“Returning to Kinh Bac” with Ngo Hong Quang and the traditional music group Thien Thanh

This information was announced at the press conference to launch the performance program "Ve Kinh Bac" organized by artist Ngo Hong Quang and crew on the afternoon of April 16, in Hanoi .

Artist and musician Ngo Hong Quang has left a deep impression on the journey of creating and promoting traditional Vietnamese music to the world over the years. After the vinyl album “Rang Dong” blending the music of Vietnam’s ethnic minorities with contemporary music, which was released at the end of March, musician Ngo Hong Quang has launched the project “Ve Kinh Bac”.

Artist Ngo Hong Quang said that the music project "Ve Kinh Bac" was carried out with the desire to spread the tones of Quan Ho pentatonic scales and other folk music genres of the Northern Delta in a modern direction.

In the upcoming performance, folk materials will be transformed not only in terms of harmony, but also exploiting different rhythmic genres, creating a fresh, youthful, and diverse musical space, suitable for contemporary musical aesthetics.

The music live show “Ve Kinh Bac” will perform 12 musical works including: “Trây hội” (drum ensemble), “Cay truc xinh” (ensemble), “Con duyen” (ensemble and singing), “Lung lieng” (ensemble), “Quyết chí tu thân” (xam singing), “Xe chi thong kim” (ensemble), “Tinh me” (van singing), “Ngoi yen man thuyen” (ensemble and singing), “Muc ha vo nhan” (xam singing), “Bèo drifting may troi” (ensemble with cello), “Thương xuân” (ensemble), “Trong com” (singing and ensemble).

Thien Thanh Traditional Music Group and artist Bryan Charles Wilson perform. Photo: Thuy Du

Among them, there are 7 Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk songs, 2 Xam singing songs, 1 Van singing song and 2 new compositions by musician Ngo Hong Quang. These works were all re-arranged by Ngo Hong Quang in a new performance format, emphasizing the performance, rhythmic and improvisational ensemble of musical instruments, with the spirit of preserving the quintessence of traditional music of the Northern Delta.

“Ve Kinh Bac” will be performed by the Thien Thanh music group. This is a new music group consisting of 9 young members pursuing traditional musical instruments and music: Nguyen Mai Ngoc (36-string zither), Dam Thai Ha (pipa), Nguyen Dinh Duc (erhu), Trinh Nhat Minh (mono), Le Thanh Xuan (bamboo flute, flute), Pham Van Anh (moon lute, singing), Chu Thuy Anh (zither), Nguyen Minh Hieu (percussion), Nguyen Quoc Bao Khang (xam singing). This is a music group founded by musician and artist Ngo Hong Quang himself with the aim of preserving and enhancing the value of traditional Vietnamese music with the breath and language of contemporary music.

In addition to the Thien Thanh band, the program also features two guest artists: beatboxer - experimental voice artist Trung Bao and American cellist Bryan Charles Wilson. Artist Ngo Hong Quang believes that the two artists playing with the traditional band create a bridge between musical culture and excitement for listeners. The musical instruments blend to create a Vietnamese musical space full of locality, creativity and international exchange.

The program not only brings domestic and foreign audiences back to the memories of Vietnamese culture so that they love traditional music more, but also stimulates interest and exploration of contemporary cultural spaces in Vietnam.

After this program, artist Ngo Hong Quang and the Thien Thanh music group will continue to carry out projects combining folk music from regions of the country with contemporary music.

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