Meritorious Artist Duc Dau suddenly passed away.

(NLĐO) - His sudden passing has left a huge void in Vietnamese folk music .

The family of artist Duc Dau announced his sudden passing at 7 PM on December 12th, at the age of 68. Artist Duc Dau, whose real name was Tran Trong Dau, was born in 1957. He was considered by experts to be one of the few rare artists who persevered in preserving traditional Vietnamese musical instruments. Throughout his more than 45 years in the profession, he won a National Gold Medal for the "Quang Trung Battle Drum" solo percussion performance, two Silver Medals for the Hmong flute and the Bau lute, and was awarded the title of Outstanding Artisan by the President of Vietnam (in 2015).

Meritorious Artist Duc Dau

He was born and raised in a prominent middle-class family in Hue Street, Ha Tay (now Hanoi ). His family had planned for him to study medicine to become a doctor, but after being deeply moved by the poignant, melancholic sound of the Bau instrument, his boundless passion for traditional Vietnamese musical instruments led him to decide to study them instead.

After a period of apprenticeship, he was officially accepted to perform at the Song and Dance Troupe of the General Political Department of the Vietnam People's Army. In 1980, he and six brothers decided to establish the Phu Dong Percussion Ensemble. His career as a musical instrument collector also began when he decided to move to Ho Chi Minh City with the percussion group (1986).

What earned him the admiration of experts was his determination to learn musical instruments and find ways to collect the right ones. He learned the Hmong flute from artist Luong Kim Vinh (the king of Hmong flutes of the Lao Cai Dance and Music Troupe), and the Goong and T'rưng from artist Thao Giang of the Dam San Dance and Music Troupe... and thus he became a renowned collector of musical instruments.

The Phu Dong Percussion Ensemble has been established for over 40 years, performing not only domestically but also on numerous tours to other countries such as the USA, Singapore, Taiwan, Germany, France, Switzerland, etc., thereby spreading the spiritual values, national spirit, and essence hidden within each musical instrument of the Vietnamese people to listeners around the world.

He passed away, leaving behind a vast collection of up to 200 traditional musical instruments and nearly 2000 artifacts such as ivory horns, stone horns, Cheng drums (Northwest Vietnam), Pơ-rố string instruments, a 13-piece bamboo gong set (Central Highlands)... and many other instruments from all over the country.

The funeral of Meritorious Artist Duc Dau was held at Vinh Nghiem Pagoda (339 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street, Vo Thi Sau Ward, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City).

The funeral procession will begin at 8:00 AM on December 15th, after which the remains will be cremated at Binh Hung Hoa crematorium.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/nsut-duc-dau-dot-ngot-qua-doi-196241213113830636.htm