The "rustic" dream of a singer with a rare voice

From rare bass notes

When the deep Baritone voice of Nguyen Sy Nhat (born 1994) resounded on the stage of Nghe An Voice in 2017, the audience and the Organizing Committee were extremely surprised, "How can that fragile, immature boy have such a deep, strong and resonant voice?". Then when they learned that Nhat was from a family of singers, had been trained quite systematically, and had a natural low range, the more they listened, the more intoxicated they became, the more attracted they were, and the more they wanted to explore this voice.

Nguyen Sy Nhat on stage.

Nhat came to the professional stage with only his “extremely rare voice”, a pure spirit with revolutionary songs written on a solemn chamber music background, because at that time he was only in his first year of intermediate vocal music at the Military University. However, when listening to him sing, witnessing his poise when performing “Legend of Hoan Kiem Lake” (composer: Hoang Phuc Thang), “Hello Heroic Ma River” (Xuan Giao), “Pac Po Sings Forever in Your Name” (An Thuyen), on large and small stages, one can see the way the 9X singer conveys the spirit of scholarly songs is very new, very charming but also very mature.

Nhat said that he had not originally decided to choose music as his career path. “Because everyone in Nhat’s family was in the theater industry, from grandparents, uncles, aunts to his mother, I did not want to pursue it anymore,” Nhat shared. When he graduated from high school, Nhat enrolled in accounting and kept his passion for music private. But through the times he heard his son spontaneously sing his favorite revolutionary songs, songs in the low range, Nhat’s mother quickly realized that her son could not do anything else with such a natural “sound area”. So she encouraged her son to take the vocal music exam and ignited his determination to lay the first bricks on the path of music.

Nguyen Sy Nhat in a performance. Photo: Thanh Nga

"My mother kept saying that nowadays there are few people with baritone voices left. She feels so sorry that I didn't pursue music."

However, Nhat's deep voice completely conquered the judges and he was one of the first candidates to be accepted. And then until later, when he was a second-year student of the Vocal Music department at the university, Nhat was always an outstanding candidate, a "strange thing" every time he sang with low notes that were difficult for anyone to reach. Then, Nhat received consecutive prestigious awards such as the Second Prize in the Sao Mai Chamber Music category in the Central Highlands region, and entered the final round of the national Sao Mai competition after surpassing hundreds of candidates from the North, Central and South.
Nhat said that when he entered the competition, many people thought it would be difficult for him to win a high prize because chamber music requires maturity on stage, a profound appreciation of music and life, and an understanding of each musical work that he performed. However, through serious artistic work, Nhat's singing brought complete emotions to the audience.

“If a song is created in a way that is understandable and the author understands the story the author wants to convey to the listener, then vocal techniques are no longer needed. At that time, the singer will sing with his heart, and the techniques will naturally emerge from his own emotions.”

Nguyen Sy Nhat

Continue writing the dream...

Nguyen Sy Nhat always appears before the public confidently and maturely in solemn songs praising his homeland. Photo: Thanh Nga

In the intermediate vocal class that year, there were 60 students but only 5 had voices like Nhat's. Later, when I took the university entrance exam, my class had 40 people but I was the only one with this Baritone range. The difference and strangeness were also Nhat's strengths, but that also made me feel a lot of pressure. "I felt pressured because I wondered if there would still be much room to "show off" bass techniques in my time, because compositions that prioritized this range became increasingly rare. Many singers had to use old, famous works to fully show off the beauty of the Baritone voice."

However, old songs, no matter how good, no matter how beautiful, no matter how proud melodies go with the years, are only suitable in a space of reminiscence and praise... Therefore, what Nhat wants is for him to still be able to "play around" with chamber music, even "show off" musicals but in a rustic space with rustic audiences. They can be farmers who love music, or young people who are passionate about new music genres, but when listening to chamber music, they are still captivated.

Nguyen Sy Nhat is a university student in the Vocal Music department of the Military University of Culture and Arts. Photo: Thanh Nga

Nhat said that he liked the song “Lullaby for Mom” (composed by Duc Dung) the most. Although it is not a typical song for the low notes, he skillfully used the technique to make it rich, solemn, and passionate. The song also represents his feelings for his beloved mother. “For my mother, no matter what results I achieve, she is always happy, but the happiest is when I am myself, and when I overcome myself,” Nhat said.

When Nhat has overcome himself, is mature, confident, has experience in handling songs, is independent to decide to choose a direction, that is also the time he has chosen for himself the musical path of spreading the beauty of the homeland, people and achievements with will and determination. That is the most beautiful thing in the chamber songs that Nhat wants to convey.