Love the folk songs and folk songs more

(Baonghean) - “Ho o o o khoan do khoan, if you pass through Nghe An, please stop by khoan do khoan/ Listen to the immense and meaningful verse, Ho o o o khoan do khoan/ A beloved homeland invites you to come and enjoy, khoan do khoan…”. That clear, smooth singing voice echoed from the small house of Nguyen Thi Nguyet - an 8A student at Dai Minh Secondary School (Yen Thanh) when we just arrived at the alley.

The entrance to Nguyet's house is very impressive: On one side is a lotus pond, on the other side is a fish pond - perhaps it is this peaceful scene that has nurtured her folk music soul. Following the direction of the song, the first image is a little girl washing clothes and engrossed in a song, not noticing that there are visitors. Nguyet's smooth voice once impressed us on the opening night of the Nghe Tinh Vi Dam Folk Song Singing Contest for high school students at the provincial level in 2014.

Nguyet inherited her beautiful singing voice from her grandfather Nguyen Phuc Thanh (70 years old) - who was a member of the art troupe of Workshop 250 Phu Quy. Since childhood, he loved singing, so he always actively participated in the art movements of the village. He collected many folk songs of his homeland such as: Vi Nong Thuong, Ho Di Duong, Hat Quyen... Every day, he sang lullabies to Nguyet with familiar folk songs, thanks to which, the folk song source gradually penetrated deep into Nguyet's soul, creating a burning passion. Just like that, the folk songs Vi and Dam were collected by his grandfather and passed on to Nguyet with the wish that the next generation would continue to preserve and pass on the intangible cultural values ​​of their homeland.

Nguyen Thi Nguyet (middle) performs at the 2014 Nghe Tinh folk song festival.

Nguyet's passion for folk songs continued to be nurtured when the folk song singing program of Nghe Tinh was introduced into the curriculum of primary and secondary schools. Through music classes, teacher Nguyen Thi Thuy - music teacher of Dai Minh Secondary School discovered that she had a good folk voice and a good musical understanding. With the help of teacher Thuy's knowledge of music theory and techniques of emphasizing and releasing words in folk songs, she became more and more successful in performing each folk song with all her love. Since then, Nguyet has become the artistic nucleus of the class and the school in art performances at school, education department and district levels.

Ms. Thuy said: “Nguyet is a student who actively participates in cultural and artistic activities of the class and the school. She has a passion for singing and especially loves Nghe Tinh folk songs. During the performance team's practice sessions, her passion has spread to the whole team's spirit, thanks to which the team's practice sessions are more exciting and effective. When practicing a Vi or Xam verse, she is very attentive and practices over and over again the technique of adding words and pronouncing the words on the beat and rhythm until she is satisfied. When performing a song, she puts her whole heart and soul into the song, which makes the lyrics softer, smoother, and very attractive to the listener.”

And hard work always brings success as expected. “Listening to the lullaby, I travel thousands of miles to know/Father’s merit, mother’s grace, teacher’s grace, as vast as the sky and sea, as high and thick as the mountains…”, the hall of the 2014 Nghe Tinh Vi-Dam Folk Song Competition at the provincial level was broken by applause when Nguyet sang smooth lines about filial piety and studentship in the work “Father’s merit, mother’s grace, teacher’s grace” by Hong Luu. Considered to have a gifted voice, combined with serious diligence in practicing, under the stage lights of the competition, Nguyet delighted the judges and the cheering audience with her precise technique of vibrato for each beat when performing a Xam song – a very difficult technique in Vi-Dam folk songs. When asked why she chose this Xam song to compete? Nguyet said: “Because this Xam song is very meaningful to our generation of students. The Xam song helps us deeply understand the immense gratitude of our parents and teachers, and teaches us how to live as good children and good students so as not to disappoint the expectations of our grandparents, parents and teachers.” Perhaps for Nguyet, the love and passion for Nghe Tinh folk songs is growing stronger not only because of the softness and smoothness of the melodies but also because she deeply understands the meaning of each verse and Vi tune that our ancestors wanted to convey.

To be able to pursue her passion with the support of her family, Nguyet knew how to arrange her practice time without affecting her cultural studies. Therefore, not only did she sing well and enthusiastically participate in school and class activities, Nguyen Thi Nguyet was also an excellent student of the school for many consecutive years; an excellent student in Literature and English at the district level.

The A prize for the best performance and best individual in the recent provincial folk song contest are worthy rewards for Nguyet's appreciation of her hometown's folk songs and her hard work. And the special admission to the provincial College of Culture and Arts has given her the opportunity to continue her passion for singing.

Saying goodbye to Nguyet in the evening darkness, the soft folk song still echoed in us as if wanting to hold the person back: "Ho o o o khoan do khoan, if you pass by Nghe An, please stop by khoan do khoan/ Listen to the immense and meaningful vi song/Ho o o o khoan do khoan, a beloved homeland invites you to come and have fun together, khoan do khoan..." I love and cherish the folk song and folk song of my homeland even more.

Le Hoa