Spring in Ho Chi Minh City, Country Full of Joy, Young City, City of Love and Nostalgia... are on the list of 50 outstanding works in many fields of Ho Chi Minh City.
Spring in Ho Chi Minh City and Voice of the City Named After Him are two of the 10 nominations in the music field - Photo archive
The vote for 50 outstanding works in many fields of Ho Chi Minh City aims to celebrate the 50th anniversary of national reunification (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025).
In the field of music, the top 10 nominated outstanding musical works include the songs Spring in Ho Chi Minh City, The Country Full of Joy , The Voice of the City Named After Him , By the Statue of Uncle Ho , The City of Love and Nostalgia , A Lifetime of One Forest , My City , Young City , The City I Love and Symphony No. 6 - Saigon 300 Years .
According to the organizers, the works must have been composed and published from April 30, 1975 to the end of 2023.
Meet the criteria: typical of ideological and artistic values; praise the glorious and heroic tradition of struggle, the construction and development of Ho Chi Minh City; praise the life and people of the city as civilized, modern, and affectionate; have a wide influence, and are loved by the people.
The city cares a lot about artists and their works, but it is too much to honor them all, so we can only select a few. And the works that are absent do not mean they are not worthy or good.
Musician Nguyen Duc Trung (Vice President of Ho Chi Minh City Music Association)Absent does not mean unworthy
Musician Nguyen Duc Trung - Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Music Association, Chairman of the Music Selection Council - shared with Tuoi Tre that from the beginning, the association presented its view that at the 50-year milestone, there are thousands of works worthy of honor.
However, the association faced many difficulties because it was limited to only 10 nominations. "Finally, based on the majority vote, after many rounds, we narrowed it down to 10 works for further consideration," he said.
Initially, the association proposed to the city that these were works that were impressive and worthy, ensuring two factors: works about Ho Chi Minh City and composed by members of the association.
However, during the review process, there were too many good works that were nominated beyond the criteria. "For example, in Young City, musician Tran Tien, who is not a member of the City Music Association, was still nominated," Mr. Trung cited.
Musician Nguyen Duc Trung expressed that the council does not discriminate between insiders or outsiders, as long as the work is good.
On the other hand, there are works that do not talk about the city but the authors come from other places, choose the city to live and work, they are also people from Ho Chi Minh City. This shows the openness of the vote, also shows that Ho Chi Minh City is a city of humanity, a good land for birds to nest.
"Although the selection this time is relative, the council and organizing committee have considered it very carefully. And the works not on the list do not mean they are not good or worthy," said musician Nguyen Duc Trung.
Musician Tran Tien once shared that Ho Chi Minh City changed him, gave him many emotions, and allowed him to write many songs, including: Young City, Melody of the Fatherland, Round Footprints on the Sand...
From left to right: musician Nguyen Duc Trung, singer Ta Minh Tam - Photo: NVCC
Many songs go with the years
Looking at the nomination list, it is easy to notice the absence of new songs. Spring in Ho Chi Minh City (composer Xuan Hong), The Country Full of Joy (composer Hoang Ha), The Voice of the City Named After Him (music by Cao Viet Bach, lyrics by Dang Trung, Cao Viet Bach) were all released in 1975, in a special historical context, that is, the country was at peace, united.
Following that are By the Statue of Uncle Ho (music by Lu Nhat Vu, lyrics by Le Giang, 1977), City of Love and Memories (music by Pham Minh Tuan, poetry by Nguyen Nhat Anh, 1979), A Lifetime, a Forest (Tran Long An, 1979).
The two songs My City (Phan Nhan) and Young City (Tran Tien) are 44 years old. The "youngest", My City I Love by Hoang Hiep and Symphony No. 6 by Nguyen Van Nam are also about 30 years old.
The country is full of joy was composed in 1975, in the context of Vietnam being filled with joy on the day of reunification when the Ho Chi Minh campaign was approaching its final victory - Photo archive
Musician Nguyen Duc Trung believes that each era has its own characteristics. From 1975 to 2000, Ho Chi Minh City's musical activities were very strong, associated with groups of songs with political, homeland, and country colors.
This period produced many great, quality works. Young artists later on were active, with many works but the quality was uneven, even inversely proportional to the quantity, and the longevity of the songs was not high.
Having performed most of the above works, People's Artist Ta Minh Tam told Tuoi Tre that 50 years is a big, important milestone. In some ways, although it is not complete and difficult to complete, this list is completely worthy. They are all good works with artistic value.
He personally emphasized three songs that have "settled" for half a century and gone beyond the city, known to audiences nationwide: The Country is Full of Joy, Spring in Ho Chi Minh City and The Voice of the City Named After Him.
"Each song is a perspective, accompanying the city's development and is an important part of the cultural "front", he said.
The song "Young City" by musician Tran Tien performed by the group Mat Ngoc
According to him, music also plays an important role, encouraging the fighting spirit during the difficult years and the determination to build and protect the Fatherland in the early years of renovation. In every step of the city, there is no lack of musical notes and lyrics. Looking back half a century, those works are not old, they are still new.
Ta Minh Tam shared that the previous artists have completed their historical mission. Ho Chi Minh City currently lacks new, worthy works that tell the story of Ho Chi Minh City in the new period.
As a singer, Ta Minh Tam also has the desire to sing good works. "Nowadays, the musical life is quite chaotic, to know what is rock and what is gold, it takes time. I will not say that there are no new good works, but clearly we have to wait," he said.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/top-10-tac-pham-am-nhac-noi-bat-cua-tp-hcm-co-dat-nuoc-tron-niem-vui-mot-doi-nguoi-mot-rung-cay-2025031109515863.htm
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