NTO - Composer Van Cao

Composer Văn Cao (1923 - 1995) - the author of the Vietnamese national anthem - was a master artist in many fields of art: music , poetry, and painting.

In every field, he reached the pinnacle, leaving a profound mark on the public. On the 100th anniversary of his birth (November 15, 1923 - November 15, 2023), those who admired Van Cao once again had the opportunity to remember an exceptionally talented artist, a towering figure in Vietnamese literature and art.

The multi-talented artist

Composer Văn Cao, whose full name was Nguyễn Văn Cao, was born on November 15, 1923, in Hải Phòng into a family of civil servants. As a child, Văn Cao attended Bonnal Primary School, and later went on to study at Saint Josef High School, where he began his music education.

Speaking about composer Van Cao, Associate Professor, Dr. Do Hong Quan, President of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations , affirmed: Van Cao was a great composer, a master artist in many fields of art: music, poetry, painting...

Composer Văn Cao is considered a "veteran" of Vietnamese art. His songs have accompanied the most important periods of the country's history, spanning from the early days of modern Vietnamese music to love songs born amidst the flames of war and even during peacetime. Photo: VNA

In the field of music, Van Cao was a talented composer, a towering figure in Vietnam's professional music scene. His first song, "Buồn tàn thu" (Sadness of Late Autumn), was composed in 1939, when he was only 16 years old. From 1941 to 1943, he successively released lyrical and romantic songs such as "Thiên Thai" (Heavenly Paradise), "Bến xuân" (Spring Wharf), "Thu cô liêu" (Lonely Autumn), "Cung đàn xưa" (Ancient Melody), "Đàn chim Việt" (Vietnamese Birds), "Suối mơ" (Dream Stream), "Trương Chi" (Truong Chi)...

From the early 1940s, especially after he moved from Hai Phong to Hanoi, a new, vigorous, and resolute musical style emerged in Van Cao's work, oriented towards national history, such as: Go Dong Da (1940), Ho Keo Go Bach Dang Giang (1941)... These can be considered transitional songs preparing for a new genre in Van Cao's music - the march genre.

In late 1944, Van Cao met Vu Quy, a revolutionary cadre, and was persuaded to join the Viet Minh. His first task was to compose a song. Van Cao wrote the first musical scores for the march during his time living in the attic at 171 Mongrant Street and named the work "Tien Quan Ca" (Marching Song). The song was published in the arts and culture section of the newspaper Doc Lap (Independence) in November 1944. On August 13, 1945, President Ho Chi Minh officially approved "Tien Quan Ca" as the national anthem of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Composer Van Cao became the author of the Vietnamese national anthem and also one of the most important figures in modern Vietnamese music, one of the most outstanding composers in Vietnamese music during this period.

After "Marching Song," composer Van Cao also composed many revolutionary marches such as "Vietnamese Soldier," "Vietnamese Worker," "Vietnamese Air Force," "Thang Long March," "Bac Son," "Marching Towards Hanoi," etc. During this period, he also wrote lyrical songs with an optimistic spirit, imbued with patriotism and love of life, such as "My Village" (1947) and "Harvest Day" (1948). He also composed epic poems, with his masterpiece being "The Epic of the Lo River."

Besides songs, he later wrote several instrumental works for piano such as "Sông Tuyến" (The Line River), "Biển đêm" (Night Sea), "Hàng dừa xa" (Distant Coconut Trees)...; composed film music for the feature film "Chị Dậu" (1980), and the symphonic suite for the documentary film "Anh Bộ đội cụ Hồ" (Uncle Ho's Soldier) of the People's Army Film Studio...

In the spring of 1975, after the great victory of the nation, liberating the South and unifying the country, composer Van Cao composed the song "The First Spring". According to Van Cao's own words during his lifetime, if "Marching Song" was the music that sent soldiers to battle, "The First Spring" was the music that welcomed soldiers returning home with a longing for reunion and togetherness.

According to Professor Phong Le, besides being a great musician, Van Cao is also a great poet – because he is the author of many poems that have resonated with readers for generations. Some of his poems were remembered and memorized before 1945, such as "Homeland," "Rainy Night," "Who Returns to Kinh Bac," and "A Cold Night of Music on the Hue River"... Particularly noteworthy is the poem "The Cart of Corpses Passing Through Da Lac Ward," which he wrote precisely in August 1945, a timely account of the tragedy of two million Vietnamese people dying of starvation.

