The government agreed with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Vietnam National UNESCO Committee on the sending of the “Vietnamese people’s ca tru” files to UNESCO for consideration as the intangible cultural heritage of urgent protection.

The government asked the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to combine with the Vietnam National UNESCO Committee to fulfill necessary formalities for sending the documents to the UNESCO.

According to the Music Institute, there are a lot of melodies of ca tru but only 31 of them are being performed and taught.

Ca tru is in danger of oblivion when many ca tru artisans are very old and the loss of environment for ca tru, village communal houses and royal courts.

The Music Institute is working on an action plan to preserve this traditional art.

Ca tru is an ancient genre of chamber music featuring female vocalists, with origins in northern Vietnam. For much of its history, it was associated with a geisha-like form of entertainment.

VietNamNet/ANTD