Award-winning solo and ensemble works on traditional musical instruments: Presented to the public

To participate in the first round of the National Solo and Ensemble Competition of Traditional Musical Instruments in 2023, which took place last June in Nha Trang City, the Provincial Traditional Arts Theater and the Hai Dang Song and Dance Troupe staged a total of 12 quality performances. After the competition, many people were interested in how these works would continue to be used and promoted in the performance activities of each unit?

Many entries are of high quality.

Coming to the National Solo and Ensemble Competition of Traditional Musical Instruments, Phase 1, 2023, Hai Dang Song and Dance Troupe has built a performance program of 7 performances, which are instrumental works, built for traditional musical instruments, such as: Lithophone, Zither, T'rung, Monochord... According to experts, these performances are all of relatively high artistic quality. Among the 7 performances of the troupe (Gio ve mien dat thap, Ponagar hon thap, Loi ru tren bien, Say trang, Vu dieu dai ngan, Lien khuc dan ca Indonesia, Thac doi), there is 1 work that won first prize, 2 works that won second prize and 2 works that won third prize. “To develop the competition program, the group spent a lot of time training the artists and musicians. In addition, the unit also invited talented music and orchestration teams such as Huynh Tu, Nguyen Tan Dat, Truong Lam, Vu Van Thieng. Therefore, the artistic quality of these works is highly appreciated by professionals,” said Mr. Tran Duc Ha - Head of Hai Dang Music and Dance Troupe.

Artist Van Tan of the Hai Dang Song and Dance Troupe performs the work Ponagar Soul Tower.

The Provincial Traditional Arts Theater has created a competition program with the theme "Thanh am xu Tram", with 5 solo performances of the erhu, zither and a traditional orchestra. The young musicians of the theater, including Vo Nguyen Nhu Binh, Nguyen Thi Huong, and other members, performed very well in their performances. The traditional folk music melodies of xang xe - xuan nu - ho quang - co ban - ly quan hanh - sac bua were performed fluently by the artists and musicians. As a result, 1 performance won first prize and 1 performance won second prize. Thereby, it has truly reflected the interest, investment, and efforts of the artists and musicians. Bringing works to serve the audience For a long time, after each competition, festival, and art competition in general and music, especially traditional music in particular, many people are interested in the issue of how to popularize the works? In fact, many works after the competition, even those that have won high prizes, are not widely disseminated to the public. Explaining this, those in the profession believe that there is a difference between a competition entry and a performance entry for the general audience. Competition entries are often to demonstrate the ability, level, and trends of the composers, arrangers, arrangers, and performers. Simply put, these are musical works of a highly academic nature, so they are often intended for audiences with a certain level of professional understanding. Performance entries, on the other hand, often delve into emotions, targeting the majority of listeners, and can be easily perceived.

The work "Double Waterfall" was performed by artists and musicians of the Hai Dang Song and Dance Troupe at the 2023 Sea Festival.

Therefore, it is not easy to have a work that meets the strict criteria of the jury, can be performed to serve a large audience without wasting effort, money and contributing to improving the cultural enjoyment of the people. Therefore, when starting to stage the programs and works participating in the traditional musical instrument performance competition, the two art units of the province have calculated the long-term use of those works in their performance activities. “The solo and ensemble performances of the traditional musical instruments of the units participating in the recent competition are basically folk songs, bai choi melodies, folk songs developed in the bai choi singing stage. Therefore, they can be used in the staging of new plays and excerpts of the theater in the future. In addition, the entries are also suitable for independent performances to serve audiences in and outside the province,” said Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Quang Trung - Deputy Director of the Provincial Traditional Arts Theater.

Regarding the works of the Hai Dang Song and Dance Troupe, the Thac Doi performance was performed by the unit at the Am vong dai duong music festival in the Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa Sea Festival 2023; and other works were included by the troupe's leaders in the performance program for tourists at the troupe's performance center (No. 128 Hoang Van Thu Street, Nha Trang City). "In the development orientation of the troupe's performing arts services, we always focus on building new performances and programs with artistic quality, suitable for many audiences. Therefore, having 7 more folk music works after the competition is very valuable, and we will use them most effectively," said Mr. Tran Duc Ha.

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