Musician Quoc Chung: The hard work of composing

(Baonghean) - The career of composing songs came to musician Quoc Chung by chance, when he first came to the composing profession with a song with the melody of Mong ethnic folk songs, which was passed around and praised by his bandmates. That was the first motivation for him to embark on the career of recreating life through musical notes.

Musician Quoc Chung received the B prize of the Vietnam Musicians Association Music Award 2016 for the work "Bre Lai oi cung Giang oi". Photo: Internet

When he happily informed me that the song “Ble rai oi cung Giang oi” won the B prize of the Vietnam Musicians Association, I was not surprised, because from the first year I heard the trio of the Song and Dance Troupe perform this song, I found it to be a song that was both poignant and passionate, and also exuded the generosity of the mountain boys who were enthusiastic about working and conquering nature. A song that touched people’s hearts from the first notes. The song only took 3 notes in the re re rhythm, from which it developed into a work written in the major key with 3 sections that were very tight in terms of sound structure and lyrics.

Musician Quoc Chung shared: “This song won the first prize at the Ho Xuan Huong Award in 2015, and this is the song I like best about ethnic minorities. During a field trip to a mountainous district where many Khmu people live, I met many Khmu men, who showed me their faith in life, their optimism in the face of hardships and difficulties, and their passionate love for the women they love. The song “Ble rai oi cung Giang oi” was born from that precious experience.”

In the flow of emotions distilled from the language of life, there are also generalizations about real issues, that is when he recreates and pays tribute to history with songs such as "Hoa Truong Bon", "Nho ve Dong Loc", "Hong Linh linh thinh", which are highly appreciated by experts and were awarded the Ho Xuan Huong Prize in 2015. According to him, to have a work of gratitude with political stature, the composer must first grasp the knowledge of methods, composition techniques, understand the historical significance of the event...

In addition to the content, whether a song can “live” or not depends first on the melody being attractive. Therefore, some songs can be completed in just one session, but there are also songs that take months to write and rewrite. Sometimes, just placing a note before or after takes a whole week of thinking. Also because he often writes about the topic of homeland and ethnicity, most of his works have tight musical structure and long sound sequences, so when singing his songs, it must be a singer with formal training.

Listening to singers Que Thuong, Thu Ha, Vu Thang Loi... perform, listeners can fully appreciate the beauty and ideas in his works. Most recently, when listening to Thanh Tai - a young singer with a classically trained lyrical folk voice sing "Linh Thieng Hong Linh", listeners can feel the historical and contemporary values ​​of the sacred land of Lam Hong.

He often said that after completing the harmony and arrangement of a piece, the thing he is most satisfied with is usually the harmony for the string orchestra. Therefore, songs like “Hoa Truong Bon” or “Nho ve Dong Loc”, “Linh Thieng Hong Linh” can all be arranged for a choir. And when the song is arranged for a choir, not only is the stature of that song raised, but the listener can most clearly feel the “Quoc Chung quality” in his own brainchildren. For him, in his position as a musician and director of a provincial art troupe, recreating history, showing gratitude and igniting the public’s faith in life is not only a duty but also a sacred mission.

Thanh Nga