Heavy heart with the melody

(Baonghean) - Half a century of folk songs has been with her like a part of her flesh and blood, with many silent and tireless contributions to maintain and develop the local folk song movement. Thanks to her, the Ngoc Son Commune Folk Song Club has become the address to welcome delegations to research and evaluate the value of Nghe Tinh folk song heritage, making scientific dossiers to submit to UNESCO for recognition as representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity...

Going up National Highway 46 to Thanh Chuong district, it is not difficult to find the house of folk artist Vo Thi Hong Van. Passing Cau Ro intersection, go another 2km and you will see a grocery store, small but stands out from other grocery stores with the sign "Hong Van - accepting writing articles, staging programs, festivals, renting performance costumes" and a glass cabinet hanging stylized ao the, ao tu than... In the inner room is a faded blue stage backdrop - that is the meeting place of the Ngoc Son commune folk song club for more than 5 years now.

With a bright, radiant smile on her gentle, kind face, Ms. Vo Thi Hong Van, head of the folk song club of Ngoc Son commune, told about her attachment to the folk songs of her hometown. Born in 1965 in a farming family in Ngoc Son commune, Ms. Van grew up with the sweet lullabies of her grandmother and mother. Her grandmother, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lien (deceased) and her mother, Mrs. Le Thi Vinh (78 years old this year) were famous folk singers in the locality at that time, so her childhood soul was imbued with the rustic, yet sweet and poignant melodies of her hometown. During her primary and secondary school years at the village school, Ms. Van was the captain of the art team, winning high prizes in art competitions of school clusters. After finishing secondary school, due to difficult family circumstances, she had to drop out of school. At the age of 15, Ms. Van joined the art team of Lam Son Cooperative.

Ms. Vo Thi Hong Van is choosing costumes to perform folk songs.

Recalling those years, her voice became more excited: “That was the subsidy period, life was very difficult, the art movements in general and the folk song movement in particular were very active. With the task of propagating the policies of the Party and the State, encouraging labor production, the art troupe of the cooperative performed every month, sometimes in the communal house yard, the cooperative warehouse yard, sometimes in the fields, on the riverbank. The brothers and sisters in the team had to cut and sew their own performance costumes, and when going on stage, they only applied a layer of talcum powder, and their eyebrows were drawn with… soot. Yet everyone was excited and passionate, looking forward to the full moon every month to perform. The members of the commune crowded to watch, it was very crowded. Especially, every Tet holiday, the team performed continuously, from the 30th of Tet until after the full moon of January. In the early 1980s, the Lam Son Cooperative art troupe participated in the district's theater festivals and won high prizes every year, and individually I also won the individual award.

In 1985, Vo Thi Hong Van was selected by the Thanh Chuong District Cultural Center to join the district's mass art troupe to participate in provincial art competitions and festivals and soon demonstrated her outstanding voice and style. In 1987, she was selected by the Nghe Tinh Folk Song Theater. It seemed like a favorable start for Ms. Van to become an actress. However, that year, her father died in an accident. As the eldest sister, looking at her five younger siblings, she had to put her dream aside, return to her hometown to farm and nurture her passion for folk songs through local art activities.

In 1988, Ms. Van married Mr. Nguyen Van Liem, who lived in the same neighborhood. "I am very lucky to have married someone who loves and understands Vi and Giam folk songs. Not only does he support and create conditions for me to participate in the cultural activities of the commune and the neighborhood, he also gives useful advice on scripts, program staging, and performance of melodies. To date, 4 generations in the family love this traditional art form," she confided.

In the late 1980s, along with the dissolution of Lam Son Cooperative, the art troupe gradually disbanded. However, Ms. Van was still an active art collaborator of the district Cultural Center, regularly participating in provincial art competitions. Every year, she received certificates of merit from the Cultural Center, the District People's Committee, and the Department of Culture for her outstanding achievements in mass art activities, in preserving and developing Vi and Giam folk songs. In the late 1990s, Ms. Van participated in the activities of the district's folk song club. Later, for some reasons, the club had to disband, but realizing the role of preserving the precious heritage of our ancestors and developing the local mass art movement, she proposed to the Cultural Center and the Party Committee and the People's Committee of the commune to allow the establishment of the Ngoc Son commune folk song club and was approved. In July 2009, the Ngoc Son commune folk song club was launched with 24 members. The establishment of the club has aroused the passion for Vi Giam folk songs of many people in the commune. Up to now, the club has 40 members of all ages. Some are teachers, retired civil servants, students, some are farmers, the youngest are 2 children Nguyen Thi Yen, Nguyen Thi Trang - 7 years old, the oldest is Le Thi Vinh - Van's biological mother. The club members are not only in Ngoc Son commune but also in other communes such as Phong Thinh, Thanh Van, Dong Van... Twice a month, the members of the club gather together, singing Vi melodies imbued with folk identity, love between husband and wife, daily life... The operating costs, in addition to a small part of support from the commune and district, are contributed by the members. In addition to singing together to satisfy their passion for Vi and Giam folk songs, the Club also helps communes, districts, agencies, units, and schools write scripts and stage stage programs to promote major holidays, traffic safety, population, drug prevention, etc. as a way to earn more operating funds.

Many active members of the Club have become famous folk singers of the district such as Mr. Dau Dinh Dung, Ms. Le Thi Thanh, Ms. Vo Thi Mao, Nguyen Thi Thanh Xuan, Vo Thanh Thinh... After 5 years of operation, Ngoc Son Commune Club has participated in the Nghe Tinh Vi and Giam Folk Song Festival many times, winning awards every time and always being in the top 3 excellent clubs; The Club is the place to welcome and report many programs for delegations to research and evaluate the value of Nghe Tinh Vi and Giam folk song heritage to prepare scientific dossiers to submit to UNESCO for recognition as representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Those proud achievements are thanks to the great efforts and inspiration of the dedicated director Vo Thi Hong Van.

Ms. Vo Thi Hong Van (middle) is running the folk song club meeting of Ngoc Son commune.

Nowadays, although she has a hard time making a living, in her free time she practices singing and creates new melodies and songs to practice for the club. Because, for her, folk songs are ingrained in her blood. Ms. Van has 4 children, all of whom are passionate about folk songs, especially her 2 daughters Nguyen Thi Hoa (born in 1990) and Nguyen Thi Phuong (born in 1991), who often join their mother in local cultural activities. Currently, both Hoa and Phuong are married and live in Vinh City, but every time there are competitions or performances, they still come back to help their mother write scripts and create programs.

In 2013, she was awarded the title of Folk Artist and in early 2015, she was one of 12 artisans in the province to be honored as an Excellent Artisan. She is also one of the typical individuals representing Thanh Chuong district to attend the upcoming patriotic emulation congress of the province for the period 2010 - 2015. However, what Ms. Van is aiming for is not personal achievements. "Vi and Giam folk songs have been honored by the world as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity, so I only hope that this precious heritage will forever exist in the hearts of generations. Therefore, in the near future, besides maintaining and developing the Ngoc Son Commune Folk Song Club, I only hope that the sectors and levels in Thanh Chuong district will create conditions for the Club to go to schools to inspire and popularize the Vi and Giam melodies of our homeland to students. We will take care of the financial matters ourselves" - Ms. Van confided.

Minh Quan