When music is the bridge connecting

Telling history in your own way

In 2020, after witnessing the armed forces diligently directing traffic on the street in heavy rain, musician Nguyen Ba Hung was moved to compose the song "Silent Glory". From that song, he decided to switch to writing music about his homeland, country, especially the armed forces as a way to express gratitude, respect, and love of a Vietnamese son.

His grandfather was a war invalid fighting against the French. Since childhood, Ba Hung often heard stories about the patriotic tradition and the fighting spirit of the nation. When he grew up and started working, his work in the cultural sector gave him more opportunities to approach many silent examples in everyday life in the military and police forces, creating material for many songs. Over the past 5 years, Ba Hung has composed more than 50 songs about the revolutionary theme and the silent sacrifices of the forces.

“Lang ben song” - a suite that took more than three years to complete - has left its mark on the musical journey of musician Ba Hung. The work recounts the journey of a young man who temporarily put aside his personal feelings, left his homeland, followed the sacred call of the Fatherland, fought far from home and never returned. That sacrifice is evident in every word. It is a familiar image from the villages in the S-shaped land during the resistance war against the US to save the country.

The male musician chose to depict an emotional slice of history to tell about the indomitable spirit and love for the homeland of the young generation at that time. Ba Hung said that at first, he did not plan to develop a large work, but after finishing this part, he had an idea for the next part, and could not stop. The meticulous process of checking and editing this suite lasted for three years with the desire to have a truly complete work.

“Writing about this topic, to reach young people, you need to be clever in choosing both lyrics and melody. Because if I write and young people don't listen or sing, it's like I've lost part of the meaning. Instead of trying to compose a song for all ages, I separate each thing, changing the approach so that listeners feel the most comfortable. The more difficult the topic, the clearer the composer must be in posing the problem. When the problem is posed correctly, the emotions, lyrics and melody will have a place to rely on. Because music only truly lives when listeners feel it and want to sing along,” said musician Ba Hung.

With the work “In the color of forest leaves”, each question of the young musician moved the listeners: “Why do clouds always cover the mountain top? Why are forest leaves green? Why is the water on the source rolling red? Flowing downstream from the forest leaves…”. Musician Ba Hung said, each image that appears has its own meaning. Clouds always cover the mountain top to let the heroes rest in peace. Forest leaves are green because they grow from the ground, where the hearts that love peace are still preserved. And the water on the source rolls red because it is soaked with the blood of those who have fallen. That metaphor partly shows gratitude for the sacrifices of heroes and martyrs for peace and independence today.

Composing “Silent Glory”, “In the Color of Forest Leaves”, “Red Stars” or “Riverside Village” is a choice for musician Ba Hung, not a mere hobby. Among the many vibrant musical trends today, he chooses to tell historical stories and express gratitude to the previous generation with a simple musical style, conveying many values.

The 8X musician confided: “Music for me has never been a way to make a living, but a journey of gratitude - connecting today's youth with stories of silent sacrifice. Young audiences listen to music and leave comments, I feel like I've made a profit. Listening to young people's comments and then adjusting to make it more suitable, adding a little bit of history gently into the music, that's how I bring them closer to things that seem dry and bookish."

Sending good wishes

The moment the "Proud Melody" resounded during the "Vietnamese Spirit" performance in Ba Dinh Square on the occasion of the 80th National Day celebration recently moved musician Pham Hong Bien to tears.

Listening to the song he composed more than 10 years ago at such a meaningful event, pride once again rose in his heart. It was not the innocent feeling of the past but turned into a maturity in perception. He was happy that his song had touched the hearts of many people, contributing to sharing meaningful messages.

One day in early autumn 2014, Hong Bien was sitting playing the guitar in his rented room. Suddenly, he was attracted by the "unusual" sound of the National Anthem echoing from the elementary school nearby. The whole school was singing in unison when the music stopped, without any confusion, the students continued to sing with pride. The sound was not good, the children's singing was uneven, but it urged him to immediately compose "Proud Melody" within 30 minutes. To date, the male musician has had more than 100 songs about the theme of homeland and country, combining folk materials with modern music.

On the occasion of the recent September 2nd holiday, musician Hong Bien released the song “Independence - Freedom - Happiness” on his personal channel, attracting the attention of many young people. Like “Proud Melody”, the inspiration to compose this new song came very unexpectedly but was enough to make him wonder: “Such a good topic, why don’t I exploit it?”. Independence - Freedom - Happiness are all that the Vietnamese people have had to sacrifice for generations to achieve. The song was written in a feeling of pride in the midst of a great day of joy.

“The topic that I am most passionate about is writing about my homeland and country. In addition to expressing emotions, I clearly see responsibility in each song. As a musician, I remind myself to join hands to nurture sacred emotions about the country. Positive, educational messages that are widely spread will contribute to building the image of the country's culture and the image of the Vietnamese people as beautiful and special,” said musician Pham Hong Bien.

The love for his homeland, country and the musical exchange between regions are clearly expressed by Hong Bien in his composing style throughout his many years of career. “Thuong con chot sang song”, “Lotus”, “Hen uoc Bac Nam”, “Ngau hung bai choi”, “Ma thuong con hoai”, “Chao em doa sen Thap Muoi”, “Dieu ho trao duyen”… are songs with his own unique style, bringing him closer to music lovers, especially the youth.

As a musician, Hong Bien wants to be the successor between the past and the present, a bridge connecting the music of young people with the nostalgic things based on history and traditional culture. The topic that he is most passionate about is writing about his homeland and country.

“In addition to expressing emotions, I clearly see responsibility in each song. As a musician, I remind myself to join hands to nurture sacred emotions about the country. Positive, educational messages that are widely spread will contribute to building the image of the country's culture and the image of the Vietnamese people as beautiful and special,” the 9X musician shared.

My Dung

Source: https://nhandan.vn/khi-am-nhac-la-nhip-cau-ket-noi-post918425.html