CD7_MUSIC OF BASTAR AND CHHATISGARH\n\nThe indigenous tribal communities of India belong to various language families. This selection of music comes from the region of what was known as Bastar and its surroundings but is today divided into the states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. \n\nThis album presents some samples of the music of the Maria, Muria, and Pardhans. These subgroups are part of the larger Gond family. Gondi and the related languages belong to the Dravidian family. It provides a glimpse into the intangible cultural heritage of the tribes of Central India. \n\nThese recordings were made between 1978 and 1982 by ethnomusicologist Roderic Knight. They provide a glimpse into the tribal communities, which are fast changing.

The genre Lý is a common performance genre across all three regions of the country, although it could be the most popular in the Southern region. Pétrus Ky, a renowned Vietnamese scholar, once mentioned the saying “Southern region has lý, Huế region has hò, Northern region has thơ.” (Nam lý Huế hò Bắc thơ) as it points out how lý is a specialty of the Southern locals. In reality, lý not only has its mainstream popularity but also achieved a high level of craft and essence in traditional culture and professional life of the Southern region.\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 songs (Lý) is like a river that flows with affection, where it carries the messages of the elders of Nam Bộ. Lý has the capacity to exist independently, express through it's performance nature. We can get to observe lý when it comes to themes about the many faces and complexities of life. It's like a reflective mirror on all things, events, ideas, and affections that come from humans, from the birds, the trees, the flowers, the river, the ferry, the bridge, the moon,...Every visual images and invisible sentiments are inhibited within those songs and lyrics.\n\nResearch by Mr. Le Hai Dang\nTranslated by Ms. Ha Hoang Minh Trang

The northern mountainous regions are the residential land of the Kinh people and twenty-eight out of fifty-four ethnic minorities in Vietnam. This land has diverse forms of folk culture in general and folk music in particular. The CD, Folk Music of Some Ethnic Minorities in the Northern Mountainous Regions of Vietnam introduces some repertoires of folk music that were recorded in 1959 (tracks 1, 2, 5, and 7), in 1964 (tracks 10 and 15) and in 1970 (tracks 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 16) and performed by folk artists from minority ethnic groups, such as Thái, Tày, Nùng, Cao lan, Phù lá, Hmông, of the northern mountainous regions. Although the sound quality of the recordings isn’t that good, the materials will be valuable to history and art researchers and those who love folk music. The recordings allow listeners to compare folk art of a time that was almost isolated with the outside world with folk art of our time—the time of Internet.

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

CD2_HISTORICAL RECORDINGS FROM THE 1930S OF ARNOLD BAKE VOL. II: EVERYDAY SONGS\n\nThe recordings by Dutch ethnomusicologist Arnold Adrian Bake in India in the 1930s and later are one of the earliest examples of what may be called “ethnographic” recordings. Arnold Bake and his wife Corrie spent a long time in Bengal but travelled all over India, recording the music, sounds, and other forms of intangible culture of the people. These recordings cover an immense range of music and recitations that are part of people’s everyday lives, such as work songs, devotional pieces, and ritualistic performances, and include a high number of women’s songs and cultural expressions. Bake’s first field trip was in 1925 and his last was in 1955. During that time, he travelled not only to India but also to Nepal and Sri Lanka. Collections of Bake’s recordings are held in archives in the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States. Recordings from 1925 to 1929 were on cylinders, and those from 1938 to 1939 were recorded on a machine called Tefifon. The collection that has been digitized for this project consists of the recordings made in 1938 and 1939. \n\nThe Tefi recordings were transferred to spools and deposited in ARCE in 1982. During those two years, Bake travelled from Sindh, the Gujarat coast, to Kerala, and thus the recordings are from Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala. There are also recordings made in the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Thus, the selections presented on these albums are largely from the Southwest Coast of India. These recordings were chosen because they carry great historical value yet were not easily accessible until now. NB: The titles given by Arnold Bake have been retained. However, in the notes, places and names have been changed to reflect current designations – e.g. Canarese was changed to Kannada. Place names have also been modified to follow current spelling conventions.\n\nEveryday Songs - The everyday lives of people are what make up the core of intangible cultural heritage (ICH). This selection includes rituals, work songs, devotional and religious songs, as well as common songs that express joys and sorrows. In addition to songs, some tracks include cries and noises, reflecting the wide variety of sounds that Bake recorded.

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

CD4 QUAN HỌ BẮC NINH IN THE NORTH VIETNAM\nQuan họ,a special alternate singing between men and women, was once only available in Kinh Bắc region in northern Vietnam. Traditional Quan họ was previously the folk art of forty-nine villages in Kinh Bắc, which is presently Bắc Ninh and Bắc Giang provinces.Quan họ singing has been associated with twining occasions in the past. Quan họ is often sung between two groups, called bọn Quan họ, who are living in two different villages and wanting to strike up friendship with each other. During annual festivals or their free time, the Quan họ people sing to satisfy their demand for exchanging art. They sing throughout the day and night. The twining relationship between the Quan họ performers as artistic and intimate friends has continued from forefathers to descendants; thus, they are never allowed to marry each other. Quan họ is one of the few musical forms that has alternate singing between men and women and lyrical love-exchange lyrics but has no the function of love-exchange in daily life as other love-exchange folksongs.\n\nNevertheless, Quan họ is sung not only by twinning Quan họ people but also by others from other places. People can sing Quan họ at many locations; for example, they can perform it at houses at night on normal days, at temples on festivals, on hills, in the forest, along the street, at ponds, or on boat.In Quan họ singing, the male group is called liền anh, and the female group is called liền chị. Traditional Quan họ is pair singing without accompaniment. One of the pair is in charge of singing, leading the tune while the other sings as a secondary part. These two people have to be selected and trained to be in perfect harmony at the same timbre. In addition to pair singing, there is group singing, which is performed on congratulatoory and worshipping occasions. The male group sings in response to the female one. Four typical singing techniques of Quan họ are resonant, ringing, restrained, and staccato.