Besides individual poems, Van Cao also had a collection of poems titled "Leaves," written quietly during the difficult years caused by the humanist-literary movement he was involved in, which lasted from 1956 to 1986. After poetry, there was prose – short stories, some of which were published in "Saturday Novel" in 1943, such as "Cleaning the House," "Super Hot Water," etc., contributing a unique color to the late realist literary movement alongside Bui Hien, Manh Phu Tu, Kim Lan, Nguyen Dinh Lap...

Van Cao also had a remarkable career in painting. At the age of 19, he attended the Indochina College of Fine Arts intermittently. By the age of 20, he had already created notable paintings such as "Adolescent Girl," "Repentance," "Midnight," "Growing Up in the Resistance," and "Thai Ha Hamlet on a Rainy Night." In particular, his work "The Dance of the Suicides" was highly praised and caused a public sensation. Later, he also created several other famous works, such as: "Portrait of Mrs. Bang," "Village Gate," "Nguyen Du Street," "The Red Guitar," and "Girl and the Piano"...

According to Professor Phong Le, it was Van Cao's artistic talent that "saved" him during those difficult years. He earned a living by illustrating for newspapers and books, and designing book covers. "In those years, any author whose cover was designed by Van Cao was very happy and proud, because of the creativity and talent shown through the word 'Van' in a small corner of the cover," Professor Phong Le recalled.

A rare phenomenon in the history of Vietnamese literature and art.

According to journalist and music critic Tran Le Chien, a member of the Executive Committee of the Hanoi Union of Literature and Arts Associations, Van Cao's artistic journey is closely linked to the nation's history, accompanying the nation on its path. Each of his works leaves important imprints with unique and distinct ideological, stylistic, and artistic value. These works have transcended time, passed down and spread to many generations of artists and the public both domestically and internationally, brilliantly etching their name in Vietnamese culture and art.

“Van Cao’s life and career have gone through countless ups and downs, with so many difficulties and anxieties. His works in all three fields: music, painting, and poetry, have been tested and refined by time. These works endure through the years because they represent genuine artistic values – art for humanity,” shared music critic Tran Le Chien.

Speaking about Van Cao, writer Ta Duy Anh emphasized: Vietnamese history has reserved an extremely special and unique place for the musician and artist Van Cao. Special because he was not only a figure with lasting cultural influence, but also a figure who always had the ability to revive in the memories of millions a tragic and turbulent era of the country. Unique because no musician of his time had such a strange and fascinating fate as him. Unique because even after his passing, he remains with us in all our joys and sorrows. But above all, he was a patriot who loved his country, his people, his homeland, the Vietnamese language, the Vietnamese soul, and beauty…

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen The Ky, Chairman of the Central Council for Literary and Artistic Theory and Criticism, affirmed that musician, painter, and poet Van Cao was an exceptionally multi-talented artist, a towering figure in Vietnamese literature and art.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen The Ky, many prominent cultural figures, theorists, critics of culture and arts, and renowned artists all share the same opinion: Van Cao was a great artist with many groundbreaking creations, leaving a diverse and profound mark on the public. He made very important contributions in many aspects to the national culture and arts. With his diverse, unique, multifaceted talent, seamlessly integrating thought, aesthetics, and writing style; between real life, perception, understanding, and artistic expression; between music, painting, and poetry, Van Cao is affirmed by many as an "extremely special and rare phenomenon" in the history of modern Vietnamese arts.

Regarding Văn Cao's valuable artistic career, many praise him as a multi-talented artist who enjoyed "wandering" through different artistic "realms" of music, painting, and poetry. Although he didn't remain continuously or for long in any one art form, in all three areas he left behind numerous groundbreaking creations – paving the way for himself and those who came after. Văn Cao's works, especially music and poetry, while not abundant in quantity, made a strong impression in terms of quality, serving to open up, guide, and lay the foundation for the development of modern Vietnamese art and literature. Specifically, this is most evident in the genres of love songs, epics, and long poems in modern Vietnamese music and poetry.

Van Cao's 72-year life was entirely intertwined with the turbulent 20th century. Throughout his life's journey, despite numerous challenges and hardships, the exceptionally talented artist Van Cao always stood alongside the nation and its people, creating immortal works. He made immense contributions to the national culture and arts in all three fields: music, poetry, and painting. He was awarded numerous prestigious honors by the State: the Ho Chi Minh Order, the First-Class Independence Order, the Third-Class Independence Order, the First-Class Resistance Order, and the Ho Chi Minh Prize for Literature and Arts (first phase, 1996). Many streets in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Nam Dinh, Thua Thien-Hue, and Da Nang are also named after him.

According to VNA/News Agency

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