Composer Hoang Viet and his songs that will live on forever.

Việt Nam•24/09/2023

On the evening of September 23rd, at the City Theater, the Propaganda Department of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee and the City Department of Culture and Sports organized an art program featuring the musical portrait of composer Hoang Viet, with the theme "Love Songs Dedicated to So Many People." This special art program aimed to honor and commemorate composer Hoang Viet on the occasion of his 95th birthday.

Singers Ho Trung Dung and Vo Ha Tram performed the song "Echoes from My Motherland" by composer Hoang Viet.

Composer Hoàng Việt was also known by other pseudonyms such as Lê Trực, Hoàng Việt Hận, and Lê Quỳnh. His birth name was Lê Chí Trực. He was born on February 28, 1928, in Chợ Lớn (now part of Ho Chi Minh City) and died on December 31, 1967, on the banks of the Ả Rặt canal, Mỹ Thiện village, Cái Bè district, Tiền Giang province, at the age of 39.

Growing up in Saigon, composer Hoang Viet began composing at a very young age. Following the call of his country, he joined the resistance, was relocated to the North, and was sent by the Vietnam Conservatory of Music to study at the Bulgarian Conservatory. He graduated with honors with his symphony "Homeland," and "Homeland"—the first symphony of Vietnamese music—was performed three times in Bulgaria, the country known as the "land of roses."

Meritorious Artist Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, Deputy Director of the City's Department of Culture and Sports, delivered a speech at the program.

Upon returning to Vietnam, after his symphony "Homeland" was performed at the Hanoi Opera House, composer Hoang Viet volunteered to cross the Truong Son Mountains and return to the South, which was still engulfed in the flames of war. And amidst the smoke and fire of war, composer Hoang Viet lived, composed, and fought until his last breath.

It can be said that Hoang Viet was one of the first musicians in our country to receive formal training, combining two extremely valuable elements for a composer: real-life experience and formal education.

People's Artist Ta Minh Tam performs the song "Love Song".

The first factor enabled him to create songs that were always imbued with the spirit of the times; the second factor contributed to the maturity, vigor, and professionalism of classical music. During his years studying in Bulgaria, he composed many instrumental works, including the symphony entitled "Homeland." This was Vietnam's first symphony, consisting of four movements, which expressed the indomitable fighting tradition of the nation against all invading enemies.

With a solid writing style, the work, brimming with patriotic sentiment and national pride, blended lyricism with heroic elements, had a powerful persuasive effect on listeners. Hoang Viet drew musical material from nine revolutionary songs and two folk songs to create the language of the symphonic work.

Besides instrumental music, when mentioning him, music lovers immediately remember songs with beautiful melodies such as: "The Whistle in the Misty Night," "Green Leaves," "Going to the Mountains," "The Ripe Rice Season," "Forest Music," "Love Song," etc. These are songs that have been associated with many generations, accompanying the people and the country throughout the journey of defending and building the nation, and have become invaluable spiritual assets of the Vietnamese people.

The female trio performed the song "The Harvest Season".

According to Meritorious Artist Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City, Hoang Viet's musical works are diverse in content, rich in rhythm, profound and heartfelt in melody, conveying the indomitable fighting spirit of the nation determined to regain independence and freedom for the Fatherland, while also revealing the passionate love of life and people of the Vietnamese people.

Because his life was so short, he didn't leave behind many works, but they are invaluable spiritual assets that live on through time, seemingly shining brighter and brighter with each passing year, like precious gems that no dust can ever obscure.

Looking back at Hoang Viet's entire body of work—both songs and instrumental music—it's clear he always aimed for profound national sentiments about his homeland, his country, the revolution, and liberation. These sentiments, though deeply personal, were simple and unpretentious, avoiding bombastic pronouncements. His personal feelings were seamlessly blended with the collective emotions of the people amidst a country that had not yet achieved complete independence and freedom. This created the immense ideological value in his works. He was truly a great artist and a courageous fighter.

Meritorious Artist Vân Khánh performs the song "Lên ngàn" (Going to the Mountains).

For his great contributions, in 1985, a street in Ho Chi Minh City was named after the musician Hoang Viet. In 1996, the State posthumously awarded Hoang Viet the Ho Chi Minh Prize for Literature and Arts, and in 2011, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces.

Hoang Viet lived a life befitting a true artist. His works, especially the song "Love Song," shine even brighter, exerting a far greater impact amidst the respect and admiration of many generations of the public. His untimely passing has left a great and irreplaceable void in modern Vietnamese music.

For nearly 120 minutes, the audience enjoyed timeless songs by composer Hoang Viet, along with excerpts from the play "The Unfinished Symphony," performed by singers and artists such as People's Artist Ta Minh Tam, Meritorious Artist Le Thien, Meritorious Artist Van Khanh, Meritorious Artist Huu Quoc, Meritorious Artist Ngoc Trinh, Vo Ha Tram, Ho Trung Dung, Quoc Dai, Cao Cong Nghia, Hoa Hiep, and others.

According to nhandan.vn

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