From “sun in the dark”

A scene from the movie “Tunnels”. Photo provided by the film crew.

When young musicians tell history through music

What fate led Hua Kim Tuyen - a 9X musician famous for her hit love songs, of Chinese origin, born and raised in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City - to be chosen to write the theme song for a revolutionary film?

For those who are familiar with contemporary pop music or have hummed the gentle, soulful melodies of “If One Day I Fly to the Sky”, “One Day I Forget All”, “Twenty Two”…, Tuyen’s writing of the soundtrack for the film “Tunnels” sounds like a bold change of pace. Tuyen herself was also… puzzled like that.

“When the crew invited me, I asked again: Why not choose a remix of existing revolutionary music - heroic enough, familiar enough?” - Tuyen said. The answer I received surprised Tuyen: “Because we need a young person to tell the story of history from the perspective of the young generation” - Tuyen said.

So “The Sun in the Dark” was born after 13 days of hard work. It is both gentle as a lullaby and tragic as the heart-rending voice echoing from the Cu Chi tunnels. When composing the soundtrack for the film “The Tunnels”, Tuyen had no intention of “making a revolution in music”. All the musical elements in “The Sun in the Dark” came naturally, from the emotional undercurrent of an artist and the intuition of a Vietnamese citizen born in peace.

Hua Kim Tuyen. Photo: NVCC

Blending in music

The song opens with the deep, quiet voice of Meritorious Artist Cao Minh - like a veteran soldier suppressing his pain. In the middle is the continuation of Lamoon (Nguyen Le Diem Hang) - a young artist, from Tam Ky, singing the colors of Southern folk songs. Finally, there is the choir, blending together like the heart of a whole generation of nameless, ageless youth, but who have written immortal pages of history in the heart of the earth.

“There is no artistic or strategic intention here. I just try to make it... easy for the listener to hear, easy to reach, and linger in the listener's mind,” Tuyen said.

The charm of Tuyen - a young person making modern music - lies there. She does not force herself to create solemn epics, does not cram in symbols, but somehow, can make listeners shed tears of emotion.

“I was born in 1995, in fact, there are still gaps between my generation and the glorious history of the nation. I did not live those days directly, but I can understand and feel it in my own way - by learning for myself, with gratitude and appreciation. My music does not seek to recreate history, but is like a bridge between today's generation and the past of our ancestors…” - Tuyen honestly said.

Perhaps thanks to that complete “not belonging”, Tuyen has an independent, fresh perspective. He does not confine himself to old motifs. He does not repeat familiar ways of telling stories. But it is still deep enough, real enough, moving enough.

A viewer named Ruby Lam commented on YouTube: “The moment we left the theater, the music played in the background. Looking up at the peaceful sky after 50 years of unification. This is the real ending. We are living and continuing the most beautiful part that they left unfinished.”

“The music still echoes, the gun still carries…”

When asked if there was any historical story that haunted him during his research and writing, he shook his head: “I have read about history for a long time, so I am quite mentally stable. But there are many touching stories.”

One of the most memorable conversations was with director Bui Thac Chuyen, who told Tuyen about the Cu Chi guerrillas of the past. They were mostly young volunteers with no combat experience. Their strongest weapons were youth and patriotism.

“I thought about them, thought about how some people sacrificed themselves when they were only eighteen or twenty. So I wrote the song as a stick of incense to express my gratitude.” The song’s title - “The Sun in the Dark” - came to Tuyen very naturally. It came like a quiet flash of light in his thoughts. And he simply accepted it.

“Sun in the Dark” is more than a soundtrack. It is a memorial. It is a young man’s way of bowing to history and moving on – in his own way.

Just like Quang Nam - a land that has gone before and after, suffered many losses - but always knows how to stand up with its own melody. And who knows, one day not far away, the opportunity to compose a song dedicated to Quang Nam will come to young musicians like Tuyen. Natural and profound - like the sun in the darkness.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/tu-mat-troi-trong-bong-toi-3153995.html