'Theatre House' in Yen Thanh

(Baonghean.vn) -Every day in a small house in Nam Chinh village, Phuc Thanh commune (Yen Thanh), people still hear the sweet, soulful melodies of folk songs. Nam Chinh villagers jokingly call it "the theater house".

Members of Mr. Tran Van Thanh's family gathered together to sing Vi Giam folk songs.

One early autumn afternoon, in the small house, he played the flute and the guitar, while his wife and children sat together singing a soulful Vi Giam tune. After each song, everyone burst into laughter, and the family atmosphere became warm. Mr. Tran Van Thanh, who currently works at the Cultural Committee of Phuc Thanh commune, said: "All of my children who are married live nearby, so the extended family often gathers together to sing for fun. This is also the way the family passes on the love of Vi Giam to their children and grandchildren." So on weekends or holidays, neighbors can enjoy the smooth folk songs of Mr. Thanh's family members.

When he was a baby, Mr. Thanh listened to folk songs and folk songs through his mother's sweet lullabies, and was "enchanted" by those melodies, so from a young age he loved singing. His grandfather and then his father were also famous artists in the village. After finishing high school, he joined the Youth Union in 1982, and from then on he began to spend a lot of time on the local cultural and artistic movement. In 1987, he became the Captain of the Arts Team and Deputy Secretary of the Youth Union of Phuc Thanh commune. During his years as Captain of the Arts Team, Mr. Thanh participated in many amateur short drama competitions of Nghe Tinh province and won first prize many times.

Mr. Thanh and Mrs. Hien got acquainted with folk songs. Now they are responsible for passing on the folk songs to their children and grandchildren in the extended family.

“Perhaps I was born to work in culture and arts, so in every task I have the opportunity to express my passion for folk songs and Vi Giam,” Mr. Thanh confided. In his role as an enthusiastic information and propaganda collaborator of Yen Thanh district and a leader of the local cultural movement, every year Mr. Thanh organizes the Vi Giam folk song club of Phuc Thanh commune to participate in competitions organized by the district and the province.

In the folk song and vi-giam club of Phuc Thanh commune, where Mr. Thanh plays a core role, many achievements have been achieved. Some examples include: Second Prize of Nghe An Folk Song Club Festival in 2011, Second Prize of the Provincial Folk Song and Vi-giam Festival and participation in the final round of Nghe Tinh Folk Song and Vi-giam Club Festival held in Ha Tinh in 2013; First Prize of Cluster 1 of Nghe An Folk Song Club Festival in 2014... He has also been honored many times in festivals and performances organized by the district and province. In addition, he is also the person who plays the role of organizing the program and writing the script for the commune's folk song club. Among them are works that have resonated in the rice fields such as: "Wedding season", "May remembering Uncle Ho"...

The folk song and the "vi" melody "brought together" the commune official with the sweet folk singer Nguyen Thi Hien. Since 1979, Ms. Hien has been one of the core members of the commune's cultural movement, her sweet, soulful voice has "captured the hearts" of many young men in the village. "The reason I can spend time "eating at home, carrying the load and... is thanks to her encouragement and support" - Mr. Thanh proudly shared.

Mr. Tran Van Trung and his father in a home performance

The love of Vi and Giam folk songs of Mr. Thanh and Mrs. Hien has "spread" to their children. All three of their children, one boy and two girls, were "enchanted" by Vi and Giam. In particular, the eldest son, Tran Van Trung (currently a teacher at Phuc Thanh Primary School), had a strong passion for Vi and Giam early on. Mr. Thanh's house is a gathering place for members of the commune's art troupe. From that space, folk songs "soaked" into Trung without him knowing. Then he often followed his parents to perform everywhere and from there Trung soon distilled the quintessence of his hometown's folk songs.

In 2003, Tran Van Trung participated in the "Festival of good voices, good players" organized by Nghe An province. Later, Trung continued to participate in local and school performances, and was a member of the Yen Thanh district folk song team. After graduating from the music pedagogical school, Trung worked at Phuc Thanh commune primary school. Although he was busy, he still took time to participate in local cultural and artistic movements. Currently, both Mr. Thanh, Mr. Trung, and Ms. Hong (Mr. Trung's wife) are members of the folk song and vi giam club of Phuc Thanh commune.

In the early autumn afternoon, the house was filled with singing. I felt lucky to be immersed in that special space. Children who had just learned to talk were already singing Vi Giam folk songs. I then understood why Nghe Tinh Vi Giam folk songs were honored by the world as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

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