Traditional music featured at festival

The melodies of sang quan ho (folk-love duets) filled the Cultural House of Nha Trang during the annual National Song and Dance Festival last night, September 16.
For nearly two hours, well-known artists from northern Bac Ninh province sang tunes, such as Ban Tinh Oi (My Dear Sweetheart) and Dem Qua Nho Ban (Last Night I Missed My Friend).
Singers from Bac Ninh province were among more than 1,500 artists of 29 troupes from northern, central and southern Viet Nam taking part in the festival organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism from September 8-15.
Each troupe brought songs, music and dances unique to its region to the week-long festival.
The Dam San Troupe from the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai fascinated audiences with a performance titled Am Vang Dai Ngan (Echoes of Jungles), combining gong playing and traditional dances of ethnic E De people.
"Hearing deep and powerful sounds of gongs, I feel the mystery and majesty of the mountains and forests," said Nguyen Thanh Ngoc, a member of the audience.
Songs and dances performed by artists from coastal provinces praised the beauty of the sea and depicted the lifestyle of fishing villages.
The beauty of natural landscapes was highlighted in songs performed by vocalists from northern Ha Giang province.
"I know about Ha Giang only from books," said Phan Thuy Diem, who came to the festival from Phu Yen province. "I love the poetic beauty of hills and the Lo River featured in the song Huong Sac Ha Giang (Ha Giang’s Beautiful Landscapes)."
Diem said she also liked the charming love songs performed by the beautiful Tay ethnic women from the province.
The performance of 11 songs and dances by HCM City’s Bong Sen (Lotus) troupe received rounds of applause from the audience.
"The song Tieng Dan Tren Song (Sounds of Music on a River) by Bong Sen’s Meritorious Artist Tran Chinh is fascinating," 12th-grader Lai Thi Hoa said.
"I’m always impressed when I hear a one-string zither performance," said Michael Abadie, an American who has lived in Viet Nam for more than 15 years and speaks fluent Vietnamese.
"I visited Nha Trang at the time of the festival," Abadie said. "Songs and dances accompanied by traditional musical instruments really captivated me."
The festival is organised every five years in Viet Nam.
This year, the festival was also held from August 15-20 in Vinh in Nghe An province with the participation of 17 song and dance troupes.
"The festival aims to review activities and the quality of professional artistic troupes around the country, " Le Tien Tho, deputy minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said.
"Many songs and dances of the festival will be selected again next year for the ceremonies to celebrate the 1,000th founding anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi, " Tho said.