Bringing Vi and Giam folk songs to overseas Vietnamese in Europe

(Baonghean) - The familiar folk song often found in familiar, rustic performing spaces, now sung in the white snow of Europe, is still no less moving and resonant...

'Oh, the crowd here is so crowded/ greeting the men would offend the women/ greeting the gentlemen would be a shame/ but let me say hello together/ lest I greet my friend alone...'. The familiar song often found in familiar, rustic performing spaces, or on hometown stages, now sung in the white snow of Europe, is no less moving, vibrating and touching the deep, affectionate feelings of homeland in the hearts of those far from home...

Artists take souvenir photos with audiences from the Slovak Republic during the tour. Photo provided by the character

This is a long tour of folk artists from Nghe An in 5 Eastern European countries: Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary... in May 2016. The group includes People's Artist Tien Dung, People's Artist Hong Luu, Meritorious Artist Hong Duong, singers Thien Hue, Que Thuong, Dinh Trang, musician Tran Tien, invited by the Vietnamese Embassy in Slovakia to perform for the Nghe community of Eastern European countries.

Different from the initial imagination, the grandstand will only be a community of Nghe An people far from home who want to immerse themselves in folk songs to ease their homesickness. The group of artists was extremely surprised when in the vast grandstand with its intimate stage space, there was an audience of thousands of people.

People's Artist Hong Luu recalled: "How touching it was when, upon entering the theater, we saw the familiar and familiar images of the Nghe folk song performance stage carefully prepared by our overseas Vietnamese. A loom, a well, a hemp hammock were arranged in a simple and familiar way, just like the space of an old Vietnamese village. That alone made us feel sublime, feeling that this was a performance space that belonged to us, in the middle of a strange Western world."

The feeling of the homeland comes back in every song, every gesture when she sings and interacts with the audience. And more importantly, throughout the program, breaking away from the script, the audience and the actors are like co-stars, they "guide" each other to return to the love songs, the ferry songs. They can respond as if they were in the same troupe.

A young audience member has been studying here for about 20 years but somehow loves and understands folk songs so much. “It’s simple, if you understand, you love, and if you love, you understand. He said that he fell in love with folk songs through the songs his parents sang when they gathered around the dinner table” – People’s Artist Hong Luu said. Perhaps because he loves them so much, he knows all the old lyrics in the antithetical songs.

People's Artist Hong Luu was really surprised when after the performance "Ban hat gheo" by her and artist Hong Duong, the young audience asked her, "Oh, I heard you sing well, I bet you can count the number of feathers on a stork's neck...". As an artist and folk artist, Ms. Hong Luu was also a bit confused by the ancient couplets of this overseas Vietnamese. And every night, even though she had performed for 4-5 hours, the audience still asked her, "Keep singing, keep singing, we don't want to go home anymore."

People's Artist Hong Luu interacts with the audience in the performance "Ban hat gheo" in the Slovak Republic. Photo provided by the character.

In that intimate space, the audience who love Nghe folk songs feels like they are returning to their homeland, recalling their childhood. It is worth mentioning that in addition to the audience who are Nghe people far from home, there are also Vietnamese people from the North and South. More specifically, there are also Czechs, Poles, and Germans who want to learn and discover the good and the beauty in Nghe folk songs.

In addition to their deep affection for folk songs, the important thing that the artists saw during the trip was the desire to reproduce these melodies in a bustling foreign land, where Nghe An people only make up a small percentage. People's Artist Tien Dung said that he has brought folk songs abroad 3 times to proudly show off to other countries.

The first time he performed in Japan, a country with a large number of Vietnamese people living, studying and working. At that time, Nghe folk songs had not been recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage, but wherever the troupe went, not only Nghe people but also Vietnamese people far from home greatly appreciated the songs and performances.

The second time in 2014, he and former Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People's Committee Dinh Thi Le Thanh, took the Nghe folk song to Paris, France to be honored. That time, in the excitement after the sound of the hammer announcing that Vi and Giam had been officially recognized by UNESCO as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity, he, his fellow artists and all the Vietnamese people in the audience that day forever hummed in their hearts the proud folk songs of Nghe.

The third time he was the leader of a tour in England, the artists in the outdoor performance were able to perform in a space that he said: "It was completely accidental but as if it was arranged by heaven." It was a space with a boat and oars that was very suitable for the performance space of Nghe An's Vi and Giam, so People's Artist Hong Luu, singer Que Thuong and he had a place to perform and international friends also had the opportunity to admire the comprehensive beauty of Vi and Giam.

“Bringing folk songs across borders and promoting them to international friends has always been a concern for artists and artisans like us. I used to think that only Nghe people who are passionate about folk songs and the longevity of Nghe folk heritage would want them to fly far beyond national borders and reach international friends. But when I came to a foreign country, I realized that even the locals love these songs when they hear us sing them. Therefore, the responsibility of those who are responsible for the heritage is to have strategies to help the folk songs take off,” said People’s Artist Tien Dung.

That is the need to connect and build annual tours to change the performance space for folk songs. According to People's Artist Tien Dung, only by being able to sing and interact through songs can people see the beauty in the meaning of Nghe An folk songs. It is passionate and immense but not tragic, it is mischievous and innocent but not vulgar...

Therefore, although it is the song of the workers, the love song of couples, but above all, the folk song is the traditional culture of the Nghe people. Therefore, it is understandable that international friends love folk songs when we bring it closer to them. Now, in addition to the Nghe community (which only has people who love folk songs) who want to establish a Nghe folk song club, Vietnamese people far from home are also spreading that love, they also want to sing Vi and Giam. That is why when returning to their homeland, many people still ask about the artist group, reluctantly asking for their phone number.

People's Artist Hong Luu said: "Since returning from the tour, Mr. and Mrs. Quang Loc (a former student of Phan Boi Chau High School currently working in Berlin - Federal Republic of Germany) have kept in touch with us many times. They are always concerned about building a strategic program to bring folk songs to overseas Vietnamese; building a club to teach folk songs to teenagers and children, so that they can be immersed in folk songs from a young age...".

Like the lyrics of the farewell verse “Returning to the region of Vi Giam, do you remember me/Weaving our love in the love of the mountains and rivers”… Vi Giam verses are also cultural sediments, the character of the people of Nghe An. Therefore, expanding the performance space and spreading Vi Giam beyond the country’s borders is the mission not only of managers and artists but also of all folk song lovers, including those who live and work far from the Fatherland.

Thanh Nga