An elite artisan family in Vinh Long has a tradition of "father to son", 5 generations of passion for Southern folk music, folk opera, and reformed opera.
"Father to son succession" 5 generations
Sharing about the golden age of Southern amateur music, Meritorious Artist Nguyen Van Tot (stage name Vu Linh Tam, 65 years old, residing in Long Phuoc commune, Long Ho district, Vinh Long) said that his family has been following the career of Southern amateur music and reformed opera for 5 generations, passed down from father to son, since his grandfather's generation. Tot's generation had more formal education, because that time was the golden age of Southern reformed opera.
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Meritorious Artist Vu Linh Tam and his grandchild perform an excerpt from the Saddle Poem. Photo: NVCC |
Mr. Tot said that Cai Luong is the "offspring" of Southern amateur music, continuously adapted from 72 ancient songs and especially from 20 original songs for 4 tunes, including: 6 Bac songs (describing joy and freedom), 7 Ha songs (used in ceremonies, solemn), 3 Nam songs (describing leisure and serenity) and 4 Oan songs (describing sadness and separation). The musical instruments used are diverse, including: Dan Kim, Dan Tranh, Dan Co, Dan Ty Ba, Dan Tam, Song Loan... Later, there were also concave keyboard instruments, violins, electric guitars, organs, electric drums...
According to statistics from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vinh Long province, the province currently has 899 amateur music clubs, teams and groups with 8,085 members, of which the most typical is Vung Liem district with 189 clubs, teams and groups with 1,227 members; followed by Long Ho district (133 clubs, teams and groups), an increase of nearly 4.6 times compared to the 2013 inventory (197 clubs).
"Since the 80s of the last century, the Golden Rose reformed opera troupe was established and was one of the three reformed opera troupes in Vinh Long. That time was considered the golden age of reformed opera, because in addition to carrying out political tasks, the reformed opera troupes promoted their role on the cultural front, propagating good deeds, criticizing bad things and were well received by the people. The stage was not too elaborate, there were few seats, and tickets were always sold out. Currently, I have a middle child and two grandchildren who are passionate about the profession, so I am very happy to have someone to inherit the family tradition," Mr. Tot happily said.
According to Mr. Tot, around 2000, when many foreign cultural forms were introduced, the internet developed, the audience for this form gradually decreased, and the operating costs were not enough, so the Golden Rose Cai Luong troupe officially dissolved. However, to fuel the passion of the artists, Mr. Tot established the Vinh Long Theater Club to "gather" talents and exchange and perform for the audience. "In 2008, I was honored to perform with the Vietnamese troupe in the US to promote the country's folk cultural forms. I feel very happy to bring this unique art form to foreign audiences," Mr. Tot said.
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Diem Hang puts on makeup before the show. Photo: NVCC |
Determined to follow in his grandfather's footsteps
Nguyen Pham Diem Hang (20 years old, granddaughter of Mr. Tot) said that since she was 4 or 5 years old, she followed her father and grandfather to watch Cai Luong, Hat Boi, and Don Ca Tai Tu performances. When her father and grandfather practiced their songs before the performance, Diem Hang also stood up and danced along. Seeing that she had a passion, her grandfather taught her from a young age. The first performance she had on stage with her grandfather was when she was 12 years old, performing an excerpt from Tram Trinh An.
In June 2022, the People's Committee of Vinh Long province issued a decision approving the Project on preserving and promoting the artistic value of Southern amateur music in Vinh Long province, phase 2 (2022 - 2025), with the goal of focusing on promoting propaganda and promotion activities to raise awareness of the whole society on preserving and promoting the value of the intangible cultural heritage of Southern amateur music, creating conditions for practicing, creating and teaching the art of Southern amateur music in families, schools, clubs, communities and integrating it into art performance programs...
"I remember clearly that year was 2015, at the hall of Vinh Long Provincial People's Committee, that was also the day my grandfather received the title of Meritorious Artist from the President. It was my first time on stage, and it was a big stage for me, so I was able to practice very well. The performance was successful, I was very happy when my long-time wish of performing with my grandfather came true", Diem Hang happily recalled.
Diem Hang added that she recently assisted artist Nguyen The Tam with the work Love and Justice composed by her grandfather and won second prize at the 2022 Golden Rice Competition. "This is my first time standing on a big stage, I am very happy, hoping that next time I will be the main performer. In the near future, I plan to study an art major to gain more knowledge to preserve the traditional art form and promote my family's tradition," Diem Hang shared.
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The performance troupe of Meritorious Artist Vu Linh Tam serves foreign tourists an excerpt of hát bội. Photo: NVCC |
Together to preserve
According to Mr. Tot, although the genres of amateur music, reformed opera, and opera have passed their golden age, they are still present at parties, especially festivals in the South. Currently, his club is coordinating with the government to organize performances for foreigners and they are very excited.
"With the current policy of opening up tourism and welcoming international visitors, I believe that this unique art form will have more room to develop. However, what I am always concerned about is that the current successor team is too small, while the predecessors are passing away one by one, and the remaining ones are also old and weak. Therefore, I hope that in the future there will be more competitions like Bong Gao Vang to find and train successors for this art form," said Mr. Tot.
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