VietNamNet Bridge – Traditional artists from the Thang Long Puppetry Theatre won gold and silver medals at the Traditional Musical Instrumentalist and Ensemble Festival 2017 which was held from April 15 -23 in the central province of Thanh Hoa. 

At the festival they performed Khoanh Khac Ha Thanh (Moments in Old Ha Noi) with traditional instruments such as the dan tam thap luc (zither with 36 brass strings), dan day (a long-necked three-stringed lute) and dan nguyet (Vietnamese two chord guitar), accompanied by folk singers. The performance was staged by the theatre director, People’s Artist Nguyen Hoang Tuan. 

Director Tuan spoke about the performance. 

Could you tell us about Khoanh Khac Ha Thanh?

First, I want to stress that I staged Khoanh Khac Ha Thanh for traditional artists at the Thang Long theatre, and not for puppeteers. The musical performance was performed by 15 artists featuring traditional xam and ca tru.  

Xam (blind busker’s singing) is a form of northern Vietnamese folk music that dates back to the 13th - 14th century. This kind of music was normally performed by blind buskers who wandered from village to village and earned their living by singing. Ca tru (ceremonial singing) appeared in the 11th century but it wasn’t until the 13th - during the Ly Dynasty, that it was officially recognised as a form of entertainment for the royal court. 

It’s easy to see the distinction between these two genres of music. I wanted to combine and harmonise them in a musical performance which helps spectators enjoy and learn more about the musical genres. This combination proves that music is able to eliminate the gap between social classes. 

The performance features instruments like the dan nguyet, dan nhi and dan day. At the beginning, I named the performance Cau va Hanh Khat (Master and Beggar) which I hoped would make audiences curious. I intended to convey that there is no barrier between rich and poor when it comes to art. Rich and poor people are equal in establishing themselves as poetic souls. However, I changed the name to make more easily understood. 

Your theatre mainly uses puppets. What difficulties did you face when staging the musical piece?

We are an art theatre and we usually make traditional musical productions. Our productions are being enjoyed by audiences inside and outside of Viet Nam. So we are confident enough to stage Khoanh Khac Ha Thanh with ca tru and xam. Our artists practise for three months. They understand their work and the message I want to convey.

The musical performance conjures scenes of old Ha Noi. We took the time to stage not only music but also illustrations by actors, so spectators could enjoy xam and ca tru and get a feeling of old Ha Noi’s unique characteristics, such as young rich people hanging out in rickshaws.

Many people asked me why we were confident to participate in the Traditional Musical Instruments Festival, despite being a puppetry troupe. Our artists are talented and they studied at the Viet Nam National Academy of Music. It is not the first time we attended the festival. This time is the third we have joined the festival and our musicians have won gold medals on previous occasions. 

How do you think the festival went?

Khoanh Khac Ha Thanh was highly appreciated by the professions and it is one of six repertoires to be awarded a silver medal. Furthermore, meritorious artist Dang To Nhu and Nguyen Thanh Hung were given gold medals for their solo performances with dan tam thap luc and dan day. A solo performance by dan nguyet artist Pham Duc Binh also won silver medal. 

Musicians play traditional musical instruments at the theatre to accompany puppetry performances. The musicians are talented but they are not popular because there are not many competitions for traditional musicians. 

Will Khoanh Khac Ha Thanh be performed at the theatre?

Absolutely, it will be in the theatre’s performance schedule. Besides the folk tales, we want to have more performances concerned with modern themes. 

VNS