Preserving and promoting the artistic value of Don Ca Tai Tu Part 1: Nurturing the next generation

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thao - the youngest member of the Trang Bang Town DCTT-CL Club

According to researchers, the vitality of Don Ca Tai Tu is always strong when the practice environment is increasingly expanding, partly satisfying the passion of connoisseurs. To preserve and promote the artistic value of Don Ca Tai Tu (ĐCTT), there is nothing more than teaching young people to understand ĐCTT, how to enjoy it and arouse their passion for the traditional art of the nation.

Young people are increasingly scarce.

Currently, many localities have organized ĐCTT art clubs, teams, and groups. But that is just the beginning, because the quality of art is still poor, the younger generation has not really grasped and is not very interested in this art form. In addition, due to limited funding, the promotion and organization of activities have not been attractive, most of them are just singing together, not creating a playground for ĐCTT lovers to develop their talents.

In Trang Bang town and Ben Cau district, the activities of amateur music clubs, teams and groups face many difficulties. For example, the Duc Lap amateur music group (Ben Cau district), although established quite early, only has 17 members who are active regularly.

The oldest member is 72, the youngest is 36. Most of them have not received formal training, the members only know a few songs, vọng cổ, some cải lương excerpts... and do not really have a deep understanding of singing techniques and stage performances.

According to Meritorious Artist Le Van Lap - Head of Duc Lap Group, there are still many young people who like to listen to ĐCTT and cải lương, but pursuing traditional music requires true passion. To sing well, one must understand the rhythm, memorize the lyrics, and the performance style... not everyone who has studied can sing.

Over the years, the members have always tried to maintain the band, no matter how busy they are, they always arrange to participate in monthly activities, competitions and performances. But up to now, the band has not found a successor. This is one of Mr. Lap's concerns. "There are many young singers with talent but have not been nurtured, trained and their potential has not been exploited. Therefore, it is very necessary to have the attention of the functional sectors in organizing the search for young amateur singers in the province to train and nurture them into new seeds, inheriting the generation of veteran artists" - Mr. Lap shared.

Discovering a talented young talent from the art performance, Mr. Trinh Van Hoi - Head of the Trang Bang Town's ĐCTT and Cai Luong Club convinced the family of Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thao, 16 years old, living in Go Dau district, to join the club's activities. Up to now, Ngoc Thao has had 3 years of studying ĐCTT and Cai Luong singing under the guidance, training and practice of Mr. Nhon and Mr. Hoi. She has learned to sing many vọng cổ songs, excerpts from Cai Luong, and can feel the music and act. The appearance of Ngoc Thao has made the club more youthful, and the ĐCTT and Cai Luong movement in the locality has somewhat flourished.

However, new factors like Ngoc Thao are “countable on the fingers”. “After more than 3 years of discovering Ngoc Thao’s talent, the club has not yet found any new factors. Or if there are, they only join for fun, not really wanting to commit.

Finding new seeds and young talents to inherit is a matter of concern for the club. However, to nurture them, we need good training conditions, adequate musical instruments and a place for them to express and develop their talents," said Mr. Hoi.

Young artists of the Provincial Cultural Center participated in a reformed opera program to promote new rural construction in 20 communes in the province.

Bringing amateur music and reformed opera to young people

Meritorious artist Phan Thanh Tri - Chairman of Tay Ninh Province's ĐCTT Club believes that in order to preserve and promote this traditional art form, it is necessary to search for, discover and train a team of successors. Therefore, recently, the Provincial Cultural Center organized ĐCTT and cải lương classes for those who are passionate and interested.

He and other veteran artists teach and guide students. This is an activity within the province's plan to restore and preserve ĐCTT and cải lương. He hopes that the class will continue to develop and spread to other districts and towns in the province.

In addition, according to Meritorious Artist Phan Thanh Tri, to bring ĐCTT into life, it is necessary to have the acceptance of the audience, especially the young. To have a young audience who knows how to enjoy traditional music , including ĐCTT, it is necessary to introduce and teach traditional music in schools and create an environment for children to be exposed to it.

However, according to Meritorious Artist Phan Thanh Tri, in reality, establishing a class is easy, but maintaining it is very difficult. This requires attention from all levels and sectors, from financial support, learning conditions to creating a playground for children to express themselves.

Ms. Hang Thi Quy Tam - Deputy Director of the Provincial Cultural Center commented that today's youth are influenced by too many new types of music. Therefore, traditional music in the modern era must also put on a new "coat" and reach young people in new ways.

We do not change everything, we must know how to combine the old and the new to create the modern. It can be a combination of modern and traditional music, both modern and traditional, both traditional and modern as young singers and musicians have successfully performed in recent times with popular songs among young people, creating a new musical trend that is enthusiastically received by young people. A typical example is the song "Come back and listen to mother's lullaby", performed by People's Artist Bach Tuyet and young singers Hoang Dung and Hua Kim Tuyen.

Ngoc Bich - Hoang Yen

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