Unforgettable memories with musician Lu Nhat Vu and his wife

During my time working at Thanh Nien Newspaper, I have many profound memories with musician Lu Nhat Vu and his wife.

Musician Lu Nhat Vu and his wife, poet Le Giang

Photo: Document

In early 2008, I received a letter from Ho Chi Minh City sent to the Thanh Nien Newspaper office in Hanoi. It was touching, when I opened the letter, I received the music for my poem "The sound of bells " which had just been composed by musician Lu Nhat Vu. "The sound of bells and horse hooves/Going around this song/You are no longer a king/Returning to the village to plow/You used to wear cloth clothes/Before donning military uniforms/You used to eat mixed rice/And tasted hardship/The young men of those days/Carrying hoes and swords with you/Once built boats to cross the sea/Now sleeping peacefully at the end of the sky/Only the sound of bells/Returning with white clouds/No longer on horseback/So many men have left/Only the sound of bells/In the middle of the rainy season/So many wives have turned to stone/Carrying their children, still standing and listening".

Musician Lu Nhat Vu

Photo: Document

I knew nothing about music theory and could not read sheet music, so at that time I boldly called Ho Chi Minh City to bother Lu Nhat Vu, first to thank the musician and his wife for their kindness towards my poem, and second to ask Lu Nhat Vu to play the guitar and sing for me (over the phone) this poem's music.

The musician indulged me. The melodious sound of the piano resounding in a peaceful morning moved me, he sang quite passionately despite his old age. The lyrics of the poem were kept almost intact when he set it to music.

A few months later, I was moved again when I received a letter from musician Lu Nhat Vu telling me the story of his wife, the poet Le Giang (whom he called "her" in the letter), urging him to set my poem to music: "On the second day of Tet, she gave me the Spring 2008 Army Literature Magazine. She carefully bookmarked page 88, which contained the poem "The Sound of Bells " by poet Nguyen Viet Chien. She was excited: Please set this poem to music. It really suits our taste. Every day, she often introduced poems she liked when she discovered them here and there to me and my son, urging us to set them to music. I then played the piano, and she complained that the sound of the piano could not capture the sound of the bell. She was excited: "Let me go to the market first!" Perhaps she had returned from the market? Because, suddenly from the 3rd and 4th floors, the sound of bells far and near, small and large, each time, of sword strokes and slashes cuoc, of the poem: " The young men of those days/Carrying hoes and swords with them/Once built boats, crossed the sea/Now sleeping peacefully at the end of the sky". And, the sound of the bells now resounded with her footsteps - the old war horse (she was born in the year of the Horse). She climbed each step of the stairs. I welcomed her and the sound of the bells jingled back and forth. The wife did not turn to stone. The wife said she had just bought two large and medium-sized bells when the old man selling bells was chased away by the whistle, what a pity...".

Musician Lu Nhat Vu and singer Ngoc Anh

Photo: Singer provided

A few years later, I and some other poets were lucky enough to have the opportunity to "serve wine" to musician Lu Nhat Vu when he visited Hanoi. He told us the story of "The Muse Le Giang" with his usual cheerful and innocent laughter.

Now he has gone to the white clouds with the young men who once defended the country, leaving behind so much grief in the hearts of his relatives and friends of artists. Farewell to him - the musician whose songs have accompanied the years and are admired by people all over the country.

Musician Lu Nhat Vu's real name is Le Van Gat, born in 1936 in Binh Duong. He has many songs that are loved by audiences: Saigon Girl Carrying Ammunition, Song of the Southern Land, Rest in Peace, Mom, Afternoon on the Meo Village...

He is also the author of a series of research works on Southern folk songs such as: Studying Southern folk songs (1983), (1986), Music and Life (1989), 300 Southern folk melodies (2002), Ho in Vietnamese folk songs (2004), Vietnamese lullabies (2005), Ly in Vietnamese folk songs (2006); Talking poetry - Talking verse - Southern falling poetry (2010); Liberation march (2011); Looking for invisible treasures (2014); Wandering in life's love (2022). He was recognized by the Vietnam Book of Records Center as a musician with many works collecting and researching Vietnamese folk songs . He was awarded the State Prize for Literature and Arts 2001; Ho Chi Minh City Prize for Literature and Arts 1997 - 1998...

There are many folk songs that Vu's father and Nam's mother (Le Giang) edited for me to sing, recorded and filmed for many folk song programs.

I was attached to Ma Nam and Ba Vu like their own daughter, the closeness spread to my parents, also went to visit Ba Vu and Ma Nam's house to eat together, chat happily.

So many memories came flooding back when hearing the news that Lu Nhat Vu's father had returned to "Blue Sky White Clouds", leaving behind a great musical treasure, precious folk song research and collections, leaving behind so much grief for his family, musicians, singers, artists and audiences across the country...

Singer Ngoc Anh

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ky-niem-khong-quen-voi-vo-chong-nhac-si-lu-nhat-vu-185250329202024837.htm