Farewell to 'Brother Ba' - musician Ton That Lap

In 1977, just 2 years after the country's reunification, the writer joined the Youth Volunteer Force. My unit was stationed in the middle of the forest, working during the day and gathering around a campfire at night. For the first time, we learned about songs composed during the urban struggle movement, and then at night, by the crackling fire in the middle of the deep forest, we sang: Sing for my people, The rice fields are ringing (Ton That Lap), The love of the red soil of the eastern region (Tran Long An), Get up and go (Nguyen Xuan Tan), No one can stop the singing (La Huu Vang), Your boat goes in the night (Nguyen Phu Yen)... The song "Sing for my people" by musician Ton That Lap created a wave of popularity, becoming a movement called "Sing for my compatriots" of the urban struggle movement.

Front row: Musician Trinh Cong Son (wearing glasses) and musician Ton That Lap in the movement “Sing for my people”. Photo: Archive

I especially like his song "The Rice Fields Are Roaring" because the lyrics are filled with love for the homeland and rich in imagery: "The rice fields are like an old mother's hands, for more than ten years they have spread out their arms, covering and tilting him to protect the country, in the rain of bombs or the sun and bullets that filled the sky... Tomorrow we will go visit the rice fields, hearing the familiar footsteps of the trees and leaves stirring our hearts, thousands of young buds blooming. Tomorrow we will go visit the rice fields in the forest, at night the festival will burn the leaves, she will smile as bright as a flower..." I didn't expect "struggle" music to be so "soft"!

But... Ton That Lap's music is not only about "struggle". Since the mid-1960s, he wrote the song Tieng hat ve khoi (late night) dedicated to the female singer Thanh Thuy (currently living abroad): "Night after night, the thin singing falls on your lips, breathing its last breath to liberate the world...". The song has beautiful lyrics, deeply ingrained in the souls of many generations of music lovers. When listening to singer Thanh Thuy sing this song, Professor Nguyen Van Trung commented: "Her sad voice and distant face make the audience feel like they are being pulled back to a distant past...". Tieng hat ve khoi has become a masterpiece and has a place in the hearts of the audience. I still remember in the program Duyên dáng Việt Nam 6 organized by Thanh Nien Newspaper (in 1998), singer Khanh Du performed this song very successfully. Then in the 1980s, Ton That Lap's music was full of vibrant pop rock in Tri An echoing in spring or gentle, passionate in Tinh ca mua xuan...

Later, when I worked as a journalist and was assigned to write about culture and arts, I often met musician Ton That Lap at 81 Tran Quoc Thao (District 3, Ho Chi Minh City), where the southern office of the Vietnam Musicians Association (of which he was Vice President) was located, and this was also the headquarters of the Ho Chi Minh City Music Association (of which his close friend, musician Tran Long An, was the President). All of us, who considered 81 Tran Quoc Thao our common home, respectfully called musician Ton That Lap "Brother Ba" and musician Tran Long An "Brother Nam". We used to travel with "Brother Ba" and "Brother Nam" on field trips to compose in Dak Lak, Can Gio... "Brother Ba" Ton That Lap was always smiling and friendly with his colleagues in a gentle, soft Hue accent.

Musician Ton That Lap was born in 1942 in Da Nang (originally from Hue). As a child, he attended primary school at Duc Anh School (Tam Ky, Quang Nam), then returned to Hue to continue his studies. As a teenager, Ton That Lap composed his first song, Mot Dong Song, inspired by famous foreign waltzes. This song was once sung by a singer at that time named Da Ai on Hue Radio. Later, musician Ton That Lap edited this song into the song Loi Ca Tren Mien Bien Ca and was performed by famous singer Thai Thanh.

After participating in the "Sing for my people" movement, Ton That Lap went to France in 1974. In Paris, Ton That Lap was published by the Overseas Student Composition Association with the collection "Birds from the Red Fire Zone".

After 1975, he returned to Vietnam, worked at the Department of Culture and Information of Ho Chi Minh City and held the following positions: Deputy Secretary General of the Ho Chi Minh City Music Association (terms 3 and 4); Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Music Association (term 5), Chairman of the Art Council of the Ho Chi Minh City Music Association (term 6). Member of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Musicians Association (terms 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7), Editor-in-Chief of Vietnam Music Magazine (Vietnam Musicians Association). He was awarded the State Prize for Literature and Arts, 2nd term (2007). He has many published collections such as: Pho Ca, Hat Cho Dan Toi Nghe, Hat Loi Mom Bao, Tinh Ca Mua Xuan, Anthology of Ton That Lap and albums Nu Hon, Tinh Ca Mua Xuan... In addition, he also wrote many dance songs and film music.

Meritorious Artist The Hien was in Can Tho, when he heard the news of musician Ton That Lap's death, he immediately returned to Ho Chi Minh City to say goodbye to "Brother Ba". Meritorious Artist The Hien said: "Brother Ba Lap was very kind, I have never seen him angry with anyone in my life. During his creative field trips, he always took care of, reminded and encouraged the younger generations. He had a daughter who was studying for a master's degree abroad when she had an accident and passed away. From then on, I saw him become more worried...".

We, the younger generations, respect and love "Brother Ba" very much, and would like to bow our heads to bid him farewell. May he rest in peace...

The funeral for musician Ton That Lap will begin at 9:00 a.m. on July 28 at the Southern National Funeral Home (5 Pham Ngu Lao, Ward 3, Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City). The memorial service will take place at 6:00 a.m. on July 30, 2023.

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