tư liệu

Uncle Ho is an endless source of inspiration for artists. Photo: Documentary

Musician Van The confided: “Like literature and painting, composing songs about President Ho Chi Minh is always a big challenge. Because, many musicians from all over the country have succeeded with lifetime songs, including big names such as Thuan Yen, Phong Nha, Huy Thuc, An Thuyen… Therefore, I have to find my own way by relying on the melodies and folk songs of Nghe An”.

Hope to resonate and resound far and wide

After the song “Celebrating Uncle Ho’s Spring Poetry”, musician Van The continued to have more good songs about Uncle Ho, typically “Pilgrimage to Uncle Ho’s Hometown” (C prize - Ho Xuan Huong award of Nghe An Literature and Arts Association); “Sacred New Year’s Eve” (B prize - campaign to compose and promote literary, artistic and journalistic works on the theme of Studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s moral example in 2010)…

Many compositions on the theme of Uncle Ho by musician Van The were highly appreciated and won prizes at competitions. Photo: Cong Kien

Along with the songs, musician Van The also composed a number of choral works on the theme of Uncle Ho and achieved certain success, in which, the most prominent work is "Long ca song Lam" (C prize - Ho Xuan Huong award).

The motivation that urged musician Van The to compose many songs about Uncle Ho is nothing other than his respect and love for his immense contributions to the country and the people. Moreover, as a cultural officer in charge of mass arts, every year on the occasion of Uncle Ho's birthday, especially the Sen Village Singing Festival, he always wishes to compose songs to dedicate to him.

Collection of songs "Lam River, Uncle Ho's love" by musician Van The. Photo: Cong Kien

Besides, musician Van The is also known as a person with many practical experiences about his hometown Nghe An. He belongs to the previous generation of musicians, through many periods of change in his hometown and country, and has worked in many cultural and artistic units, so he has accumulated life capital and experience, contributing to the success in artistic creation.

Musician Van The has compiled 15 compositions about President Ho Chi Minh into the collection “Song Lam Tinh Bac” (Uncle Ho’s Love) and has recently been published. Writing the introduction, musician Thanh Luu affirmed: “It can be said that the topic about Uncle Ho is an endless source of inspiration that many musicians have written very successfully, but not many have written as much as he (musician Van The - PV)… Perhaps that is why the Provincial People’s Committee decided to invest in him to print a collection of songs about this topic, titled “Song Lam Tinh Bac”. This is a recognition of the work of a musician who has composed many songs praising Uncle Ho’s merits for the Vietnamese revolutionary cause, and at the same time is a precious gift for him.”

The song "Lam River, Uncle Ho's love" by musician Van The. Photo: Cong Kien

It is known that recently, musician Van The has recorded the song “Song Lam Tinh Bac” (1 of 15 songs in the collection) to submit to the contest of composing and promoting works on the theme of Studying and following the moral example and style of Ho Chi Minh this time. The work is highly appreciated for both its ideological content and form of expression.

The song "Lam River, Uncle Ho's love" by musician Van The recorded by Voice of Vietnam.

Musician Van The shared: “My greatest wish is to continue recording the remaining songs to widely disseminate them in the cultural and artistic life of my homeland. From there, my heart's voice and gratitude to Uncle Ho will resonate and resound far and wide…”.

Despite his advanced age, musician Van The is still passionate about composing and has many good songs about his homeland and Uncle Ho. Songs about Uncle Ho by musician Van The are often short, with simple lyrics but still full of emotions, expressing the sacred love of his children and grandchildren for him.

Musician Trinh Quang Thuan - Member of the Standing Committee of the Nghe An Literature and Arts Association