Vietnamese folk music concert Đờn ca tài tử

About the concert  

Kunstnerisk Virksomhet DAO SK has the pleasure of introducing the Vietnamese folk music Đờn ca tài tử to the audience in Oslo. The concert is part of the MIDI project (Minority- Identity-Diversity-Integration). Since 2013, Đờn ca tài tử has been on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage. ĐỜN CA TÀI TỬ NAM BỘ has been on the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, UNESCO since 2013. The concert ĐỜN CA TÀI TỬ NAM BỘ is organised in light of the Ancestral Anniversary festival of the Hùng King in Vietnamese culture, one of the largest ceremonies annually celebrated at the 10th day of the third lunar month. The concert is not only for a homesick Vietnamese audience but is also intended as a contribution to preserving their original culture, introducing it to younger generations and new audiences.

About Đờn ca tài tử 

As musical art with both scholarly and folk roots. Đờn ca tài tử is an indispensable part of the spiritual activity and cultural heritage of the people of southern Viet Nam. The music and songs evoke the people's life and work on the land and rivers of the Mekong Delta region. Performed at numerous events such as festivals, death anniversary rituals and celebrations, Đờn ca tài tử is thus intimately connected with other cultural practices and customs, oral traditions, and handicrafts. The performers express their feelings by improvising, ornamenting and varying the skeletal melody; and main rhythmic patterns of these pieces. Đờn ca tài tử is played on a variety of instruments, including the moon-shaped lute, two-string fiddle, sixteen-stringed zither, pear- shaped lute, percussion, monochord, and bamboo flute. Its repertoire is based on twenty principal songs and seventy-two classical songs. The musical art is passed on through oral transmission, based on imitation. Musicians need to study for at least three years to learn basic instrumental techniques and  master the musical moods and emotions. Vocal students study the traditional songs and learn to improvise subtly, using different ornamentation techniques.