later this month in honour of the capital's millennium in October.
The set, which is the first of its kind, includes
four DVDs featuring the history of Hanoi 's traditional music,
including songs and music works in different styles performed by veteran
and young singers and musicians. Most of them work for the city's
traditional theatres.
The DVD-producer Music
Publishing House invested a great deal of money and human resources to
record and film the artists on stage and in daily life.
The film's directors, People's Artist Tran Van Thuy and Nguyen Si
Chung, perfected the film with beautiful scenes and music.
Veteran artists Thanh Ngoan, Xuan Hach, Minh Anh and The Dan, four of
the region's leading traditional singers and music players, perform at
their best in the film.
"Our artists'
performances and talks provide audiences with the knowledge and beauty
of traditional music and instruments," said Chung, the film's director.
He also added that through the DVD audiences
could improve their knowledge of the different forms of music and could
sing traditional tunes.
The film will be
available in bookstores to celebrate 1,000 years of Hanoi . The film
highlights Ca Tru, Hat Xam and Canh Hong Tu, three popular genres of
music in the royal citadel of Thang Long (former name of Hanoi ).
Ca Tru (also known as Hat A Dao or ceremonial
singing), an ancient genre of chamber music, features female vocalists
who sing while playing music on bamboo tablets.
This was associated with a geisha-like form of entertainment.
The music was inscribed on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage
in need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2009 by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Hat Xam (blind buskers music) is a type of folk music dating from the Tran Dynasty in the 14th century.
It was generally performed by blind buskers who travelled around the
citadel to earn their living by singing in common places like markets.
Xam artists often play Dan Bau (monochord) or Dan
Nhi (two-chord fiddle) to accompany the song themselves. The most
famous surviving artisan of the art form is Ha Thi Cau, a Hanoi
resident.
Canh Hong Tu is the kind of music used in religious ceremonies which dates back thousands of years ago in Thang Long./.
