The female vocalists in Tan Yen district at Bo Da pagoda.

Honoring the world cultural heritage

Viet Yen district and Bac Giang provincial Quan ho folk singing festivals, which were launched from March 31 to April 3 under the cultural space of Bo Da pagoda festival, have left a deep imprint on many visitors. This year event has recorded in the number of participating artist groups, Lien anh (male vocalist) and Lien chi (female vocalist) with over 2,000 participants of all ages coming from 61 groups since it was recognized by UNESCO as the World Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009.

During the festival, numerous locals flocked to the organizing area to wait for the performances in the early morning. Besides singing on the stage, the Organization Board arranged the campsite of Quan ho exchanges and antiphonal performances for the residents and visitors to share their voices.

The youngest Lien anh Nguyen Ngoc Phan Anh (7 years old) in Minh Duc commune (Viet Yen) surprised many audiences by his maturity, confidence and an inspirational voice. Additionally, he won their hearts for each perfect melody and flexible motion on stage.

Apart from that, the meritorious artisan Phu Hiep in Tho Ha village, Van Ha commune (Viet Yen district) was still eager to join the festival with the role of a judge. He shared: “Bo Da pagoda festival comes together with Quan ho folk singing and chances of exchanges for artists, female and male vocalists in the northern Cau river. The occasion seems to lure and urge people to promptly merge in the exciting festive atmosphere for meeting, exchanging and savoring the meaningful folk songs. For years of Quan ho singing, the female vocalists in my hometown have never been ashamed because their melodies are raised from the deep heart and passion instead of temporary benefit.”

According to the Organization Board, this year event was much more professional with suitably arranged stage while the audience was provided with chairs and covered. Besides, all art groups well prepared for the performances including the costumes and instruments; thus the specialized quality was uniform.

Preserving the quintessence

Nguyen Ngoc Phan Anh, the youngest male vocalist coming from Minh Duc commune (Viet Yen district) participated in the V Quan ho folk singing festival at Bo Da pagoda in the northern province of Bac Giang.

The Quan ho folk singing festival is organized at Bo Da pagoda festival campus annually by Viet Yen district since 2000 and biennially by Bac Giang province since 2010. The event aims at promoting the identity of Quan ho cultural heritage, encouraging the Quan ho singing movement in the community to realize the commitment to UNESCO from Vietnam in general and Bac Giang province in particular in effectively preserving and developing the Love duets folk song.

Nguyen Si Cam, Vice Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said the province has made several preservation programs to promote the precious heritage, such as researching and collecting the old Quan ho melodies; launching the class of teaching Quan ho; establishing Quan ho folk singing clubs; supporting the audio systems, costumes, musical instruments; building cultural houses; restoring the relic sites as the place to organize the art and cultural activities.

The provincial cultural sectors and localities have held hundreds of classes teaching Quan ho since 2009, helping boost up the folk singing movement in both terms of quantity and quality as well as highlight the heritage. Apart from the original Quan ho villages, the Love duets singing has widespread in many hamlets, communes in the 10 districts and city.

Additionally, several socialization models have been founded with high effectiveness in preserving and developing the Quan ho value like Bagico summer campsite for teenagers in Viet Yen district and Bac Giang provincial Quan ho Cultural Club, which affirmed for the strong attraction and spreading of the Quan ho folk song’s unique cultural value as a community rising demand.

The provincial cultural sector will continue focusing on teaching the Quan ho, honoring and awarding the title of People’s Artisan, Meritorious Artisan in the field of the intangible culture in general and Quan ho folk song in particular whereas consulting to the local authority on investment policy and mechanism to subsidize the Quan ho village and artisans in the upcoming time.

Adding to that, the mass contest and art performance competition should be organized. The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism would recommend to the provincial People’s Committee to launch the activities celebrating the 10 year anniversary of Quan ho folk song recognized by UNESCO in 2019.

Nguyen Huong