Love song: Quan ho artists perform at a village festival in the northern province of Bac Ninh. The art has just been recognised as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet

The traditional love duet singing of northern province of Bac Ninh has been officially recognised as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, while ca tru (chamber music) has been listed as a cultural heritage in need of urgent protection by the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

The decision was announced on Wednesday at the fourth session of UNESCO inter-governmental committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage in Abu Dhabi.

According to Le Thi Minh Ly, deputy head of the Culture, Sports and Tourism culture ministry’s Culture Heritage Department, who is attending the meeting, the committee approved only 76 applications for cultural heritage recognition from among 111 submitted files. The other 35 files had been refused for not meeting the necessary criteria.

Ly said that quan ho Bac Ninh is highly appreciated by UNESCO experts because of its unique combination of cultural values, social customs, the art of performance, singing techniques, lyrics and performing costumes.

The application met all the criteria necessary to be recognised as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Firstly, quan ho has always been performed as part of local community social and cultural events.

Secondly, it has been preserved and handed down through generations in the two northern provinces of Bac Ninh and Bac Giang. It has become the part of those localities’ identity and representative of the whole northern region cultural identity. The recognition of quan ho will enhance the social role of the art and contribute to a more diverse image of Vietnamese culture to the world.

Thirdly, a high level of commitment from both authorities and local communities in the measures taken to preserve the cultural tradition displayed the feasibility of the cultural tradition’s preservation.

Lastly, the application clearly highlighted the voluntary participation of local people in Bac Ninh and Bac Giang in defining the art, evaluating its value and developing protective measures.

Quan ho singing is characterised both by its antiphonal nature, with alternating groups of female and male singers issuing musical challenges and responses.

Most of the songs in the repertoire deal with topics of love and sentimentality as experienced by young adults.

The quan ho style originated in what is now Bac Ninh Province and was first recorded in the 13th century, and has traditionally been associated with the spring festivals that follow the celebration of Tet (Lunar New Year Festival).

At the same event, ca tru, also known as hat a dao or hat noi (chamber music) which dates back to the 15th century, has also been listed among 12 intangible global cultural heritage traditions in danger of disappearing.

Ca tru, like many old and highly developed arts, has many forms. However, the most widely known and widely performed type of ca tru involves only three performers: the female vocalist, a lute player and a spectator (who also takes part in the performance).

The female singer provides the vocals whilst playing her phach (small wooden sticks beaten on a small bamboo box to serve as percussion). She is accompanied by a man who plays the dan day, a long-necked, three-string lute used almost exclusively for the ca tru genre.

Last is the spectator (often a scholar or connoisseur of the art) who strikes a trong chau (praise drum) in praise (or disapproval) of the singer’s performance, usually with every passage of the song. The way in which he strikes the drum provides commentary on the performance, but he always does it according to the beat provided by the vocalists’ phach percussion.

Nha nhac (Hue Royal Court Music) and the space of Gong culture in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam were recognised as the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2003 and 2005, respectively.

(Vietnam News)