Relying on proverbs

(Baonghean) - “I thought I would spend my whole life following my mother and being connected to the rice fields of my hometown, but the folk songs and melodies of Nghe An province led me to the path of professional art. With the rise of folk singing, I am deeply moved by the profound gratitude I feel for the songs and melodies I heard and sang when I was still in the village,” shared Meritorious Artist Ngoc Ha (Nghe An Ethnic Music and Dance Troupe).

Meritorious Artist Ngoc Ha performed at the Northern Central Region Folk Song Festival.

From the fieldsto the stage

Her father joined the army when she was only two years old, and Phan Thi Ngoc Ha spent her days tending to the fields and gardens of her hometown in Hoa Thanh commune (Yen Thanh district). After peace was restored, her father returned home when Ngoc Ha was nine. On days when her parents were working, Ngoc Ha would stay home and lull her younger siblings to sleep, her voice clear and warm… Just the melodies and verses she learned from her mother, such as "ví giận thương" (a folk song about anger and love), "hò đi đường" (a folk song about traveling), and the narrative and narrative parts of the xẩm song "Phù tử tình thâm" (Deep Father-Son Love), captivated many people…

As the eldest child in a farming family, she was the "pillar" her parents relied on, hoping she would grow up and hand over the leased farmland to them. She had considered giving up her studies, settling down, getting married, and farming, but her God-given singing voice wouldn't let her. Mr. Nguyen Ba Tan – former Director of the Yen Thanh District Cultural Center – a passionate advocate of folk art, believed that Ngoc Ha's voice was indispensable in cultural performances. Ngoc Ha became a special collaborator of the District Cultural Center. While studying, farming, and participating in the district's performing arts group, during her school years, Ngoc Ha's singing reached many villages and communes in Yen Thanh.

From the days when the stage was just a cooperative warehouse, performing under makeshift lamps and kerosene lights, folk songs and melodies with the distinctive sounds of Nghe An province, such as "Hearing the Nghe Tinh folk song in Moscow" (Tran Hoan), "Looking at the trees, I remember Him" ​​(Do Nhuan), "Listening to the boatman's song at night, I remember Uncle Ho" (An Thuyen), "The color of the homeland's sunshine" (Ba Tan)... have somewhat dispelled the daily hustle and bustle and fatigue of the farmers in the sun-drenched, dew-covered rice-growing district, fostering love for their homeland and passion for the folk songs and melodies of their native land. Wherever she went, she was warmly welcomed, and the simple, heartfelt meals further motivated her to serve and dedicate herself.

In 1984, at the Yen Thanh District Party Congress, Ngoc Ha and the district's performing arts team presented welcoming performances. Immediately after hearing Ngoc Ha perform the song "Hearing the folk songs of Nghe Tinh in Moscow," Nguyen Ky Cam, then Secretary of the Nghe Tinh Provincial Party Committee, who was attending the congress, was surprised by the extremely professional singing voice of the 18-year-old girl. He considered her a talent who needed to be nurtured and recruited. Sometime later, Ngoc Ha became a full-time employee of the District Cultural Center.

In 1985, the Hanoi Conservatory of Music was recruiting singers. Taking advantage of her early morning commute, Ngoc Ha went to "see for herself" and registered to "sing for fun." Two months later, when she went to the District People's Committee, the secretary asked Ngoc Ha, "Did you come back from studying in Hanoi?" It turned out that Ngoc Ha had received an acceptance letter from the Conservatory, but the District Cultural Center had hidden it for fear of "not being able to keep her." At that time, she could only cry. Even when Ngoc Ha was sent to study at the Provincial Center for Culture and Arts (in 1987), her rice ration book, salary book, and household registration were not easily transferred to the school to receive the benefits.

Recounting the past, Ngoc Ha's eyes welled up with tears; she knew it was also a reflection of the love and affection that people in her hometown's cultural and artistic community had for her. After studying at the Provincial School of Culture and Arts, in 1989 she was retained by the school as a lecturer in the Vocal Music Department. She officially became a professional in the field of art…

Achieving fame from thosefolk song

Coming from her rice-growing hometown, artist Ngoc Ha successively captivated lecturers, judges, and audiences both within and outside the province with her sopralno voice, possessing a wide vocal range and broad pitch... and a voice with a folk-inspired quality that she considers a unique gift from nature. Therefore, from her time as a lecturer in the Vocal Music Department of the Provincial School of Culture and Arts (now Nghe An College of Culture and Arts), until her transfer to the Nghe An Song and Dance Troupe in 1991 (now the Nghe An Ethnic Music and Dance Troupe), she left a distinct mark on people's hearts by performing folk-inspired songs, especially those composed based on the folk songs of Nghe An province.

Songs like "The Folk Song of Nghe An" (Tan Huyen), "The Song of the Lam River" (Dinh Quang Hop), "I'm Still Waiting for You" (Mai Cuong)... are closely associated with the name of the performing artist - Ngoc Ha. In particular, the song "The Folk Song of Nghe An," performed by Ngoc Ha as a duet with artist Tien Dung, arranged and recorded on cassette tape in 1994 by musician Viet Than (Military Region 2 Performing Arts Troupe), achieved resounding success, becoming extremely popular on the Voice of Vietnam radio station and available in almost every record store nationwide. In Nghe An, almost every household with a cassette player had played it. To this day, many folk-inspired songs performed by Meritorious Artist Ngoc Ha remain popular on online music streaming platforms.

Ngoc Ha achieved continuous success in her professional artistic career in a short period of time. In 1995, at the National Music and Dance Festival held in Hai Phong, Ngoc Ha won a Gold Medal with her performance of the songs "Tinh Que Nam Dan" (Mai Cuong) and "Ban Lang Mung Nguoi Dau Moi" (Vu Hung). In 1996, at the National Labor Cultural Centers Arts Festival held in Hue, she won a Gold Medal with her performance of "Epinet Ho Chi Minh" (Hoang Thanh). In 1997, she won third prize in the "Best Voice on Radio" competition organized by the Voice of Vietnam Radio.

In 1999, at the National Professional Music and Dance Festival held in Da Nang, she won a Gold Medal for her solo performance of "Huong Sac Song Lam" (by Tien Dung) and a Silver Medal for her rendition of "Ca Dao Em Va Toi" (by An Thuyen). Success continued in 2002 and 2005 with performances of works such as "Khuc Tuong Niem Nguoi Me Lang Sen" (Hoang Thanh) and "Giuc Khach Anh Hung" (Trong Dai). In 2007, she was awarded the title of Meritorious Artist, a well-deserved reward for her passionate work and contributions to professional art.

These days, with the rise of folk songs like Ví and Giặm, Meritorious Artist Ngọc Hà and her colleagues at the Nghệ An Ethnic Music and Dance Troupe are busier than ever with an increasing number of performances. Meritorious Artist Ngọc Hà shared that folk songs are a special, precious asset, and anyone who loves folk songs can contribute their small efforts to preserving and promoting the value of Ví and Giặm folk songs. Although not a researcher or collector of folk songs, as a performer and vocal instructor, Ngọc Hà said she will dedicate more time to performing and teaching Ví and Giặm folk songs from Nghệ An. She considers this her way of repaying the profound debt of gratitude she owes to Ví and Giặm folk songs for guiding her on her life's journey.

Ngo Kien