VOV reporter To Tuan has a story about how the younger generation is preserving Ca Tru folk singing. Ca Tru is a unique type of folk music in Vietnam that dates back to the 15 th century. Ca Tru folk singing has a strong influence on people’s cultural and social life in the Red River Delta.

Throughout history, Ca Tru has retained its vitality because of its uniqueness in Vietnamese culture. On October 1, 2009, Vietnamese Ca Tru folk singing was officially recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity in need of urgent protection. The recognition means that Vietnam needs to make a greater effort to preserve and promote this heritage.

Folklore Researcher To Ngoc Thanh says: “In the early years of this century, Ca Tru is on the verge of falling into oblivion. Compared with other art genres, Ca Tru is in a fragile situation losing its importance in people’s life. So, it is not easy to bring it back to the contemporary life, especially with the popularity of Karaoke and MTV. We will begin by restoring the popularity of Ca Tru among middle-age and elderly people. We need an audience first and then we will introduce its attraction to the younger generation”.

The vitality of Ca Tru folk singing in modern life is due to the efforts of many generations. There are 63 Ca Tru art troupes and clubs with more than 700 members in 15 cities and provinces around the country. In addition to establishing Ca Tru clubs, much attention has been paid to training younger artists to perform Ca Tru. Hanoi is one of the localities with the largest number of Ca Tru clubs.

Many young artists have been performing Ca Tru. 17- year-old Nguyen Kieu Anh belongs to the 7 th generation of a Thai Ha art troupe associated with Ca Tru. She says: ” I’m a young person and I have a passion for different types of art. 7 generations in my family havebeen associated with Ca Tru, so I have been influenced by Ca Tru songs and sounds since I was born.

As a result, I have a great passion for Ca Tru folk singing”. With its regular performances, the Hanoi Ca Tru club has helped increase the public’s knowledge of Ca Tru and draw them, especially the younger generation, to this folk art. By watching a Ca Tru performance in Hanoi’s Old Quarter, Pham Hong Phuong, a student at the Financial Academy learned more about this heritage.

She and her friends set up a team of volunteers to preserve and promote this art genre. ” Our major aim is to preserve Ca Tru because this art genre has been recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity in need of urgent protection. Ca Tru is in need of protection efforts by everyone, especially young Vietnamese people”, said Phuong .

The Hanoi Ca Tru Volunteers Club has 50 members. Most of them are students in Hanoi. They volunteer to sell tickets, guide foreign audiences to Ca Tru performances and even MC the show. The volunteers, fans and singers of Ca Tru play important roles in preserving Vietnamese Ca Tru folk singing.

Vietnambreakingnews