THE FULL SONG OF THE SEA VILLAGE
In mid-July 2024, at the 195th anniversary of the death of the famous mandarin Thoai Ngoc Hau - Nguyen Van Thoai (1829 - 2024) organized by the People's Committee of Son Tra District (Da Nang City), the excellent artist Thanh Chau brought hundreds of audiences into a passionate musical space when performing the beloved folk song Son Tra. "The old stilt houses were in disarray/Now they have been converted into built houses/Many bridges have been built here/More and more attractive, constructions are being built... Oh Son Tra! Son Tra, the beautiful and passionate scenery/Like someone's poem, the love song..." , artist Thanh Chau's voice resonated. Many audiences "wondered" about the author of the lyrics, which are both general and vivid, and they appreciated it even more when they learned that the "father" was a fisherman who had experienced the storms. He is Cao Van Minh (59 years old).
Mr. Minh was born and raised in Nai Hien Dong fishing village (Son Tra district), the locality with the largest offshore fishing fleet in Da Nang. Since childhood, he has been drifting on the waves, following fishing boats struggling throughout the fishing grounds, clinging to the East Sea. After hours of hard fishing, fishermen sing songs for fun. The familiar melodies of folk songs from Lien Khu 5 naturally seeped into him. He admits that he is "not very literate" but has a good memory, loves traditional music, and loves the sea. At the age of 50, when he was no longer healthy enough to continue his fishing career, he returned to shore to compose plays, folk songs, etc.
Mr. Cao Van Minh's composition diary records unique mountain folk songs and scripts.
Son Tra Yeu Thuong is just one of many folk songs he wrote about the land that nurtured him. He also has works that are not only performed at the ward and commune level but also at the city and central level such as: Nai Hien Dong, My Hometown, Van Duong Ngay Moi, Da Nang Trong Ta, Huong Tinh Da Nang... Of which, Da Nang Trong Ta was performed at a grand art program to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Da Nang becoming a centrally-run city in 2022. In particular, the song Huong Tinh Da Nang with its rich imagery and familiar folk melody has been warmly received by the public.
Composed in August 2021, in December of the same year, this song by Mr. Cao Van Minh won a silver medal at the National Festival of Folk Songs and Music of the Three Regions organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Lam Dong. "Our homeland is like a folk song/Sometimes low, sometimes high, the singing voice hums/I follow you to the coastal city of Son Tra/Silently listening to the distant ocean waves echoing back..." , artist Huyen Tan recited an ancient melody in Huong Tinh Da Nang and commented: "Although he is not a professional, Mr. Cao Van Minh is a fisherman with a passionate love for the sea. Therefore, when writing folk songs, his songs are always simple, full of experience, the lyrics have more characteristics of the coastal region than other authors. More impressively, he is an outsider in music but with his talent and diligence in learning, he has written precise melodies".
" GENERAL DIRECTOR" OF THE FISHING CEREMONY
Artist Huyen Tan and artist Thanh Chau are also the couple invited by Mr. Cao Van Minh to perform folk songs, bai choi... on the occasion of the local fishing festival. Mr. Huynh Van Hung, Vice Chairman of Son Tra District People's Committee, expressed his admiration for Mr. Minh's contribution to each festival. "Although Mr. Minh is not yet an elder, he is a brave fisherman, a person who understands and is passionate about the identity of the fishing village. During the fishing festival, with his prestige, he has actively contributed to preserving and promoting the unique values of this national intangible cultural heritage," said Mr. Hung.
The biggest fishing festival in Da Nang city bears the personal mark of Mr. Cao Van Minh
The larger the scale of the festival, the more the festival commander must have a new level to call on people to participate, and must understand the culture of the coastal region to perform the spiritual rituals properly. In Da Nang, at the beginning of the year, many places organize a fishing ceremony, but many rituals are just reenactments. Particularly in Nai Hien Dong, the festival is directed by Mr. Cao Van Minh, the scale can be said to be the largest in Da Nang with a series of heritage practice activities, not just performances. "Over time, fishing festivals in the seaport have been mixed. In order for the fishermen's requests to come true, the festival must be precise and have layers and lines," said Mr. Minh.
Because of that thought, Mr. Cao Van Minh worked hard to research, "cut out the wrong, build up the right" for the fishing festival. Three months before it took place, regardless of day or night, Mr. Minh and the fishermen prepared the worship rituals, the art performances, the sports... He was also the one who wrote the sacrificial texts, wrote the parallel sentences, composed the cheo plays, sang ba trao, coastal folk songs... During the 3 nights and 4 days, the fishermen had many rituals to perform, such as informing the river god, the ceremony of ascending the altar to raise the phan, opening the Buddhist prayer, praying for peace, praying for crops, the ceremony of sending off the dragon boat, the ceremony of thanking the four main gods...
Nai Hien Dong traditional boat race is the biggest race in Da Nang city.
"The most important thing is the rituals in the ceremony to invite the Nam Hai giant Ngoc Lan ton than. The steps must be correct and precise to hope to receive support. This ceremony also initiates many intangible cultural activities imbued with the character of the coastal region. In particular, from this ceremony, the traditional boat racing festival - the king sport on the river - was formed. A fishing festival without boat racing is not complete," Mr. Minh shared. Thanks to making the traditional boat racing a brand of the district and city, in early November 2024, Mr. Cao Van Minh was assigned as the Chairman of the Boat Racing Club to prepare for the racing team in March 2025 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Da Nang City.
Talking to us, Mr. Minh was quite tired because he had just been discharged from the hospital after heart surgery. However, he said that as long as he had strength, he would contribute to preserve the identity of his fishing village. "I am willing to contribute, working as a scriptwriter for free if the city leaders want to elevate the fishing festival into a large-scale tourism product. After the success of the folk song script Hon Bien , I cherished writing Ky Uc Lang Ngu Nai Hien and the book Tinh Van Chua Lang Ngu Nai Hien to pass on to the next generation the quintessence of the fishing village culture," Mr. Minh confided.
Amazed with the script of Soul of the Sea
At the 2024 fishing festival, many fishermen were moved to see themselves and the lives of fishermen in the folk play Soul of the Sea . Author Cao Van Minh brought viewers to many levels of emotion when listening to folk songs and watching the climaxes. Soul of the Sea is full of characters such as ship owners, seafarers, fisheries officers, the god of the South China Sea... The work evokes in viewers a love for the sea and islands, and deeply touches the story of fishermen who live on the sea and must love the sea, protect the sea and be rewarded by the sea. An amateur screenwriter like Mr. Cao Van Minh surprised viewers with a 2-hour folk play with 3 parts and 13 scenes...
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nghe-si-da-tai-cua-lang-ca-185250123183150384.htm
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