In the latest show of the Thang Long Ca Tru Club, Hanoi, a 1.8 metre Swedish girl sat cross-legged to sing ca tru.

Pia Qvanstrom performed ca tru at the Thang Long Ca Tru Club.

With a deep, sweet voice, she could sing a ca tru song quite successfully after only four times practicing ca tru with ca tru singer Pham Thi Hue city. The girl, Pia Qvanstrom, is a singer of Ojzaioj (Oi gioi oi – Heavens! Help!) band, which plays Vietnamese traditional music in Sweden.

When did you first learn about ca tru?

I first listened to ca tru at the Thang Long Ca Tru Club in November 2007. I was impressed by the straight and truthful expression of ca tru. Most of the Vietnamese music genres that I had listened to were stage-arts. It was nearly a shock to me when I heard ca tru, which has a very different way of expression. At that time, I didn’t understand ca tru. For me, dan day, trong chau, phach (Vietnamese instruments) and voice have no relations.

Why did you learn ca tru?

Ms. Hue said that I should try to learn a ca tru song. I thought it would be difficult, but it was much easier than I thought.

How about cheo?

I don’t remember my feeling when I listened to cheo for the first time. I like the melodies and the rhythms of cheo songs and the way musical instruments mix with each other. I’m now in a difficult time with cheo and I think it is very difficult. Perhaps I can’t sing cheo very well.

Didn’t you have a 2-month scholarship to study cheo in Vietnam, not ca tru?

I sang cheo already and I wish to learn more about cheo. Our band also hopes to have new songs. We don’t have a dan day player so I can’t sing ca tru in Sweden.

You have been able to learn ca tru in a very short time so does this mean it is quite easy for foreigners to learn singing ca tru?

It depends on what did you do before you learn ca tru. It will be easier if you played and listened to various genres of music. Ms. Hue and members of the Thang Long Ca Tru Club came to my house to teach me ca tru. They sang a short piece and I imitated. Ms. Hue taught me very carefully and she only taught me a second piece when I could sing the previous piece well. We will surely cooperate in the future when we have an opportunity.

Will you return to Vietnamese traditional music in another project?

I don’t know yet but if I return to Vietnam, I will have to study Vietnamese language. I’m tired of being a stranger here.

What do you think about globalisation in culture?

Everyone in the world can experience any type of culture. But actually, everything will be similar in the world.

The Ojzaioj band includes Esbjorn Wettermark, who is also studying in Hanoi (flute, wind instruments), Olof Gothlin and Hedda Heiskanen (two-chord zither), Helena Jonsson (16-chord zither), Sara Alkeby (monochord), and Pia Qvanstrom (singer, who sings cheo, cai luong and plays percussion).

VietNamNet/TP