Promote and spread Xoan singing on cyberspace

This is a 100% socialized project, led by music researcher Nguyen Quang Long. The project was planned from 2022 and implemented in 2023 and launched on the occasion of the Giap Thin spring on the YouTube channel Folk songs & Traditional music founded and operated by music researcher Nguyen Quang Long to honor the precious musical values ​​of the nation. This is an activity towards the Hung King's death anniversary on the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month in 2024.

Researcher Nguyen Quang Long said that he and his colleagues want to contribute to the preservation and promotion of the value of Hat Xoan, spreading Hat Xoan to the community, especially on the Internet. From there, many people can access standard Xoan songs, enjoy them or exploit them as materials for research or other purposes. According to researcher Nguyen Quang Long, as a project with the characteristics of the digital age, with the purpose of introducing and spreading Hat Xoan on the Internet, from the very beginning, Introducing Hat Xoan Music Heritage has been carried out with criteria suitable for this characteristic. Therefore, the project focuses on the most realistic value possible, both in music and in images.

Artists in Xoan singing

In addition to the main part of music with 16 Xoan songs including 3 songs from the Hat Tho Stage and 13 songs from the Qua Cach Stage, the content also has an additional clip called "Returning to the Ancestral Land and Listening to Xoan" recording a conversation between MC-editor Hoang Chung and the artists of the Xoan Thet Ward - the main subject of the project, with the participation of NNC Nguyen Quang Long. Having an additional clip recording a close and rustic conversation contributes to opening the door for those who love Hat Xoan to access Xoan more easily and understand more about Xoan. The visual part is done very simply, the images were recorded by the crew at 4 historical sites directly related to Hat Xoan: Lai Len Temple (Xoan Phu Duc Ward), Thet Communal House (Xoan Thet Ward), Kim Doi Communal House (Xoan Kim Doi Ward), An Thai Communal House (Xoan An Thai Ward). All four sites are located in Viet Tri city, Phu Tho province today. The images are used as background illustrations, introducing historical sites directly related to Xoan singing.

Artists performing Xoan singing

In particular, with the name Introducing the musical heritage of Xoan singing, the focus of the project is the musical content. According to NNC Nguyen Quang Long: Xoan singing is divided into 3 main singing stages: Hat Tho, Hat Qua cach and Hat Hoi. In which, Hat Qua cach is considered the central singing stage. There are 13 Qua cach (the specific name of this art, corresponding to 13 songs). These are songs sung in the space inside the communal houses and temples of the 4 original Xoan guilds. In this project, all 13 Qua cach of Xoan singing are introduced along with 3 Hat Tho songs including: Nhap tuc moi vua, Tho huong and Dong dam. All of these songs were recorded by musician and singer Phan Thanh Cuong in the most rustic and familiar way. He prepared all the recording equipment from Hanoi to Phu Tho and deployed the field training right at the house of the boss of Xoan Thet guild. "Recording Xoan singing requires the most natural sounds, giving the audience the feeling of listening to the artists singing directly, that is our wish when implementing this project", Phan Thanh Cuong shared. Sharing the reason for choosing the artists of Xoan Thet Ward to participate in the project, artist Nguyen Quang Long said: Thet is one of the four original Xoan Wards that has a particularly important position in the origin and process of nurturing and promoting the art of Xoan singing of the nation. On the other hand, artist Nguyen Quang Long is a person with a connection to Xoan singing. In my musical journey, I have many times carried out projects to introduce Xoan singing for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Phu Tho province and Vietnam Television (VTV1 and VTVcab). The first time in 2013, I made a set of 02 DVDs "Xoan singing Phu Tho - 26 ancient Xoan songs" ordered by the State, produced by Music Publishing House - Dihavina. At this time, NNC Nguyen Quang Long selected the most unique performances from the 4 Xoan wards to perform together in a product that invested in both sound and image. The subsequent performances were mostly projects that combined 4 wards or 2 Xoan wards.

NNC Nguyen Quang Long and Xoan singing artists

This means that there has never been a project carried out with only one Xoan troupe. While the characteristic of folk art is the variation, even though it may be the same song, the same name, the same melody and the typical lyrics, there are still some unique differences. Therefore, when carrying out this project, NNC Nguyen Quang Long decided to choose only one troupe to perform the entire 13 Qua Cach in the Qua Cach Stage of Hat Xoan. Notably, this marks the first time that the entire set of 13 Qua Cach performed by one troupe has been widely introduced to the public. In addition, the choice of the Xoan Thet troupe artisans is also because the troupe currently has many prestigious artisans, NNC Nguyen Quang Long himself has also worked with the artisans since the first music project (2013). Furthermore, the artisans were all born into families with a long tradition of Xoan singing, such as Meritorious Artisan Bui Thi Kieu Nga whose parents are both prestigious artisans of the An Thai Xoan singing guild, Meritorious Artisan Nguyen Thi Nga whose mother is the late artisan Le Thi Tu, one of the artisans who has made the greatest impression on NNC Nguyen Quang Long personally up to this point when working with Xoan singing. Participating in this project are excellent artisans of the Xoan Thet Guild as well as the current Xoan singing art, including: Meritorious Artisan Bui Thi Kieu Nga (chief of the guild), Meritorious Artisan Nguyen Thi Nga, Meritorious Artisan Le Thi Nhan. In addition, there is also the participation of artisan Nguyen Van Thuyet, young Xoan actor Nguyen Minh Tri (born in 2005). This shows that the inheritance and continuity still exist in the Xoan Thet Guild. Accompanying NNC Nguyen Quang Long in the production team is musician and singer Phan Thanh Cuong, who is in charge of organizing production, recording, mixing, and mastering. Editor and MC Hoang Chung is in charge of editing, filming, post-production, and editing the finished works. In addition, there is also the accompanying advisor of musician Tung Lam (Vietnam Musicians Association in Phu Tho)./.

Source: https://toquoc.vn/quang-ba-lan-toa-hat-xoan-tren-khong-gian-mang-2024032316442619.htm