Nghe An artists and artisans preserve and spread Vi and Giam with contemporary breath
In the process of formation and development of the national cultural history, Vi and Giam songs have always been in the consciousness of every child of Nghe An. In order for Vi and Giam to be preserved and promoted, many researchers, artists and artisans have worked hard to collect and have a thick dossier to serve the review process of UNESCO to become a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
painstakingly collected
To restore theFolk songsassociated with the contexts of its birth, artisans, artists, and researchers have visited many villages and lands along both banks of the Lam River, collected ancient melodies, and restored performance spaces originating from the folk songs and vi verses.
People's Artist Hong Luu said: Each tune has its own characteristics, the most characteristic of which is the improvisation of the Confucian scholars and artisans of the past. From the approach to the artisans, we have gathered to research and develop a set of documents to identify the Vi and Giam. We have met many artisans in areas such as Thanh Chuong, Nam Dan, Yen Thanh, to record their Vi verses in order to analyze the similarities and differences of the tunes.
During field trips to the countryside of Nghe An to collect information, People's Artist Hong Luu always asked the elders who used to sing Vi and Giam songs when they were young; hanging around just to hear a few of their Vi and Giam responses. The most interesting thing is that the elders still retain the original melodies, and also the witty, profound, and improvised responses right when they start speaking.
People's Artist Hong Luu said: "During a visit to Mr. Nguyen Trong Dong in Thanh Chuong district, when he was in his 80s, he was a famous folk singer and composer of adapted lyrics in Nghe An. After listening to him improvise a conversation about folk songs, Mr. Dong said that his mother, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Dong, now 103 years old, was a famous "vi, giam singer" in the whole region and the whole commune since her youth. I immediately went into the house to meet Mr. Dong and asked to hear him sing. Mr. Dong immediately improvised: "The old man's voice is old and shaky/ but spring and autumn are late, who will listen to his singing anymore?I was stunned and happy to tears. This is the Nghe Tinh folk song, this is the Vi and Giam Co song!"...
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To collect typical folk melodies, researchers have spent decades collecting and gathering from the people. According to Musician Thanh Luu - former Director of the Center for Preservation and Promotion of Nghe An Folk Heritage, now the Provincial Traditional Arts Center: There are hundreds of "original" melodies, of which Ho, Vi, and Giam alone have about 60 melodies. If standardized, there would only be about 30 melodies called original.
However, in the process of formation and development, most of the printed melodies have overlaps, perhaps due to the process of transmission from one person to another, from one generation to another, from one countryside to another, inevitably "copying and pasting". Because we can easily make mistakes, for example, the name of the melody is called Vi Phuong Vai but the music is Vi Do Dua; or there is a melody called Vi Song Pho but the music is Vi Do Dua... "Therefore, the collection work once again shows us the diversity, richness and extremely interesting nature of folk songs in Nghe An", musician Thanh Luu emphasized.
Efforts to preserve and promote
It is known that, in addition to collecting melodies, good folk songs and antiphonal sentences to include in the Vi and Giam files, researchers also try to restore the performance spaces and ancient folk song scenes. Previously, the work of transmitting folk songs by artists of the Folk Song Theater as well as folk song groups among the people was very simple. Talking about performing a scene or a song, the only thing that kept going around was "vi gio thuong". Therefore, performing to attract the masses was very difficult.
People's Artist Hong Luu and her fellow folk singers at that time were very concerned about how to bring folk songs to the stage while still retaining their traditional character; and how to teach folk songs in the right direction with the way to preserve and promote them. Thinking day and night, until one day she came across the painting "Moonlit Night in the Fabric Ward" by artist Tieu Son, immediately in People's Artist Hong Luu's mind flashed the idea of having to recreate this scene. And the performance "Moonlit Night in the Fabric Ward" reconstructed the scene of the old performance space, attracting thousands of viewers on television as well as live at the theater.
The setting of “Moonlit Night in the Fabric Ward” laid the first foundation for the development of performance spaces throughout the villages and residential areas in Nghe An. That was also the inspiration for the silent film “Nghe Tinh Vi and Giam Folk Songs - Voices from the Community” produced by People's Artist Hong Luu and People's Artist An Ninh based on many documents of predecessors and contemporary researchers. This film was recognized by the UNESCO Council.
According to researchers, there is currently no research that clearly indicates the origin of Nghe Tinh folk songs, from which century. Regarding lyrics, it is also difficult to determine which lyrics are the "original", because Ho, Vi and Giam are all open-structured in the style of popular poetry of a folk nature (folk songs/verbs). The best, most unique, and "richest" thing about Nghe Tinh Ho, Vi and Giam is the lyrics. Therefore, promoting folk songs through the process and contemporary context is the way to preserve them. As People's Artist Hong Luu said: "When we spread it with a contemporary breath, it will live forever. That is the criterion that UNESCO stipulates in preserving and promoting the honored heritage".
