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By Root 1566 0

country and been promoted through competitions and state-sponsored ensembles on TV, radio and even in the lobbies of classier hotels. The new corpus of music and song arrangements has become an emblem of national pride and scientific improvement. Folk songs, melodies from the ethnic minorities, Mozart and Chinese tunes are all ripe fodder for the arranger’s pen. Much to the chagrin of the few remaining traditional musicians outside this system, this is now the predominant folk-based music generally heard in public. A visitor to the central highlands asked the local tribal musicians how they felt about their music being “improved”. At first they replied what an honour it was for their music to be considered by city people, but after the official interview they privately confessed their horror.

Music for new folk is entertaining and accessible, albeit risking tawdriness; at its best, though, it can be an astonishing display of a lively new art form. One family of six brothers (and one sister-in-law), led by Duc Loi, formed a percussion group in Ho Chi Minh City under the name Phu Dong, whose members spent time in the highlands learning the instruments of several minorities. Since 1981 they have played together and developed an infectious musical personality. Circular breathing and lightning-speed virtuosity are just some of the dazzling features of a performance, and their collection of instruments is like a zoo of mutant bamboo. Most striking, though, is their use of the lithophone (dan da), a replica of the original, 6000-year-old stone marimba. The effect of awakening this ancient voice, whatever changes in performance practice there may have been over the last six millennia, is shattering.

Music and theatre |

Vietnamese pop

There is no shortage of pop-star wannabes in Vietnam and the fine line between karaoke hacks on CD and major commercial pop releases can be tough to pinpoint. The vast majority of pop music would be filed under light pop-rock, but it is also referred to as “misery pop” or “yellow music”. Most composers in the country have tried their hand at writing a pop hit but only about three are acknowledged masters: Van Cao (who also wrote the national anthem), Pham Duy (now in his eighties and back in Vietnam, having spent many years writing pointed political songs from the safe distance of California) and Trinh Cong Son (whose life of wine, women and song ended in 2001). Joan Baez was not far off when she dubbed him “the Vietnamese Bob Dylan”: the tunes are catchy and the lyrics right-on. His first songs were written while in hiding from the military draft, and in 1969, when his album Lullaby sold over two million copies in Japan, Son’s works were banned by the South Vietnamese government, which considered the lyrics too demoralizing. Even the new government sent him to work as a peasant in the fields, but after 1979 he lived in Ho Chi Minh City, painting, writing apolitical-but-catchy love songs and celebrating Vietnam’s natural wonders, with over six hundred songs to his credit.

There are two main centres for Vietnamese pop-music production: Ho Chi Minh City and Southern California. Those in the country have the advantage of being close to the source of folk inspiration (arrangements of traditional Ca Tru and Chau Van songs are currently in vogue), and the young generation has taken singing lessons at the Conservatory (leading to a vast technical improvement of late). Singers of note include: Tran Thu Ha, My Linh, Phuong Thanh, Bang Kieu, Hong Nhung Lam Truong, Thanh Lam and Quang Dung. Albums are bootlegged under different titles so just keep an eye out for these names and you’ll be fine.

Meanwhile in Orange County, California, the scene is busy but somewhat stagnant. The stars of yesterday and today are: Khanh Ha, Don Ho, Lam Nhat Tien, Nhu Quynh, Y Lan, Khanh Ly and Tuan Ngoc. Look out, too, for Jimmi Nguyen, Trizzie Phuong Trinh and Thanh Ha, all of whom perform regularly in Vietnam. Some of these are the performing children of former superstars, so in many cases the entertainment genes have