Archive

Elements

Art of Đờn ca tài tử music and song in southern Viet Nam marks_1
  • Manage No, Sortation, Country, Writer ,Date, Copyright
    Manage No EE00000007
    Country Vietnam
    ICH Domain Oral traditions and representations Performing Arts Social practices, rituals, festive events Traditional craft skills
    Address
    According to the inventory implemented in 2011, it is estimated that there are more than 29,000 practitioners of Đờn ca tài tử in 21 provinces in the southern region of Việt Nam. These provinces are: An Giang, Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu, Bạc Liêu, Bến Tre, Bình Dương, Bình Phước, Bình Thuận, Cà Mau, Cần Thơ, Đồng Nai, Đồng Tháp, Hậu Giang, Hồ Chí Minh City, Kiên Giang, Long An, Ninh Thuận, Sóc Trăng, Tây Ninh, Tiền Giang, Trà Vinh and Vĩnh Long. Of these provinces, the largest numbers of Đờn ca tài tử performers live in Bạc Liêu, Bình Dương, Hồ Chí Minh City and Tiền Giang. Đờn ca tài tử has been influenced by some other forms of cultural heritage from the central and southern regions of Việt Nam such as nhạc lễ ceremonial music, hát bội classical theatre and folk song.
    Year of Designation 2012
Description Đờn ca tài tử is a musical art that has both scholarly and folk roots. It developed in southern Việt Nam in the late nineteenth century. People in southern Việt Nam consider Đờn ca tài tử to be an indispensible spiritual cultural activity and a highly valued part of their cultural heritage. It is performed at numerous events such as festivals, ‘death anniversary' rituals such as the Death Anniversary of the Ancestors held annually on the twelfth day of the eighth lunar month, and celebratory social events like weddings and birthdays. The performers express their feelings by improvising, ornamenting and varying the ‘skeletal melody’ and main rhythmic patterns of these pieces. The audience can join practicing, making comments or creating new song texts. Đờn ca tài tử is played on a variety of different instruments, including the moon-shaped lute, two-stringed fiddle, sixteen-stringed zither, pear-shaped lute, percussion, monochord and bamboo flute. Its repertoire is based on twenty principal songs and seventy-two classical songs.
Social and cultural significance Đờn ca tài tử practitioners always respect, love and learn from each other. This not only applies to the realm of artistic activity, but also to broader cultural behavior, which is based on good moral virtues. Đờn ca tài tử performers therefore make an important contribution to the beauty and greater good of the community and society at large. Đờn ca tài tử stimulates artistic creativity and enjoyment not only for practitioners themselves but also amongst the public in general.
Transmission method Đờn ca tài tử is passed between generations through two methods: 1) The traditional method of oral transmission is known in Vietnamese as truyền ngón, truyền khẩu, which literally means “transmitting through the fingers and through the mouth”. For this traditional method, which is based on imitation, the master instrumentalists and singers directly teach students who are members of ensembles or clubs. This method has also been used especially to teach within family lines. 2) The second method combines traditional oral methods of transmission with a syllabus that has pieces written out in Western staff notation and Vietnamese note names. This method is used in many of the national and provincial schools of art and culture. Instrumentalists must study for at least three years in order to learn basic instrumental techniques, such as tremolo, glissando, trills, vibrato, etc. They learn to perform solo or with other musicians in duets, trios, quartets, quintets or sextets. They must also master the different musical modes such as the Bắc, Hạ, Xuân, Ai and Oán modes to express different moods and emotions, such as feelings of happiness or sadness. Vocal students, performing either solo or in a duet, study the traditional songs. They learn to subtly improvise using different ornamentation techniques in a way that is in keeping with the musical aesthetics of the musical community and is appropriate for the particular melody, mode and song text performed.
Community The creators of the art of Đờn ca tài tử music and song in southern Việt Nam (hereinafter referred to as Đờn ca tài tử) came from many social classes: farmers, fishermen, industrial workers and intellectuals. Đờn ca tài tử is performed within hereditary musical families and by music ‘ensembles’ and ‘clubs’. Some representative groups are: -The Ensemble from Bình Đại district, Bến Tre province;n-The Ensemble in An Tây commune, Bình Dương province; -The Ensemble in Châu Thành town, Tây Ninh province;n-The Cao Văn Lầu Club, Bạc Liêu province; -The Đờn ca tài tử Club in Tân Hưng commune, Cà Mau province; -The Đờn ca tài tử Club in Thanh Phúc commune, Đồng Nai province; -The family of Mr. Nguyễn Văn Du in Mỹ Tho City, Tiền Giang province; -The family of Mr. Lê Khắc Tùng in Hồ Chí Minh.
Type of UNESCO List Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
Incribed year in UNESCO List 2013
Keyword
Information source
Vietnam National Institute Culture and Arts Studies (VICAS)
http://vicas.org.vn