Art club preserves traditional southern music

SOUTHERN TRADITION –  Veteran artists participating in traditional music shows staged by the art club Hương Sắc Nam Bộ in HCM City. The club’s artists are working to preserve and develop traditional art forms in southern Việt Nam. Photo courtesy of the producer

HCM CITY —  A series of performances offering folk music and songs will be staged at HCM City’s Labour Cultural House during the up-and-coming Lunar New Year or Tết holiday. 

The shows will include tài tử music, the prototype for vọng cổ (nostalgic tunes) and cải lương (reformed opera), which is a theater form that originated 100 years ago in the South. 

These events star veteran and young artists of Hương Sắc Nam Bộ (The Colour of South), a private art club that opened in 2003 in HCM City. 

The club attracts 40 singers and music players, including young talents from art schools and training courses at leading theatres in the city. 

The artists offer performances accompanied by Vietnamese folk instrumentalists on the tranh (Vietnamese zither), bầu (Vietnamese monochord) and nguyệt (two-stringed long neck moon flute). 

MUSIC FOR TẾT – Artists of the art club Hương Sắc Nam Bộ in HCM City are working to offer a series of special performances to celebrate the Lunar New Year or Tết holiday which begins on February 10. Photo courtesy of the producer.

“Each performance by the club Hương Sắc Nam Bộ tells the stories of southern people, their history, culture and lifestyle in different periods,” said theatre director Kim Loan, who has 25 years in the industry. “Our skilled performers use their art to depict images of the South, including beautiful rivers, green fields and forests, villages and animals.”

Loan and her husband, music teacher Phan Nhứt Dũng, have worked to open and run the club. 

They are working to offer a monthly performance to meet the need of audiences.

Loan said her club’s shows are a fascinating performing arts experience in HCM City. “With each 40-minute show’s concept, we hope local and foreign audiences will learn more about Vietnamese culture in the South,” she said.

Special shows for Tết by artists of the club Hương Sắc Nam Bộ will be staged at 8pm on weekends, starting on January 20, at the city’s Labour Cultural House, at 55B Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai Street, District 1. The performances will open every night during the Tết holiday from February 10 to 16. — VNS