The genre Hò originated from the working environment. The Southern part of Vietnam, where the waters are a vital element for the workers to sing on these flowing streams. Back then, the genre of hò đường thuỷ (singing on waterways) was rather popular. From traditional performing environment, hò eventually separated into different genres- hò trên cạn (hò on land) and hò dưới nước (hò on water). Based on the carrying content, reflected themes, hò continue to evolve into various genres to adapt with different forms and narratives (hò thơ, hò văn, hò tuồng, etc.) \n\nNam Bộ (Southern Vietnam) is the area resides on the south side of Vietnam, including six provinces in the East and 13 provinces in the West. On a geographically level, the land of Nam Bộ is a stable region, in contrast to its cultural environment that is constantly changing and evolving.\n\nNam Bộ is home to various ethnic communities, such as the Việt people, the Kh'mer people, the Chăm people, the Hoa people, the Châu Ro people, the S'tiêng people, the Mạ people...And so, this has created a legacy to Nam Bộ folk performances and culture on this land. However, project "Phong hoa ca vịnh" only limits to the performance traditions of the Viet people, specifically the genres of ru, hò, and lý.\n\nFrom what was described about the early 20th centuries, it is evident how Nam Bộ art performance scene has rapidly transformed. No longer the time where lovers freely conversing their hearts by the rivers, all has sank into oblivion. Even the ru melodies have stopped lingering on the mother's lips, lost within the memories of her children. Culture and its nature of constantly evolving have opened up a contemporary cultural space that can response with today's society. The cyberspace, despite being "unreal", but it's meaningful enough to create an environment that filled with the poetry of ru, the melodies of lý, the bustling groove of hò - Where they have gathered a range of humanly emotions.\n\nThe blues (Hò) is a folk genre that originates from the working environment. Thanks to hò, it's helped the worker to aid their spirit, harmoneously integrate with the social interactions to bring out the best productivity outcome.\n\nThroughout history, hò has branched itself into different forms, where some branches fossiled within the past, and some have progressed into forms of expressions, for flirting, conversing,...On the aspect of social application, hò has a function that response with the need of labour. While on the sentimental aspect, hò reflects the internal needs of people.\n\nThis project is sponsored by the British Council under the program Heritage of Future Past- A 2018 project which aims to conserve and cultivate the archive of Vietnamese music and film, especially focusing on the untapped values of these mediums that are under the threat of being forgotten. You can learn more about the Heritage of Future Past program via this link: https://www.britishcouncil.vn/cac-chuong-trinh/nghe-thuat/di-san-ket-noi\n\nResearch by Mr. Le Hai Dang\nTranslated by Ms. Ha Hoang Minh Trang

The genre Ru tends to perform within the familial environment, with a hypnotising nature that tends to be use to lull children.\n\nNam Bộ (Southern Vietnam) is the area resides on the south side of Vietnam, including six provinces in the East and 13 provinces in the West. On a geographically level, the land of Nam Bộ is a stable region, in contrast to its cultural environment that is constantly changing and evolving.\n\nNam Bộ is home to various ethnic communities, such as the Việt people, the Kh'mer people, the Chăm people, the Hoa people, the Châu Ro people, the S'tiêng people, the Mạ people...And so, this has created a legacy to Nam Bộ folk performances and culture on this land. However, project "Phong hoa ca vịnh" only limits to the performance traditions of the Viet people, specifically the genres of ru, hò, and lý.\n\nFrom what was described about the early 20th centuries, it is evident how Nam Bộ art performance scene has rapidly transformed. No longer the time where lovers freely conversing their hearts by the rivers, all has sank into oblivion. Even the ru melodies have stopped lingering on the mother's lips, lost within the memories of her children. Culture and its nature of constantly evolving have opened up a contemporary cultural space that can response with today's society. The cyberspace, despite being "unreal", but it's meaningful enough to create an environment that filled with the poetry of ru, the melodies of lý, the bustling groove of hò - Where they have gathered a range of humanly emotions.\n\nLullabies (Hát ru/ Ru) was created on the basis of the native landspace. There's an evident link between the genre of ru with other folk music genders, but also deep within the layers of historical and cultural memories. The ru of Nam Bộ was formed and passed down via the cultural foundation of Nam Bộ. This natural ecosystem and culture have given birth to a distinctive genre, where it's expressed through the lyrics, melodies, and sonic possibilities.\n\nThis project is sponsored by the British Council under the program Heritage of Future Past- A 2018 project which aims to conserve and cultivate the archive of Vietnamese music and film, especially focusing on the untapped values of these mediums that are under the threat of being forgotten. You can learn more about the Heritage of Future Past program via this link: https://www.britishcouncil.vn/cac-chuong-trinh/nghe-thuat/di-san-ket-noi.\n\nResearch by Mr. Le Hai Dang\nTranslated by Ms. Ha Hoang Minh Trang

