Spreading the art of Xam singing in the young people's way

“Xam in the city” is a program in the series of projects “Heritage in the heart of the city” of the Center for Promotion and Promotion of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Vietnam (VICH), implemented by a group of young people from the Xam 48h club. In the nostalgic space of an old house in Hanoi, the sound of the erhu and the sound of the senh resounded as if bringing the participants back to the space of Hanoi in the early 20th century.

While enjoying tea and cakes, young domestic and international guests listened to "xam dan - xam ke - xam ca", learned about the formation and meaning of "Xam tau dien", "Xam Thap An"... through the lyrics, performances and sharing of the artists...

Not only do participants get to experience singing ancient melodies, they are also especially excited to interact and try out the musical instruments typical of this traditional art form. That is how members of the 48h Xam club “sow” the love of Xam to their peers.

Mr. Ngo Van Hao, Head of the Xam 48h Club, shared that since 2010, when he first had the opportunity to approach Xam, the melodies and meaningful lyrics of Xam attracted him. However, it was not until he accepted the invitation to collaborate with the project "Cheo 48h - I row back to my homeland" in the role of instructing the art of Xam singing... that he had the opportunity to interact and meet with young people who share the same passion for traditional art. And that is how Xam 48h was born, with the desire to spread the values and beauty of Xam singing to the community, especially the younger generation.

Calling for the support of dedicated artists, artisans, and research experts, Xam 48h has coordinated with relevant units to organize many projects and programs rich in experience, bringing the unique features of Xam singing closer to the young audience.

Not stopping at the "Xam in the street" performances every weekend, the group of young people of Xam 48h also actively accompanies the Center for Promotion and Promotion of Vietnam's Intangible Cultural Heritage in bringing the art of singing Xam into schools, introducing Xam in creative design festivals, implementing the program "Xam on the bus" - experiencing Xam on a tourist bus around the capital...

These series of programs have contributed to bringing the first vibrations to young audiences about Xam, so that they can understand more, love more and desire to preserve and conserve the value of traditional art.

Khán giả trẻ hào hứng khi được tương tác, tìm hiểu về những nhạc cụ dân tộc. — Young audiences were excited to interact and learn about traditional musical instruments.

Sharing about the difficulties in the journey of bringing Xam to young audiences, Mr. Ngo Van Hao said that the biggest challenge is that young people today are too familiar with modern, vibrant and entertaining music, so it is not easy to get them to like and gradually become attached to a traditional art form that has gone through many ups and downs like Xam. Not to mention, how to organize and sell tickets regularly to maintain the regular activities of the programs is also a difficult problem.

However, the difficulties have turned into “motivation” for the performers to constantly try and find ways to help Xam gradually conquer the young audience. For example, with the professional support of experts, many innovative melodies based on the ancient Xam melodies of our ancestors have been created, integrated, and breathed into Xam a breath of the times that is closer and easier to absorb. At the same time, the group also constantly comes up with new approaches to help the audience easily “touch” traditional art through interactive activities.

Thanks to these efforts, the number of members following the club's activities on social networks is increasing, and the number of audiences who know and respond to the programs introducing Xam is increasing.

This is also the way to preserve and promote the value of Xam in particular, and traditional culture in general in today's life. As music researcher and theorist Nguyen Quang Long said: The traditional culture and art of the nation is always at risk of fading away if young people are indifferent and do not directly participate. For that reason, we need not only one group but more groups of young people who are enthusiastic and knowledgeable about traditional art like Xam 48h to participate in the work of preserving and promoting the value of traditional culture and art that our ancestors have built and passed down...

According to Nhan Dan Newspaper

Source