"I deeply love folk songs"...

• December 16, 2014 08:51

(Baonghean) - Having been involved in collective movements for decades, Mr. Tran Duc Khieng (Ky Chu village, Thanh Chi commune, Thanh Chuong district) has always devoted his love to the folk songs and melodies of his homeland. This deep love has motivated him to compose, teach, and contribute to preserving and spreading the folk songs of Nghe An province within the community…

Mr. Tran Duc Khieng

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Born and raised in a family that loved the arts: his mother, older brother, and older sister were all talented singers, especially of folk songs; his father was a skilled craftsman who made props for village performances. Tran Duc Khieng lived in an artistic atmosphere from his early childhood. His memories of his mother still resonate with the song from years ago: "Where is your mother? / I just came back from the city / There are so many interesting stories / Let's sit here and learn from them." When he participated in local work, he was sent to attend a basic course at the Nghe An Provincial School of Culture and Arts, where he learned and absorbed much valuable knowledge and experience. From there, the sweet folk songs and plays he composed were sung and performed everywhere. During a visit to Thanh Chuong, musician Nguyen Trong Tao once remarked: "Tran Duc Khieng, you have a special connection with folk songs."

For Tran Duc Khieng, folk songs are the soul of his homeland, and he is always concerned with researching, learning, and composing them. He travels to villages to find elderly people who sing well and know many folk melodies to collect and accumulate them. Naturally gifted at singing folk songs, he can both sing, compose, and direct cultural programs. His works focus on conveying a deep love for his homeland, the beauty of the tradition of studiousness, revolution, and humanism in each village; reflecting authentically and vividly the political tasks, current events, and social issues in the locality. This content is expressed through familiar folk melodies, combining ancient and adapted tunes, using local language skillfully and carefully; this is what makes his works close to everyday life, easy to learn, easy to remember, and easy to touch people's hearts.

In 1983, his work "The Canal-Digging Song" won second prize in a songwriting competition for folk melodies organized by the provincial Radio and Television Station. He then boldly wrote folk dramas and staged them for the performing arts troupe. As a "composer" at the District Cultural and Arts Center, and later a member of the Steering Committee of the Folk Song Club at the same center, he composed many beautiful songs: "A Song on the Riverbank of My Homeland," "Remembering Thanh Thuy, My Hometown," "Our Hometown at the Lotus Village Festival," "Returning to My Hometown to Listen to the Irrigation Song," and "Some Things to Remind Each Other of." These songs were broadcast for many years on Nghe An Radio and Television.

Besides composing and performing folk songs at events and folk art festivals organized by the district and province, he is also a teacher of folk songs in training courses for cultural and artistic officials in communes and towns. To date, he has taught more than 750 students, including members of the commune's cultural and artistic troupe and those attending training courses at the District Cultural and Arts Center. Every year, local primary and secondary schools often invite him to teach folk songs and give talks about folk music to students. This is an invaluable spiritual gift and a great source of happiness for someone as dedicated to traditional culture as he is.

As a local cultural officer with 37 years of experience in mass movements, Tran Duc Khieng has always been deeply concerned about the cultural traditions of his homeland. Besides fulfilling his assigned duties well, he actively composes, performs, and teaches folk songs to younger generations. He has won first prize in folk singing at the Cua Lo Cultural and Tourism Week Festival; received the Medal for the Cause of Culture and Information; and numerous certificates of merit from various levels and sectors. Currently, he is being nominated for the title of "Outstanding Artisan" in the field of "folk art performance."

Huy Thu