Live like a river!

Speaking at a seminar on the harmonious relationship between poetry and music, composer Pham Minh Tuan remarked that this connection has existed for centuries. Poetry and music have combined many times, creating numerous masterpieces, but the pinnacle of this collaboration is Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9".

In Vietnam, many songs are set to poetry, adapting the lyrics of poems, resulting in numerous works that are well-received by the public. Composer Pham Minh Tuan has also set poems to music, creating songs such as: "City of Love and Nostalgia" (poem by Nguyen Nhat Anh), "Footprints Ahead" (poem by Ho Thi Ca), and "The Country" (poem by Ta Huu Yen). He also wrote the song "Aspiration," adapted from the poem "Thanks to the Party, I Know" by Dang Viet Loi.

Nhạc sĩ Phạm Minh Tuấn: — Composer Pham Minh Tuan, author of the song "Aspiration".

"In the song 'Aspiration,' I wrote 'Live like a river,' but sometimes I still hear and see people singing and writing 'Live like life.' I think we need to be careful and respect the words of the composer because even a single punctuation mark or stroke of the pen can distort the intended meaning," composer Pham Minh Tuan confided.

He recounted stories of searching for suitable poems and setting them to music. The relationship between poetry and music is symbiotic; the more concise and artistically evocative the poem, the greater the potential for the music to fully develop it.

However, if poetry is cliché and lacks imagery, it will be difficult for musicians to approach and set it to music. Therefore, for poetry and music to flourish, the efforts of both sides are needed to create good works to serve the audience.

According to writer Bich Ngan, President of the Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association, from the first publicly released song set to poetry, "Sunrise," composed by musician Nguyen Xuan Khoat based on a poem by The Lu (the poem was published in the newspaper Ngay Nay on July 31, 1938), to the present day, it is difficult to compile a complete list of how many songs have been set to poetry.

However, objectively speaking, the relationship between poetry and music still has many shortcomings that need to be discussed thoroughly. The conflicting opinions regarding attribution of the poet's name when publishing songs based on poetry, while seemingly meticulous, should be addressed to avoid strained relationships or underlying disagreements between poets and composers.

"The workshop 'Poetry and Music: Complementary or Conflicting?' aims to encourage poets and musicians to maximize their strengths, so that we can have more diverse, captivating, and culturally rich songs based on poetry, in response to the expectations of the Vietnamese public," writer Bich Ngan hoped.

"I think that setting poetry to music is like a bridge. The song brings the poem to the listener. From one side, the lyrics are set to music, forming bridges that connect to the other side. Some bridges are sturdy, some are precarious. The sturdy bridges are successful musical adaptations of poetry, which touch the hearts of listeners and remain in their minds. The precarious bridges are those musical adaptations of poetry that are not very successful, or for other reasons, do not reach the public and gradually fade into oblivion," shared poet Bui Phan Thao.

He added that when poetry is set to music, the music gives wings to the poetry, and the poetry provides a foundation for the music to flourish. The connection between poetry and music is sometimes spontaneous and accidental, sometimes enduring. Poetry is full of musicality, music is as beautiful as poetry, and this harmonious relationship is endless to tell.

The workshop also featured many representatives from the fields of music and poetry who participated in discussions, sharing their thoughts and creating memorable moments.