VietNamNet Bridge - At a time when the modern music industry in Vietnam is producing mostly flash-in-the-pan pop stars, modern technology is starting to prove convenient in keeping traditional music alive.

Quan ho singers

Fans of quan ho (love duets from the northern province of Bac Ninh) no longer need to visit the province to enjoy live performances of this ancient folk music.

Now the music is just a phone call away.

Thanks to such clubs as the Hoa Dinh Club in Hoa Dinh Village, Bac Ninh City, quan ho fans can dial in to listen to their favourite love songs, performed live by well-known singers.

With modern technology often distracting from the country’s traditions, it’s a refreshing change to see it help promote an ancient art form for Vietnamese everywhere.

The Hoa Dinh Club’s head, Tran Van Quyen, says most customers who phone in requesting songs are overseas Vietnamese and people in other provinces.

“It all started at a quan ho singing competition and festival in Spring 2008,” he recalls.

During the festival, the club’s artists met with many tourists who said they wanted to enjoy these folk songs from home.

“At the end of the festival, we returned to our day jobs. The quan ho singers of Hoa Dinh Village continued to practise every Saturday evening.

“One day, some of the tourists who had my mobile phone number called me, saying that they wanted to enjoy some songs. We couldn’t refuse their passion for the music,” he says.

At present, the club has 51 members, including elder, middle-aged and young people. The oldest member Nguyen Thi Bay is 85, but she still isn’t too old to teach young people how to properly sing the classic melodies.

Bay and other club members are ready to sing via mobile phones to fans, free of charge.

“The most important thing that we gain is that we can popularise the culture of quan ho and images of quan ho artists who are friendly and hospitable to people both in the country and abroad,” he says.

“We don’t join the club for money,” says artist Nguyen Thi Ly. “We are determined to preserve the ancient folk songs and we want the songs to be handed down to future generations.”

The director of Bac Ninh Province’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Department, Dang Van Tuc, said the service has received a lot of attention.

“This service also helps popularise quan ho to the world. We want quan ho to be recognised one day as a UNESCO heritage. During this time of international integration, people all over the world can simply pick up their cell phones and listen to songs by famous singers.”

Recognising the potential of wireless communication, the department has asked the provincial People’s Committee to give each quan ho club a mobile phone to help boost this service.

For many old people living in rural villages, mobile phones have been an unaffordable luxury, but there has been a recent spike in the number of elderly with mobile phones.

According to artist Nguyen Thi Thuy, quan ho is an acquired taste, and not everyone wants to listen to these old folk songs.

“That’s why we the quan ho singers always respect the requests of people who really want to listen to the songs. Among them, many are overseas Vietnamese who visited the homeland but didn’t have a chance to visit Bac Ninh,” she says.

During the summers, the club also organises classes to teach quan ho to children in the village.

Other than the Hoa Dinh Club, many other clubs have been formed, attracting new performers and fans. They include clubs in Dao Xa Village in Phong Khe Commune, Bac Ninh City, and Diem Village in Hoa Long Commune.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is completing files on quan ho to submit to UNESCO, asking the organisation to recognise the music as an intangible part of their culture.

Just as modern technology seems to facilitate cheaply produced music, this original use of cell phones proves that tradition does not have to be traded for modernity. This also proves that quan ho culture still has a strong presence.

(Source: VNS)