Fund launched in Vietnam to preserve UNESCO-recognized music

A fund dedicated to the preservation and promotion of “Don Ca Tai Tu” (traditional southern music) has been debuted in Vietnam.

The launch of the Le Tai Khi Fund for Support, Preservation, and Development of Southern Don Ca Tai Tu on Saturday was part of an ongoing national festival, held for the first time in southern Bac Lieu Province to celebrate the UNESCO recognition of the music genre as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2013.

The launch was announced at a workshop attended by some 100 local “Don Ca Tai Tu” artists and artisans and 200 businesspeople as an activity of the festival.

The organizer announced that organizations and individuals have contributed VND1.3 billion (US$61,321) to the fund.

The sum will be used to improve poor artists’ and artisans’ lives and fund the composition, teaching, preservation and promotion of “Don Ca Tai Tu,” according to Le Thi Ai Nam, deputy head of the Bac Lieu People’s Committee.

Nam said that the launch of the fund aims to show gratitude to those credited with preserving and contributing to the genre.

It is also an effort to support a national action program initiated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism earlier this year to step up the preservation and development of the long-standing art.

The new fund is named after Le Tai Khi, a revered Bac Lieu music teacher who is credited with painstakingly collecting 20 original “Don Ca Tai Tu” songs, on which new derivatives are based.

At another workshop on Sunday, Huynh Vinh Ai, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stressed that the state and 21 southern cities and provinces, including Bac Lieu, which are cradles or breeding grounds for the genre, are all responsible for its preservation and development.

Prof. Tran Van Khe, an eminent expert in traditional Vietnamese music, expressed concerns regarding the incorporation of “Don Ca Tai Tu” into tourism projects.

“Currently many tour providers have formed ‘Don Ca Tai Tu’ bands that perform the music genre to tourists, mostly foreigners. However, such performances, which generally last some 15 minutes, can hardly showcase the charm of the genre. Besides, most audience members are laymen in the area so they usually join the performances out of curiosity,” Prof. Khe noted.

The professor then advised against turning the time-honored art into profit-making merchandise and encouraged the natural development and preservation of its core values and beauty.

Prof. Dang Hoanh Loan, former deputy head of the Vietnam Music Academy, was of the same opinion as Prof. Khe, adding that it will take meticulous preparation and hard work if ‘Don Ca Tai Tu’ is to be incorporated fruitfully in tourism projects.

“Adequate introduction, particularly in English, should be provided prior to performances to better acquaint tourists with the art. Performances should last at least 45 minutes so that certain values and beauty of the genre can be showcased,” he elaborated.

Meanwhile, researcher Vo Truong Ky urged that the Vietnam Music Academy record 20 original “Don Ca Tai Tu” pieces, to be performed by veteran artists. The recordings will serve as benchmark works to be popularized to the masses.

Though quite many practice the genre, only a handful of them know all these 20 pieces, he explained.

Ky also called for better policies for the “living treasures“- seasoned artists and artisans – who have dedicated their entire lives to the art.

Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Thi My Liem, deputy head of the Ho Chi Minh City Music Conservatory, suggested that based on the 20 original pieces, new pieces should be created to provide the genre with new life and help it thrive in the future.

Considered one of the country’s main chamber music genres, “Don Ca Tai Tu” stemmed from court music in the central city of Hue and folk music of the southern region.

The genre has been developing since the 19th century, changing along with local taste. It thrived in the early 20th century and remains crucial to the country’s traditional culture.

The first-ever national “Don Ca Tai Tu” Festival, which is running in Bac Lieu Province from last Thursday and has attracted several thousands of participants, will close at Ho Nam Ecotourism Complex at 2 Tran Quang Dieu Street, Ward 1, Bac Lieu City at 8:00 pm tonight.

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