| Description |
In the Sán Dìu language, soọng means singing, and cô means intone. Soọng cô is a lyrical folk song genre of the Sán Dìu ethnic group, with lyrics between men and women. Soọng is written in the form of "seven words and four verses", created by the farmers themselves, passed down from generation to generation, mainly by word of mouth or recorded in ancient Han characters.
The words are placed in the form of seven words and four verses, written in Han characters, and transmitted orally; There are 3 parts: call, tell and answer. They sing during leisure time, when men and women meet, gathering around the fire with the belief that they will be supported by the kitchen god. The theme is associated with daily activities, when having guests come to the house, having friends, greeting neighbors, getting acquainted, making love between men and women, and seeing off friends.
Soọng cô has two forms: love songs associated with daily life and productive labor (hy soon Soọng cô) and response songs during festivals and weddings (sếnh ca chíu cô). In the first form, the singing content is both for learning and sometimes for showing off talent. In the second form, you must sing according to the required songs and melodies (the stage of performing wedding rituals). If singing at home, it must be sung in order to show the solemnity of the ritual (sing to greet the gods, ancestors, the elderly, then parents, relatives, neighbors, etc, then begin into singing content); When singing outdoors, lyrics can be improvised to suit specific circumstances, demonstrating the singer's creativity and flexibility. These songs are like blessings for the bride and groom and their families. Regardless of the form, Soọng cô singing requires the singer to have extensive knowledge, quick wit, intelligence, talent for responding, and good at creating new lyrics for songs and melodies.
The singing rhythm is stable in length, often using 2/4, 4/4 rhythm; The vocal range is not too large, the sound intervals always follow each other evenly, there are few sudden ups and downs, and there are few sudden fluctuations. |
