Chu Ru trumpet

Along with musical instruments such as drums, dong la, r'tong, k'wao... the Chu Ru people in Lam Dong also have the gourd trumpet (r'kel) with a leisurely, melodious melody that seems to convey the player's feelings, or contain the aspirations of the village, blending into the symphony in the middle of the forest.

The reokel melodies are not recorded but are passed down freely between generations of Chu Ru people.

I have been to the Chu Ru village in Don Duong commune, Lam Dong province many times to listen to the artist Ma Tham play the relkel. There are slow, sad, and soulful narrative melodies; swaying, affectionate lullabies; and mournful, lingering farewell melodies... Watching Ma Tham play the relkel, listening to the high and low notes, I can see that the six bamboo tubes attached to the dry gourd are a surreal, yet very real world . In the afternoon, the mountain shadows slant, Ma Tham changes the lullaby to a leisurely rhythm, sounding like a whisper, a caress; then the fast rhythm of the hunting melody is urgent and captivating...

Stopping blowing, Ma Tham pointed to the clarinet and said: “It has everything in it, happy stories, sad stories, feelings, responses, challenges... all states”. The clarinet tunes often end gently, as if they don’t want to end, lingering and lingering. Meritorious Artist Ma Bio said: “Ma Tham is an important member of my Chu Ru cultural exchange group. Her clarinet has been famous throughout the region for a long time thanks to her father - Mr. Ha Sen”.

At the age of ten, every afternoon, Ma Tham quietly took his father's gourd to the corner of the garden to practice playing it. Thanks to his natural talent and love for his people's traditional musical instruments, which he cultivated over time, Ma Tham is now famous throughout the region. According to old Ha Sen, to have a standard gourd is a meticulous and elaborate process.

First, you have to choose a very old, round gourd of moderate size, then remove all the seeds through the hole cut in the stem, clean it and dry it in the sun. Then you have to treat it to avoid termites and shrinkage; put the gourd on the kitchen rack until the skin turns reddish brown and then dry it in the dew for a few more days. The next step is to make a hole in the side of the gourd, check the sound to install six dry bamboo tubes in two rows: four above, two below, according to the standard musical scale that has been passed down; each bamboo tube has a "reed" attached to create vibration, determining the tone. The four bamboo tubes next to each other have the role of holding the melody, the two below are for accompaniment and harmony. Finally, use beeswax to seal the joints between the bamboo tubes and the gourd. To achieve the standard tone, to sound soulful, it must be edited many times.

Meritorious Artisan Ma Bio said that Ha Sen has a very good sense of music, thanks to which he can recognize the sound of each bamboo tube on the rondel and how to adjust it. Over the years, people in local villages and other areas in the province have come to Ha Sen to have him make gourd trumpets to learn how to play, entertain themselves and serve performances and festivals. Mr. Ha Sen's gourd trumpets have also accompanied lovers of traditional musical instruments to distant lands and even abroad... "It takes several days to make a rondel, not to mention the time to process the materials; the selling price is also quite high. But he said that he makes the rondel not to make money, but to preserve the traditional craft and nurture the gourd trumpet melodies of the Chu Ru people", Ms. Ma Bio shared.

Over the past ten years, Ha Sen’s old man’s gourd trumpet has rung with his daughter Ma Tham at many festivals in his village and in other villages in the Central Highlands. The clarinet can be played spontaneously, sometimes in private, sometimes in concert with drums and brass instruments. In the orchestra, the clarinet plays the role of keeping the rhythm; the clarinet plays first, the drums and brass instruments follow the rhythm to create a passionate harmony.

The Chu Ru believe that when drums, gongs, and cymbals are played, the messages of the village have been accepted by the gods. The communication between humans and the invisible beings is established through each piece of music and dance, with strict rules of performance and performance by the community. Artist Ma Tham said that unlike modern music, cymbals are not recorded or notated for teaching, but are passed down naturally, and those who have the gift of perception will remember. However, nowadays, there are not many people who are passionate about the cymbals anymore...

Article and photos: BAO VAN

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/ken-bau-cua-nguoi-chu-ru-388157.html