Due to his busy state management work, musician Phuong Bac spends his weekends composing - Photo: NVCC
Father is the first teacher
- Hello musician Phuong Bac! Thank you very much for taking the time for this conversation. First of all, could you please tell us in what context your first song was born and what inspired you to write it?
- Remembering You is my first song. I wrote this song in 1995, with a bolero melody. At that time, I was 18 years old, just a first-year student at Hue College of Music Education.
“ Is it Sunday/So that you don’t go to school/The threads of heaven are entangled/The schoolyard is sad and the sun is fading/The space is sad and quiet/My footsteps are absent-minded/The purple ink becomes poetry/Sad Sunday, missing you/Let me be a swallow/To fly to be happy with you/The purple ink poem is loyal/For you alone, you miss/Now Sunday is the time to write poetry/Together with the cold winter/Blame the sky for not letting the sun go down/To be sad alone...”. These are the emotional lines of a young man who is far from home, far from his hometown, far from his friends for the first time.
- Did you enter music because of your talent, passion, or because your family had a musical background and wanted you to follow in their footsteps?
- My father was an actor of the Tri Thien Regional Party Committee's Art Troupe, Quang Tri B Art Troupe, Binh Tri Thien Opera Troupe, and Hue's traditional art troupe. He was a musician and an artist, participating in art from 1964 until his retirement. Since I was in 6th grade, my father guided me in art, and by 7th grade I could play the guitar quite well.
My father was the first teacher who taught me every note of music. He was also the one who taught me the knowledge to pass the entrance exam to Hue Music School. It was my father who inspired my siblings and I with music. My younger sister also took the entrance exam to music and is now a music teacher.
- It is known that since graduating until now you have been teaching and working in state management, so when do you spend a lot of time composing?
- In 1998, I graduated and was assigned to teach at the Huong Hoa District Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities. After teaching there for 6 years, I was transferred to the Quang Tri Province Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities, participating in teaching and Youth Union activities. In 2007, I changed my major to work at the Quang Tri Town Youth Union and was then elected as the Town Youth Union Secretary. In 2011, I was transferred to work as Head of the Quang Tri Town Mass Mobilization Committee. 3 years later, I was transferred to work as Secretary of the An Don Ward Party Committee, Quang Tri Town. In January 2016, I was transferred to hold the position of Vice Chairman of the Quang Tri Town People's Committee in charge of the socio-cultural sector until now.
As you said, my main job is not to focus on music but on State management. But since my first song in 1995, I have been composing for nearly 30 years. In recent years, although I have been busy with work, I have still composed quietly because my father always told me to maintain the family tradition. The weekend when I leave work is the time I focus on composing. In addition, if I have free time, I spend it on music to maintain the flow of writing and emotions.
- In your composing career, what genres of music do you lean towards?
- Before, I was inclined towards traditional music, revolutionary music, country music and used some folk music elements in my songs. But then, from the advice of my father and teachers, as well as consulting many opinions, I continued to switch to other music genres such as bolero, bossa nova, gentle ballads to suit the tastes of the young generation as well as lyrical music that touches people's hearts.
- In your creative process, are you influenced by any musical idols?
- Yes! Dad, the late artist Minh Canh was the first person to influence my composing style. It was my dad who discovered my creative talent. Before, I mainly played the organ, monochord or guitar. Later, seeing me often singing absent-mindedly, my dad encouraged me to focus on composing and he guided me. When I entered Hue College of Music Education, the teacher I was most influenced by was musician Doan Phuong Hai, currently the Chairman of the Council of the Hue Academy of Music. He directly taught me music, so he was my idol. Besides my dad, he was the person who inspired my composing career the most. In addition, I was also influenced by Ms. Doan Lan Huong, who is now retired.
Musician Le Phuong Bac was born in 1977 in Quang Tri and is currently the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Tri town. In his composing career, he has received many music awards such as: B prize of the Quang Tri Provincial Literature and Arts Award in 2022; Second prize for writing about officials and employees of the Ha Tinh Provincial Labor Federation; Third prize for writing about Bac Giang; Third prize for writing about his hometown Cam Lam - Khanh Hoa... |
Homeland is the source of emotions
- In your works, you devote a lot of love and passion to Quang Tri land, especially Thach Han river and the Citadel relic. So is it true that your hometown Quang Tri with its historical sites has inspired your works?
- That's right! I was born and raised on this land and currently live and work in Quang Tri town. I did not witness the war in my homeland when I was young, but through the stories of my father and other veterans, I felt its fierceness. My homeland is the source of inspiration for my works. I always have a deep feeling for my homeland!
- Can you share some of your creative works about your hometown Quang Tri?
- For my hometown Quang Tri, I have a number of songs such as "Citadel on the return day" (performed by Meritorious Artist Tien Lam and used in many programs), "Vang mai bai ca Quang Tri" (used in many big programs)... Especially recently, the song "Linh linh dong Thach Han" I completed on the 30th of Tet 2024.
At the end of the year, families often have a meal offering to the martyrs by the Thach Han River. This is an annual New Year's Eve meal that Quang Tri town often organizes. Every time I participate, I am very moved, my emotions are overflowing. I imagine that there are thousands of young martyrs here who will never return to their families. And now, there are still mothers searching for their children in vain. They still walk along the banks of the Thach Han River to light an incense stick, drop a flower into the river and imagine that their children are somewhere still lingering in their mother's arms. That's why I composed the song Linh Thieng Dong Thach Han. Singer Hoang Viet Danh performed this song as a gift of gratitude to the martyrs at the end of the year.
- How many musical works do you have so far? Which one do you like the most?
- My musical career has included 75 works, of which I am most fond of the song "The River of Mother's Age". This song is about the image of a mother working hard to raise her children, somewhere there is the image of my mother. The song was performed by singer Anh Tho and many other singers. This is the work for which I received the Quang Tri Province Art Award in 2022. Besides, there are many other favorite songs such as "My Father", "Mother's Love is Intact"...
- Perhaps when each of your “brainchild” was born, it was associated with a memory. So what is the most memorable memory in your journey of composing music?
- The most memorable memory was when I composed the song “Citadel on the Day of Return” in 2006. I was young, so how could I fully feel the brutality of the war, so I asked my father to take me by bicycle around Quang Tri town, then to the Citadel to sit. When we reached the bank of Thach Han River, my father told me that in the past, soldiers had to gather on the north bank, and at night, they took advantage of the enemy’s meal time to cross the river. In the evening, dozens of soldiers crossed the river, but the next morning, when they returned, there were few left. Feelings from my father’s story helped me compose this song. Therefore, until now, when I listen to “Citadel on the Day of Return”, my emotions surge, as if I have my father by my side. The song was also the premise for me to be admitted as a member of the Quang Tri Province Literature and Arts Association in 2011.
- Let's move on to a side story, currently artificial intelligence (AI) has done the composing work for humans, so there is a hypothesis that in the future, musicians will be unemployed? What is your opinion on this issue?
- In the field of music composition, if AI is abused, it will lose the musician's mindset. That's why in the composition process, I use emotions, expertise, and academics. After completing the manuscript, I can use AI to analyze, process, and learn from experience. I think AI should not be abused in the composition of melodies, because that will lose the flow and autonomy of the musician. The most important thing for a composer is autonomy!
- Thank you for this conversation and I wish you more and more good compositions, especially about your hometown Quang Tri!
Quang Hai (performed)
Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/nhac-si-phuong-bac-que-huong-quang-tri-la-mach-nguon-cho-toi-sang-tac-194309.htm
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