Sharing with the audience of the Legendary Imprint program, People's Artist Thanh Hai said that the story of the fascination with the sound of the zither and the art of Cai Luong in the boy Thanh Hai only truly turned into a desire to conquer and penetrated his mind when his family arranged for him to attend a special class.
 People's Artist Thanh Hai was born and raised in Hai Phong in a family with an artistic tradition: his father was a zither musician, his mother was the late artist Bich Dan - a pioneering cai luong actress of the Phuong Dong cai luong troupe (Hai Phong). Photo: D.Q |
The famous musician Thanh Hai confided: “My sister, artist Kim Ha - an artist at Giai Phong radio station - said that the Southerners here played very well and this taste was only found in the South. So my sister and my family arranged for me to go there to study. At that time, I studied with teacher Ut Du”. This fateful arrangement was like the notes having their own position on the musical staff, just right to create a good piece of music. People's Artist Thanh Hai not only had the guidance of teacher Ut Du but was also fortunate to have the devoted guidance of Meritorious Artist Thanh Hung and his wife, artist Ngoc Hoa. “At that time, I remember I was 11 or 12 years old and Thanh Hung knew about my talent. When he came back, he always played the tapes that the teachers here had given me to play. He let me listen to them all the time, I listened to Uncle Van Vi, Uncle Van Gioi, Uncle Nam Co, Uncle Bay Ba, that is, composer Vien Chau… I listened to them all the time for about 2 or 3 months, it really got into my blood” – People’s Artist Thanh Hai confided.
With the guidance of excellent teachers who nurtured their talents in the Southern region, the young Thanh Hai was filled with joy at that time when he received praise from his seniors. People's Artist Thanh Hai recalled: "When I was out there, I recorded with a guitar and the artists in the North were excited when they heard it on the radio. They asked who, who played like this, only people from Saigon did this, people out there did not have this taste. When they asked, they found out it was me. At that time, I was only in my teens." At the age of 17 - the most beautiful age of a person's life, Thanh Hai began to make the first beautiful sketches for his career and this was also the motivation that helped the People's Artist love the guitar more and go further in the Vietnamese reformed music scene.
 In 1976, the Northerner began his journey to the South, meeting musicians Van Vi and Van Gioi to learn from. After that, he continued to study with famous musicians such as: Nam Co (piano), Hai Thom (violin), People's Artist Vien Chau (zither)... Photo: D.Q |
People's Artist Thanh Hai shared more: “When preparing for liberation, the Liberation Radio station performed a play called Tyrant by composer - author Le Duy Hanh. The whole play Tyrant performed Cai Luong, an orchestra of about 15 people from modern music to make the background music but I was the only one playing a guitar. At that time, with my age, I was probably like the old saying "deaf not afraid of guns" or something. I'm telling the truth. Because if I had thought, I wouldn't have dared to play like that. Although the playing was very complete and very good, at that time I liked it."
In the 1980s, People's Artist Thanh Hai once again made the music lovers remember his name when together with People's Artist Van Gioi, he became a "tsunami" couple. Because many of their concerts were loved by the audience and those in the profession, such as Vong Kim Lang, Phi Van chorus, Doan khuc Tam Giang. Not only did he leave a lasting impression on anyone who loved Cai Luong through his concerts, People's Artist Thanh Hai also left his mark as a musician. The works of this artist were highly appreciated and became famous, such as To Anh Nguyet, Doi Co Luu, Nhung sao khong ten, Chuyen tinh Lan va Diep...
Just rearrange the wholeness into a new order
People's Artist Thanh Hai was born into a family with an artistic tradition and was guided by masters of classical music. But luck is not all that helps this master of the instrument gain a solid position not only in the classical music community but also in the hearts of colleagues and audiences.
It is not by chance that people in the profession appreciate the talent of People's Artist Thanh Hai. Playing well and performing well are not enough for the name Thanh Hai to become a legend. Master musician Thanh Hai also makes people remember him in another role, which is composing music and arranging music. If when learning to play the instrument, he was lucky enough to meet a good teacher, when composing, People's Artist Thanh Hai had to go step by step and learn from zero. He said: "To be honest, I didn't get to learn. I learned from teachers, friends, and "learned by stealth". Regarding the issue of composing music in cai luong plays, the background music, I imitated Professor Quang Hai, Ca Le Thuan, and Thanh Tung. At that time, I was in the City's Performing Arts Troupe, and every time I wrote a script, it was mostly written by those people. I heard and saw why they wrote it like that, played it like that, then I borrowed the conductor's score to read and then imitated it. I explored, then I wrote music and composed from there."
For this artist, there is always a question for himself: why is Vietnamese folk music so good and beautiful but we don't put that quintessence into the music? "Our Cai Luong music compared to other genres like Tuong Cheo is born later. Its openness is very fierce. For example, in the time of Uncle Bay - Vien Chau, in the past he wrote Tan Co Giao Duyen, that is, bolero music and other things, it is still good to listen to now. Then there are many Cai Luong plays that sing Indian songs, all of them are good, all of them are attractive. It also has its own colors. I just thought and told Ms. Bach Tuyet that this music, it takes all the music of other countries, it can be combined, so why don't we put Tuong with Cheo, Hue singing in? I'm just afraid that if we put it in it won't work, it won't be reasonable, but the value of these music genres is our folk music. I just told her to let me do it", People's Artist Thanh Hai expressed.
 Since 1978, Thanh Hai officially entered the professional cai luong stage. From 1980 to 1989, he and artist Van Gioi were in charge of cai luong programs of Ho Chi Minh City People's Radio and left a good impression on the public. Photo: D.Q |
As his love and passion for folk music grew, People's Artist Thanh Hai understood more and more what he needed to do to bring all the softness and quintessence to touch the hearts of the audience. But if the audience wants to feel that beauty, the artist must act and as People's Artist Thanh Hai confided, he is like the one who gathers the best in all the ancient and traditional Vietnamese music and combines it with Cai Luong to create a beautiful harmony.
 People's Artist Bach Tuyet was moved to send her thanks to People's Artist Thanh Hai for always having him accompany her artistic career. "You look like that, but you alone play 5 or 7 instruments. You alone travel the world like a symphony orchestra," Snow White said. Photo: D.Q |
The creativity of People's Artist Thanh Hai seems to have no limits when in recent years, he has also combined Cai Luong into the bamboo circus art form of the A O Show program: " Up until now, we have always said that the music of Don ca tai tu and Cai Luong is so good. I thought that if I didn't do anything, I would think this would work. Why do I think this would work? Circus, no matter what, can be the common language of viewers around the world. Any country can understand it, meaning it only has movements and listening to music. I met Nhat Ly, I was happy. Because I was able to bring Cai Luong amateur music into this program. Since then, this program has been performed in many countries around the world, and I am very happy that wherever people go, they like the music."
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nsnd-thanh-hai-gom-ve-dep-cai-luong-len-khuong-nhac-1851084349.htm
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