Artist Thanh Huong and her passion for singing Cheo

With a deep passion for Cheo singing, Folk Artist Thanh Huong has silently devoted herself to performing and teaching Cheo singing to the public who love traditional art in Quang Ninh .

Folk artist Thanh Huong performs a Cheo song praising Uncle Ho's merits. — Folk artist Thanh Huong is currently the Vice President of the Folk Song Lovers Club of the Provincial Cultural Center with 32 members.

Folk artist Thanh Huong (real name Nguyen Thi Huong), was born in 1952 in the rice fields of Chi Lang commune, Hung Ha district, Thai Binh province. Born in the land of Cheo, from a young age, Ms. Huong was imbued with the sound of her father's guitar and her mother's Cheo singing. Later, her family moved to Cat Ba, Cat Hai district, Hai Phong to live, but the Cheo singing tradition in her hometown was still maintained.

Artist Thanh Huong recalls: My father was the captain of the Cat Ba town art troupe, so we lived in a singing and performing arts environment since we were young. At that time, my father knew how to use many traditional musical instruments such as: Erhu, Ho, Zither, Moon-shaped lute, and Tam Thap Luc. He said that he learned to sing Cheo and play music from senior artists when he was young when he was in Thai Binh. My mother was a country girl who sang Cheo very smoothly in Co Lung village, My Loc commune, Thai Thuy district. The two became husband and wife from Cheo singing. I was born from a love affair in a Cheo village like that.

When she was 5 years old, her parents started teaching her how to sing Cheo. The first songs she learned were “sap co phong” and “sap thuong”. Her parents instructed her very carefully. Her mother often sang model songs for her child to see and sing along. Thanks to that, 3 years later, when she was 8 years old, Huong was able to perform basic Cheo tunes.

That same year, the Hai Phong Cheo Art Troupe went to Cat Ba to perform and noticed a pretty girl who was passionate about singing Cheo. Artist Minh To, an actor in the troupe, heard Ms. Huong sing and suggested to her family to let her learn Cheo and later apply to join the Hai Phong Cheo Art Troupe. So Ms. Huong grew up with the Cheo melodies of her parents and the tutoring of artist Minh To. Thanks to the Cheo melodies taught from a young age, when she grew up, Ms. Thanh Huong was able to sing many more difficult melodies with confidence such as: Nhip Chase, Xam Xoan, Loi Lo, etc.

Since 1968, Cat Ba town was heavily bombed, Ms. Huong's parents had to take their children to their maternal hometown Thai Thuy, Thai Binh to evacuate. Living in the homeland which is the cradle of Cheo singing, Ms. Huong had many opportunities to show her talent. She was accepted into the art troupe by the old artisans in the commune to continue teaching her ancient Cheo melodies. Since 1970, Ms. Huong was assigned a role in the Cheo play "The Road to the Battlefield" and regularly participated in the commune's mobile radio propaganda team to perform and exchange throughout the region.

With a passion for Cheo singing, Ms. Huong often approached senior artists to be taught ancient Cheo songs. In that environment, Ms. Huong successfully practiced singing dozens of ancient Cheo melodies in the treasure trove of Vietnamese Cheo singing heritage such as: Duong Truong Thu Khong, Chinh Phu, Duong Truong Shooting Thuoc, Duong Truong Tieng Dan, Con Nhen Gieng Net, To Vo, etc.

In 1972, Ms. Huong returned to work at the construction site of the Polish Shipyard in Quang Ninh. Despite being busy with work and family, she still regularly practiced and performed Cheo singing in cultural exchanges. These were also the years when Ms. Huong passionately practiced and performed Cheo folk songs in the mining land of Quang Ninh.

After decades of singing, with a passion for Cheo singing, Ms. Thanh Huong has participated in hundreds of art programs of agencies, factories, enterprises, and neighborhoods. In 1992, Ms. Huong retired early and joined the art team of the neighborhood and became the team leader. The art team has served many art programs of the neighborhood, ward, participated in competitions and performances of the city and left many good impressions.

Meritorious Artist Nguyen Thanh Mai, former Deputy Head of the Quang Ninh Province Cheo Art Troupe, commented: Artist Thanh Huong is an amateur Cheo singer but has a very special, warm, and expressive voice. She is especially capable of memorizing the lyrics of all the melodies very quickly. She is good at lyrical Cheo melodies and the main roles of the female lead. In performing and teaching, she works very hard, but because of her love for Cheo, because of her passion, she performs with all her heart, voluntarily.

Folk artist Thanh Huong sings Cheo with friends on a boat.

Folk artist Thanh Huong is currently the Vice President of the Love the Folk Songs of the Homeland Club under the Provincial Cultural Center with 32 members. She voluntarily teaches Cheo singing to art troupes of many villages and communes in the province; serves communal house and pagoda festivals, and stages many Cheo performances with the goal of preserving and promoting the value of the traditional Cheo performance heritage of our ancestors.

In 2021, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong was awarded the title of Vietnamese Folk Artist by the Vietnam Folk Arts Association for her contributions to practicing and teaching traditional Cheo singing. Currently, Artist Thanh Huong lives in Group 5, Zone 6, Gieng Day Ward, Ha Long City and is still passionate about performing, practicing and teaching Cheo singing.

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