Author - Work: Musician Hoang Van - From the season of blooming royal poinciana flowers to the beloved school

(Quang Ngai Newspaper) - We - the generation born in the 60s of the 20th century - a period when the country faced countless difficulties and challenges. That was when the whole country had to devote all its human and material resources to the resistance war against the US in the South, while carrying out the task of building socialism in the North. Even so, our childhood was still lived in pure, emotional melodies, through songs that have accompanied the years for teenagers by many famous musicians and the name Hoang Van is almost closely associated with my childhood memories of the blooming phoenix flower season and my beloved school...

Báo Quảng Ngãi•18/04/2025

Musician Hoang Van was born in 1930 in Hanoi's Old Quarter. His whole life was spent with moss-covered walls, with the sweet scent of young rice and the strong scent of milk flowers wafting over the ancient roofs, marked by the passage of time. The Old Quarter and Hanoi, imbued with the heroic spirit of their ancestors since the time of "carrying swords to open up new lands", have become the support for the soul of this talented and dedicated artist to flourish, accompanying the country with songs that are both heroic and familiar such as: "Ho keo phao", "Nguoi chien si ay", "Noi drum len rung nui oi", "Bai ca xay dung", "Quang Binh que ta oi", "Toi la nguoi tho lo", "Hat ve cay lua hom nay" and many great symphonies of high artistic value. Hoang Van's music is not only nailed into songs of such great stature, his music is also for us - the children who have gone through hardships with the country, countless happy songs filled with emotions, with innocent beauty, bustling to the point of intoxication. Among his many good songs, I am especially impressed with "Mùa hoa phoenix hoa no" and "Em yeu truong em".

Musician Hoang Van's collection was officially recognized by UNESCO as a World Documentary Heritage. Photo: INTERNET

The song “The season of blooming poinciana flowers” begins with the sound of the cuckoo calling for summer. Even now, when I think back, my heart still feels moved: “The cuckoo calls, the cuckoo calls/ The cotton flowers bloom, the royal poinciana flowers bloom/ Full of dreams and hopes/ The cuckoo calls, the cuckoo calls/ The season of ripe fruit, the season of exams/ Pure friendship under the school roof...”. The song is filled with the pure sounds of student life with the joyful cheers “Ve ve ve, the summer is back/ Happy, happy, the summer is back” along with the image of “green trees shading the road”, along with “the fragrant scent of lotus spreading to every house”. But the spirit that musician Hoang Van wants to send to the young generation that “The Fatherland is waiting for” in the song is: “We walk in the morning sun/ Thousands of good deeds urge our hearts/ Learn from the shining examples of many heroes/ Remember his words, remember his words/ Wear in your heart the red scarf/ Wear in your heart the red poinciana flowers”. We loved and hummed this song throughout our passionate youth, trying to study and practice according to Uncle Ho's teachings, contributing to the common goal of the nation: defeating the invaders and unifying the country. The last two verses are the thoughts and pride of our generation.

Through his music, musician Hoang Van has passed on to us a strong love for the school that has nurtured and preserved the beautiful childhood years of each person. The song "I love my school" has become a proud melody of Vietnamese music. With simple but profound lyrics, the chorus: "I love my school, with so many close friends and kind teachers, like loving my homeland, carrying books to school in endless love" has expressed the overflowing happiness of young souls, when carrying books to school in the loving arms of teachers and friends. In a fast, cheerful rhythm, each lyric after the chorus seems to recreate a space filled with joy: "What tables, what chairs, what books, what notebooks, what ink, what pens, what chalk, what blackboards and the happy birds on the high branches, and the star flag in the golden autumn sun. How we love, our school". Then: "The season of royal poinciana flowers blooming, the season of yellow chrysanthemums blooming, the season of white lilies, the season of red peach blossoms, our school here is like a garden of fresh flowers, good people doing good deeds or Uncle Ho's grandchildren. How we love it, our school". From the familiar, dear images in studying and living, such as pens, chalks and colorful flowers to the most sacred image of the red flag with a yellow star, all appear in the mind and feelings of the talented musician when creating art on the piano keys.

The two songs evoke so many memories of a time long gone by for our generation, but they are still close to many generations like us at that time. Simply because, in our country, whether in wartime or peacetime, the sound of cuckoos still echoes every summer, teachers and friends, desks and books are still intact in the schools. The music collection of musician Hoang Van has just been recognized as a World Documentary Heritage by the International Advisory Council of the UNESCO Memory of the World Program, perhaps because of these special values.

TRAN THU HA

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Source: https://baoquangngai.vn/van-hoa/van-hoc/202504/tac-gia-tac-pham-nhac-sihoangvan-tu-mua-hoa-phuong-noden-mai-truong-men-yeu-3900d35/