During the 4-day trip to attend the Francophone Summit and pay an official visit to the French Republic, the visit of General Secretary and President To Lam and the Vietnamese delegation left many special values. French-Vietnamese Autumn Concert at 8pm on October 6. The Royal Opera House of the Palace of Versailles became sparkling in the French-Vietnamese Autumn Concert to entertain General Secretary and President To Lam and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation. Also attending were more than 400 guests, including French and Vietnamese diplomats and intellectuals.

Mr. Laurent Bruner, Director of the Versailles Theater, gratefully received the gift from General Secretary and President To Lam. Photo: Chi Cong

The 60-minute program featured many classic musical works performed by the Versailles Theater Orchestra. Two Vietnamese works were also performed here: "Song of Hope" by the late musician Van Ky and "Ho Chi Minh Song" composed by British musician Ewan MacColl, performed by singer Dao To Loan. This is an artistic activity showing the special respect France has for General Secretary and President To Lam and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation. Before enjoying the concert, General Secretary and President To Lam presented a special gift to the Director of the Versailles Theater. It was a lithophone weighing 300kg, more than 2m long, crafted over 4 years. The lithophone is a Vietnamese national musical instrument with a traditional pentatonic scale, made of 13 stone bars, collected by People's Artist Dong Van Minh from large mountains and deep streams in many different regions of Vietnam. The rough stones were polished by People's Artist Dong Van Minh, listening to each sound to create a special musical instrument, a unique sound imbued with Vietnamese national identity.

Artists of the Versailles Orchestra perform famous works in the concert. Photo: Chi Cong

General Secretary and President To Lam expressed: “I am very grateful to the Versailles Theater for giving the Vietnamese delegation a special concert and special feelings. I would like to present the theater and the director with a very typical Vietnamese gift. I hope that next time I come to the Versailles Theater, I will be able to listen to the compositions performed by the Versailles Orchestra on the lithophone.” Mr. Laurent Bruner, Director of the Versailles Theater, shared his honor at being trusted and loved by the head of the Party and State of Vietnam. Receiving the gift, he said: The artists of the Versailles Theater will create a wonderful combination between the traditional pentatonic scale on the Vietnamese lithophone and the Western scale of the Versailles Orchestra. The moment the lithophone resounded in the Versailles Theater, People's Artist Dong Van Minh directly performed a Vietnamese song on the instrument that General Secretary and President To Lam gave to the Versailles Theater. As the music played from the lithophone, pride shone in the eyes of every Vietnamese person present in the auditorium. The audience also saw in the artists of the Versailles Orchestra their enjoyment of the unique melodies from the lithophone.

People's Artist Dong Van Minh performed a Vietnamese song on a stone instrument at the Versailles Theater. Photo: Chi Cong

People's Artist Dong Van Minh, the maker and also the person who participated in "escorting" the instrument to France, confided: "The instrument carries the soul of Vietnam's mountains and rivers. I think the gift from the General Secretary and President does not only stop at the commemorative value or diplomatic spirit but also expresses the strong aspiration for the rise of Vietnamese folk music." The gift from the French President Right before starting the bilateral talks on October 7 with General Secretary and President To Lam, French President Emmanuel Macron recalled the special impressions of the concert night that took place at the Palace of Versailles. Within the framework of the talks, the French President presented General Secretary and President To Lam with a music book. President Macron wished that the famous musical works in the book would be staged and performed by Vietnamese artists at the Ho Guom Theater - one of the 10 best opera houses in the world.

The French-Vietnamese autumn concert left many deep impressions. Photo: Chi Cong

Using music to bridge the friendship between nations is a meaningful activity. It would be interesting if in the near future, the French composer's composition for the lithophone resounds in the royal space of the Versailles Theater, and at the same time, the work in the French music book is performed on traditional musical instruments at the Ho Guom Theater.
Vietnamnet.vn
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/mon-qua-dac-biet-cua-tong-bi-thu-chu-tich-nuoc-to-lam-trong-chuyen-tham-phap-2333449.html