Master's thesis in France by Japanese researcher on Trinh Cong Son's music

Based on the knowledge foundation of her previous thesis, Michiko Yoshii continued to write her second master's thesis in literature on Trinh Cong Son's music, defending her thesis at the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies of the University of Paris VII, which has a cooperative relationship with the University of Ho Chi Minh City, now the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Ho Chi Minh City National University).

According to the late Professor Tran Van Khe, a prestigious international music expert, in an article published in 2007, the main points in the master's thesis on Trinh Cong Son's music were the study of Trinh Cong Son's anti-war songs, including: "Determining the position of Trinh Cong Son's music in Vietnamese music; reviewing more than 160 songs by Trinh Cong Son to find out how many anti-war songs, how many love songs, commenting on which songs were good, which songs were not good; mentioning Trinh Cong Son's attitude in the years 66-68 as an observer, then through poetry and music describing the life and pain of the Vietnamese people during the war without affirming an anti-war attitude like the period after 1968".

According to Michiko, in Japan there are two books written in Japanese, in which Trinh Cong Son is mentioned, and in Japan, Trinh Cong Son is the most popular Vietnamese musician, translated into Japanese or given new lyrics to familiar songs. Michiko's argument is that although Vietnam is at peace , Trinh Cong Son's songs are still sung, listened to, and enjoyed by many people because they are popular topics among humanity.

The French Dean of the Faculty is Phillipe Langlais, Professor Nguyen Phu Phong, a world-renowned music expert, supervised the thesis, but because he was doing fieldwork in Vietnam, he asked Professor Pham Dang Binh to replace him, Professor Dang Tien joined the Jury, with the participation of Professor Vo Quang Yen... Professor Pham Dang Binh highly appreciated the research method and content of the thesis, unanimously giving it a score of 17/20, the optimal score for a master's thesis ever by the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies at the University of Paris VII.

Trinh's music was the subject of a master's thesis in France, internationalized at a faculty of the University of Paris VII, honoring Vietnamese music.

Interestingly, before presenting his thesis, Professor Pham Dang Binh said: "Reading a hundred articles about a song is not as good as listening to a performance of a song" and Michiko sang the songs Dai Phao Lu Dem and Ngu Di Con by Trinh Cong Son.

Opening with two songs: "Dai cannon lullaby" and "Nui di con" (Go to sleep, my child). At the end of the thesis defense, at the request of Professor Binh, Ms. Michiko presented the song "Ca dao Me" translated into Japanese and two songs in Vietnamese: "Tinh ca nguoi lun tri" and "Noi vong tay lon".

According to Professor Tran Van Khe, previously at Sorbonne University, there was a candidate defending a national doctoral thesis on the songwriter Georges Braaens and now there is a Japanese candidate studying in France writing a master's thesis on a Vietnamese musician. It is rare to see 3 nationalities forming a master's thesis: the musician's work as the research object, the researcher and the place where the thesis is defended.

Nobel Prize-winning musician Bob Dylan is an internationally renowned anti-war musician. During the Bob Dylan and Trinh Cong Son concert in Ho Chi Minh City, 18 of his anti-war songs were performed; with Trinh Cong Son, there were 15 songs, showing the kindred spirits of the two musicians, which, as Michiko said, “is a very common theme among humanity.”

Tran Chiem Thanh

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/dong-nai-cuoi-tuan/202503/luan-van-cao-hoc-tai-phap-cua-nha-nghien-cuu-nguoi-nhat-ve-nhac-trinh-cong-son-92e637c/