MUSIC AND IDENTITY

Ngu tuyet ceremonial-music and entertainment instruments Vietnam (tradition of Hué) Canadian Museum of Civilization Video Excerpt

     

There are several categories of music in Vietnam. Over the past few years, the music of the Kinh or Viet, who represent the majority of the population, has experienced renewed popularity. It is associated with everyday activities, the various stages of life, rural and seasonal festivals, the intimacy of the home, and funerals.

In Hué, chamber music and songs sung by boatmen during boat rides on the Perfume River are very popular. Court orchestras and ballets frequently perform for tourists.

The current revival of traditional Vietnamese music has sprung from the initiative of several young masters, who have devoted themselves to this cause over the past few years. Musical genres that were disappearing have been given a new lease on life, and traditional music is slowly regaining the position it had lost as a result of wars and bans.

This set of instruments, used for ceremonial music and entertainment, consists of a pear-shaped lute with four strings, a zither with 16 strings, a moon-shaped lute, a three-stringed lute, a two-stringed fiddle and a clapper.