Musician Truong Tuyet Mai shares at the seminar - Photo: HO LAM
On the morning of February 23, at meeting room B, the Ho Chi Minh City Union of Literature and Arts Associations (81 Tran Quoc Thao, District 3), a workshop was held : Poetry and music, compatible or incompatible?, organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association in coordination with the Ho Chi Minh City Music Association on the occasion of the 22nd Vietnam Poetry Day.
The program raises many questions about the relationship between poetry and music in Vietnam's artistic life. How do poetry and music connect to each other so that they can flourish together?
A long-standing relationship
Musician Truong Tuyet Mai confided that she has loved poetry and literature since she was a child. Thanks to reading a lot, she discovered good poems. They resonated with her thoughts when she composed them.
According to her, when a poem is set to music, there will be a certain harmony between the musician and the poet in one aspect of thinking and artistic soul.
"The poems set to music are all good. There are lines in them that make the musician sympathize and let the lines soar with the music.
In a poem, sometimes the musician only feels satisfied with a few lines of poetry and from there the music arises..." - she commented.
Writer Bich Ngan analyzed that in Vietnam, poetry is also elevated to Ca Tru and Ca Hue.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, when Western music was introduced to our country, a new art form was born. That is song.
And songs set to poetry have a relatively important position in artistic life.
There are musicians whose songs set to poetry have made their names such as: musician Hoang Hiep, Phan Huynh Dieu, Phu Quang...
Obviously, many poems have become the launching pad for songs that have blossomed in the hearts of the public.
Writer Bich Ngan believes that the relationship between poets and musicians is not only expressed through legal provisions in the Intellectual Property Law, but also through harmony and understanding.
She shared: "When a poem is turned into a song, it means the musician has connected the emotional thread, sharing with the poet.
If we say that music gives wings to poetry, we must also say that poetry helps music stay in the listeners' souls, in cultural consciousness, and in spiritual values.
Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Thanh Truyen believes that poetry and music have a connection with folk literature. That is the genre of nursery rhymes, a genre of oral folk poetry of Vietnamese children used to sing when working in the fields.
And he likened the relationship between poetry and music to that of "a married couple or lovers".
Writer Bich Ngan gave the opening speech at the conference - Photo: Organizing Committee
Write the author's name in the text of the songs set to poetry
Besides, the conference also raised the question of whether in the texts of songs set to poetry, the author's name, the poet's name, or the composer's name, should be listed first?
To answer this question, musician Truong Tuyet Mai gave her opinion:
"In other countries, most musical works set to poetry list the composer's name first and the poet's name later. However, putting the poet's or composer's name first is not too strict or a matter worth arguing about."
Many opinions in the workshop agreed that in the text of songs set to poetry, the composer's name should be mentioned first because this is a musical work, focusing on the lyrics. The inclusion of poetry also has some changes.
But the order in which they are arranged is not too important, because after all, the work is the "brainchild" of both the poet and the musician.
Associate Professor Dr. Bui Thanh Truyen analyzed that many musicians can also be poets. And many poets also pay great attention to musicality in their poetry when composing.
As in the case of Nguyen Dinh Thi, he is a poet and also a musician.
However, he left some poems like Red Leaves to musician Hoang Hiep to compose. And it was this combination that created an artistic product that was well received by the public.
According to writer Bich Ngan, the value of a popular song that is widely spread in life should be divided equally between the poet and the musician.
And an award given for a song set to poetry should not only honor the musician, but sometimes forget the poet.
The poet's language and the musician's melody, when on the same aesthetic frequency, will blossom into a unique song set to poetry.
On the contrary, songs set to poetry because of non-artistic influences such as respect and reluctance only bring cold, hidden works...
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