Thousands of performers from 250 amateur art troupes from all over thecountry have flocked to the capital city of Hanoi to take part in the2014 Chau Van Singing Festival, Nguyen Khac Loi, Deputy Director of themunicipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said on October13.
The festival, in its second edition, aims to provide anopportunity for artists to perform the traditional ritual singing in aformal setting while increasing the community’s awareness of the MotherGoddess wordshipping belief, Loi added.
The firstround of performances runs from October 15 until November 17 in seventemples throughout Hanoi, while the best performances will be selectedfor a final show on November 28-29.
Anumber of seminars will also be held during the festival to discuss waysto preserve the values of Chau Van singing in today’s modern society.
Chau Van singing, which is recognisedas a National Intangible Cultural Heritage, first emerged during theTran Dynasty (1225-1400) and presumably originated in the northernprovince of Nam Dinh.
The highly rhythmic formof singing often accompanies “hau dong” (mediumship) during rituals tohonour the Mother Goddess and connect to other gods. It is mostlyperformed at temples and pagodas.
The music and poetry performed in the folk art are blended with a variety of rhythms, tempos and pitches.
The genre also adopts folk songs from the uplands and highlands of the three regions of the country.
The main musical instrument used in the genre is Dan Nguyet, a moon-shaped lute.
Relevant agencies are working on the necessary documents toapply to UNESCO for recognition of the traditional singing genre as anIntangible Culture Heritage of Humanity.-VNA
The festival, in its second edition, aims to provide anopportunity for artists to perform the traditional ritual singing in aformal setting while increasing the community’s awareness of the MotherGoddess wordshipping belief, Loi added.
The firstround of performances runs from October 15 until November 17 in seventemples throughout Hanoi, while the best performances will be selectedfor a final show on November 28-29.
Anumber of seminars will also be held during the festival to discuss waysto preserve the values of Chau Van singing in today’s modern society.
Chau Van singing, which is recognisedas a National Intangible Cultural Heritage, first emerged during theTran Dynasty (1225-1400) and presumably originated in the northernprovince of Nam Dinh.
The highly rhythmic formof singing often accompanies “hau dong” (mediumship) during rituals tohonour the Mother Goddess and connect to other gods. It is mostlyperformed at temples and pagodas.
The music and poetry performed in the folk art are blended with a variety of rhythms, tempos and pitches.
The genre also adopts folk songs from the uplands and highlands of the three regions of the country.
The main musical instrument used in the genre is Dan Nguyet, a moon-shaped lute.
Relevant agencies are working on the necessary documents toapply to UNESCO for recognition of the traditional singing genre as anIntangible Culture Heritage of Humanity.-VNA
