“A folk song by the Lam River…”

(Baonghean) -A Unesco assessor compared the Vi-Dam performance on the Lam River to “a symphony of Nghe An folk songs”. But few people know that this symphony was written by ordinary workers, farmers who “work hard in the sun and rain” of the Vi-Dam Folk Song Club in Boi Son commune (Do Luong)…

Taking a boat along the Lam River is the way that people in the Bach Ngoc area in the past often used when they wanted to go from Trung Market to the upstream, Gay Market, Dua Market, Chanh Market. The markets take turns meeting, each market usually has nine sessions, three large markets, six small markets arranged on different days, so if you want to go to the market, you can go every day. Also from the market boat trips, to forget the hardship, people often sing antiphonal songs. At first, the boat rower sang antiphonal songs, sang antiphonal songs with other boats, then the boatman going to the market sang in unison, sang along...

The performance on the river by the folk song club of Boi Son commune performed before the Unesco evaluation team last June also recreated that familiar living space. At this outdoor "stage", people from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization were surprised by the very natural performance of the "barefoot" artists. Without a script, without any arrangement, the singing duet and singing duet between the boys on the boat on one side and the girls on the river on the other side brought about an unexpected drama. The singing on the Lam River has a unique sound, like a confession, a message... from the heart, from the bottom of the heart. Westerners who love singing duet and singing duet and consider singing duet as a "symphony" probably also come from the above genuine feelings.

A meeting of the Folk Song and Vi Dam Club of Boi Son commune.

In terms of age, the Boi Son Folk Song Club has been operating for nearly 20 years. The club was established at that time without a general policy from the province. When the folk song club was born, it was easiest to find a nucleus because in the past, this was the land of the troupe, famous for Tuong and Hat Boi singing. In the village, there was Mr. Tuan, who used to be a "retired" student of the School of Culture and Arts, Mr. Luong, who was a musician and flute player of the old troupe, and Mr. Truat and his wife, Thai, one was a "super good" drummer, the other was the main actress in Tuong plays; artist Nguyen Manh Cuong - the club's director at that time was the secretary of the Youth Union and also a cultural officer of the commune, who had an innate talent for music.

With the advantage of "heavenly time", "geographical advantage", and "human harmony", just a short time after its operation, the Boi Son Commune Vi Dam Folk Song Club quickly made its mark and became the nucleus of the cultural movement of the commune, district, and province. The club won the A prize at the National Tuberculosis Prevention Communication Model Festival, many certificates of merit and A and B prizes at the Nghe An Vi Dam Folk Song Festival, and most recently, a certificate of merit and B prize at the Nghe An Vi Dam Folk Song Festival in Ha Tinh. Currently, the members of the club have collected and preserved more than 20 Vi Dam folk songs with ancient lyrics in the genres of singing Vi, singing in response to teachings, and teasing, with melodies such as Vi Do Dua, Vi Phuong Vai, Vi Phuong Cay, Vi Leo Non, or the melodies of Dam Duc Son, Dam Cua Quyen, Dam Ru, Dam Ke.

The club members are proud of themselves for creating a bond of neighborly love, creating joy for bringing their singing to serve the people, serve the community and contribute significantly to preserving Nghe folk songs, preserving a priceless cultural value of the nation.

Article and photos: My Ha