Same (Sung Liturgical Chorus\nMethodist evangelists, the first Westerners to influence the Fijian society, realized the overwhelming challenge of introducing Christianity to such a complex society. One of the tools they utilized for the Christian liturgy was the meke, or traditional dance. Meke was used as a preaching tool in introducing Christianity. Its text spoke directly to Fijians in their oral traditions. Same, a transliterated name, is not a psalm (as in the Bible) but an indigenous liturgy with Christian text composed in the form of Fijian poetry fitted to the music of the meke. The origin of the same is not clear. However, given the fact that the early missionary activities were concentrated in Eastern Fiji, it can be safely assumed that the Christians started to use same for their services in this region. The sound, vocal parts, and lyrics of the same are entirely iTaukei; however, its only difference with a meke is that the same is religiously (Christian) focused.\n----------------------------------\nSere Ni Lotu (Christian Hymnody)\nOne definition of a hymn is a lyric poem, reverently and devotionally conceived, which is designed to be sung to express a worshipper’s attitude toward God or God’s purposes in human life. It is simple and metrical in form, genuinely emotional, poetic and literary in style, and spiritual in quality and in its ideas. Fijian sere ni lotu are direct transplants of English Methodist hymnodies, where the Fijian text mirrors the form and style of its English counterpart. The style of the sere ni lotu follows the Western major and minor scale, especially in the polyphony and voice categorizations of sopranos, contraltos, tenors, and basses.\n\nHistorically, sere ni lotu is a turnaround from the traditional styles and melodic forms of the meke and same becoming popular and entrenched as Christianity gained a stronger hold in iTaukei Fijian society.\n- Black, H. Sere dina ni Lotu Wesele e Viti - True Songs. Canberra: Australian National University, 2010. -

Meke, a type of traditional Fijian dance, is the repository of Fijian oral culture and served as a unifying factor in Fijian society before the arrival of Christianity. The musical form of meke is a Fijian polyphony composed around tonal center. It has short intervals and comprises seconds (major and minor), thirds (major), fourths, and occasionally fifths. The melodic movement is small and mostly stepwise with the laga (principal line) in the middle. The laga is the lead singer of the meke and sets the tempo and pitch. \n\nAbove the laga is the tagica (meaning “to chime in”) and below is the druku (bass). There are duet riffs involving the laga and tagica sung in a close polyphony of seconds, thirds, occasionally fourths, and unison. The chorus involves all the singers and is usually in a block chordal pattern. There may be two more parts: vakasalavoavoa (a descant), the highest part, sung above the tagica; and the vaqiqivatu (tenor part), weaving a polyphonic line between the bass and the laga and providing harmonic interest without being integral to the whole. \n\nThere are meke for every occasion. Some are regional (i.e., a collaboration of villages and districts) and some are collective: from those sung within the family and extended groups to the very large and impressive dance meke involving hundreds of participants. All of them form the Fijian musical canon together with instruments such as lali (large slit drums), lali ni meke (small lali for meke), derua (bamboo stamping tubes), and cobo (clapping with cupped hands). \n\nThere are other instruments such as the davui (end-blown triton shell) and the dulali (nose flute), but these instruments are not included in meke performance. The actual singing of meke involves a number of performers: men, women, and children in any combination, sitting in a tight circle around the leaders. Texts of meke are arranged in stanzas and composed in an indigenous, oral poetic style. There are no limits to the number or the length of the stanzas; rhythm and rhyme are paramount.

Meke, a type of traditional Fijian dance, is the repository of iTaukei oral culture and served as a unifying factor in Fijian society before the arrival of Christianity. The musical form of meke is a Fijian polyphony composed around tonal center. It has short intervals and comprises seconds (major and minor), thirds (major), fourths, and occasionally fifths. The melodic movement is small and mostly stepwise with the laga (principal line) in the middle.\n\nThe laga is the lead singer of the meke and sets the tempo and pitch. Above the laga is the tagica (meaning “to chime in”) and below is the druku (bass). There are duet riffs involving the laga and tagica sung in a close polyphony of seconds, thirds, occasionally fourths, and unison. The chorus involves all the singers and is usually in a block choral pattern. There may be two more parts: vakasalavoavoa (a descant), the highest part, sung above the tagica; and the vaqiqivatu (tenor part), weaving a polyphonic line between the bass and the laga and providing harmonic interest without being integral to the whole. \n\nThere are meke for every occasion. Some are regional and some are collective, from those sung within the family and extended groups to the very large and impressive dance meke involving hundreds of participants. All of them form the Fijian musical canon together with instruments such as lali (large slit drums), lali ni meke (small lali for meke), derua (bamboo stamping tubes), and cobo (clapping with cupped hands).\n\nThere are other instruments such as the davui (end-blown triton shell) and the dulali (nose flute), but these instruments are not included in meke performance. The actual singing of meke involved a number of performers: men, women, and children in any combination, sitting in a tight circle around the leaders. Texts of meke are arranged in stanzas and composed in an indigenous, oral poetic style. There are no limits to the number or the length of the stanzas; rhythm and rhyme are paramount.

In the iTaukei Fijian culture, raising children is everyone’s responsibility. It is therefore everyone’s business to learn, memorize, and recite the chant correctly. Each chant, or make, is unique to the families, clans, and communities. Chants for children often take the form of poems that proclaim the identity of the clan and their origins. For example, a chant composed for children who are from inland of the two main islands in Fiji would be different from those created for children from maritime and coastal tribes. Children’s chants are composed to suit different stages of childhood development and their activities. Vakamoce gone, or bedtime chants, are sung to put children to sleep and would therefore be recited with a soft, soothing monotone. This is an early introduction of language to the subconscious being of a child. \n\nMeanwhile, Vakawele gone are chants sung to draw full attention of a child when they are awake, and, therefore, are performed at fast tempo with a playful tone. Vakaqito gone are chants sung to engage a child in a game. They are participatory in nature and contribute to development of a child’s sensory movements and social skills.

Veiqaravi vakavanua literally means “service in the manner of the land.” This is the heart of traditional Fijian diplomacy and traditional orature, in which carefully chosen words, expressions, intonation, and even pauses all work in tandem to create the sacred atmosphere befitting some traditional occasion. It is on these occasions when the traditional orature and Fijian oral culture are highly esteemed, when good orators utter rich metaphoric expressions and sentences to welcome a high chief or esteemed guest with either yaqona roots or a whale’s tooth. This is followed by the mixture of yaqona libation in a tanoa (wooden bowl carved from the trunk of vesi, intsia bijuga). This vessel is placed in front of the honored guest at a respectful distance. Men in traditional dress are arranged around and behind the tanoa and chanting \nis carried out as the libation is mixed. Thereafter, the yaqona mix is served to the honored guest while chanting continues.

CD6_FLUTE TUNES OF THE HERDSMEN OF NEPAL\n\nCattle rearing is a major occupation for people residing in the rural areas of Nepal. Herdsmen go to the forest with their cattle for grazing. They carry a flute with them so that they can play music for several purposes, such as expressing their feelings, guiding the cattle, and passing time. As the herdsmen move to the forest after eating in the morning and come back at dusk, their only friend for the entire day is the flute. The bamboo flute is very popular all over Nepal as various styles of folk music can be played on it. The sad tunes coming from the flute lure all the herdsmen or workers into the calm and peaceful environment of the forest, where it is easier for them to express their emotions.

CD3_FOLK SONGS OF NEPAL\n\nNepal is still extremely rich in folk songs, though these are less popular with younger generations. The music culture has traditionally been an oral culture passed down from guru to pupil. Many songs that have never been recorded or written down are thought to have been lost. Fortunately, several enthusiastic folklorists, musicians, singers, and researchers have made collections of folk song lyrics to promulgate them, focusing especially on the rarer and most endangered folk songs. We present here a few examples.

CD7_WOMEN SONGS FROM THE TEEJ FESTIVAL\n\nTeej, or Haritalika Teej, is a festival celebrated by Hindu women and girls all over Nepal in August. Women dance, sing, fast, and perform prayer rituals. The festival is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Unmarried girls keep a fast wishing to get a good husband whereas married women fast to wish for long life and prosperity for their husbands. Since this festival is celebrated by females from all ethnic groups, an array of folk songs and melodies are sung and performed throughout the festival.

CD4_FOLK MELODIES OF NEPAL\n\nIt has been estimated that Nepal's repertoire of folk melodies once numbered more than sixty thousand. The country’s landscape features rivers, hills, mountains, plains, and streams, as well as an extremely rich flora and fauna, which have all inspired Nepal's folk musicians. In the past, communities were more isolated from one another due to the difficult terrain and the lack of roads and transport. Thus, every small village developed its own melodies. For example, it is said that the call of the bharedwaja bird inspired at least 128 different rhythms.

CD5_SACRED CHANTS OF NEPAL\n\nIt is believed that all spiritual chants are addressed to Hindu and Buddhist gods and goddesses. Chanting helps people to be aware that the past is gone, that the future has yet to come, and that one can only be sure of the present moment and should act accordingly. People chant to wish for goodness for all beings and to ask God to lead them from darkness to light, from mortal life to immortality, from falsehood to truth, and towards universal brother and sisterhood. One’s life should be dedicated to God's service, offering kindness to all creatures, and always to putting others' needs before one’s own aspirations, hoping to one day attain anandam.