According to historical documents, Kinh Chau village had three earliest settled families, including Dang, Phan and Nguyen. Of these, Dang family appeared earliest, from the mid-16th century. That was the period when a large migration took place from the northern provinces, mainly Thanh-Nghe Tinh, following the edict of King Le Thanh Tong: "Bo Chinh has a large land, few people... Whoever goes there to reclaim the land will gain great benefits". Among the people migrating to the South were Mr. Dang Huu Nhan and his son Dang Huu Tang from Ky Anh district, Ha Tinh . Coming to a good land, protected by mountains and embraced by rivers, the father and son of Dang stopped to settle down and considered it their homeland. The first name for this land was Binh Minh Trang. During the reign of King Minh Mang, the village was changed to Kinh Chau until today.

Wherever people go, culture spreads. According to researchers of folk culture and art, singing in Kinh Chau is closely linked to the formation and development of this land. Historical records show that when the ancestor of the Dang family migrated from Ha Tinh to reclaim land and establish a new homeland, he brought with him the unique indigenous singing. The folk art form of singing in Kinh Chau was first recorded to appear at this time and Kinh Chau was also the final destination on the journey of spreading and adapting the folk art form of singing in the South.

Mr. Dang Tuan Anh (first on the right) participates in preserving and conserving the ancient capital of his hometown - Photo: TTH

Since the appearance of the opera in Kinh Chau, it has been nearly 500 years. In each historical period, due to many objective reasons, opera has flourished and declined. Although it still lives quietly in the souls of the people here, there were times when it was almost forgotten. Because it is a form of folk performance with its own artistic space, it requires the performers to be talented and sophisticated. The singer must understand and feel the beauty of each sentence and each word in the lyrics, and there must be a smooth coordination between the lyrics and the music . The instruments for opera are simple, but the players must know how to master the performance to support the singer's singing. On the other hand, due to many objective reasons such as difficult living conditions, the introduction of many modern cultural and artistic forms that attract the younger generation, so although the villagers are passionate about it, not many people pursue it.

Mr. Dang Phan and Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hung in Kinh Chau village are a couple who met through singing. Mr. Dang Phan used to work in the Propaganda and Education sectors of Quang Binh province (old). During his lifetime, he was both a talented lyricist and a skilled drummer. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hung was born into a family with a cultural tradition. Her father, who was good at playing the zither, chess, poetry and painting, taught her to sing at the age of 12. She was a famous singer in the region since her youth. Without the need for a stage, makeup or elaborate costumes, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hung sang with her soul and heart, with a passionate love for her homeland and a burning passion. When she sang, one could see the shimmering presence of her homeland, the soul and character of a land, and the warmth and affection of humanity.

Grateful for their ancestors and appreciating the unique artistic values ​​of the traditional singing, the two elders have devoted all their passion, enthusiasm and effort to preserving and conserving the cultural heritage of their homeland. Not only enthusiastically participating in performances, the two elders also devoted themselves to teaching their younger generations and children. Mrs. Dang Thi Phong, Nguyen Thi Nga, Nguyen Thi Thuy, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong, Dang Thi Hong, Dang Thi Thanh, Dang Kim Hue... are the next generation of singers with beautiful voices. Every time there is a village festival, when spring comes, Tet comes or death anniversaries, the sound of the drum, the sound of the stone instrument, and the singing resounds loudly in the communal house yard and in the family temples. It is a unique cultural and artistic space in the midst of today's modern information technology life.

With their important contributions to the preservation and conservation of the folk art of singing and playing, in 2014, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hung and her sister Nguyen Thi Hoi were posthumously awarded the title of “Folk Artist”. This title not only recognizes their role but also affirms that the singing and playing of Kinh Chau village will not be forgotten.

Mr. Dang Thai Son, the second son of Mr. Dang Phan and his wife, said that in the process of exchange and adaptation, the opera in Kinh Chau has created its own unique features, both preserving the identity of the ancient opera and bearing the mark of the new land and life. However, after the two elders passed away, the opera in Kinh Chau was at risk of being lost. In order to continue to preserve and conserve the cultural capital of their homeland, Mr. Dang Thai Son and his brother Dang Xuan Hue stood up to campaign for the establishment of the Opera Club and called for the establishment of a fund to preserve the opera in Kinh Chau. Currently, this cultural fund has received 300 million VND from the children of the homeland.

Although knowing that in the era of information technology explosion, the existence of ancient cultural and artistic forms is a great difficulty, Mr. Son's family has actively encouraged their children and grandchildren to participate in preserving the precious heritage left by their ancestors, considering it a traditional cultural feature of the family. Inheriting artistic qualities from his parents, Mr. Dang Thai Son is very fond of this folk art form. He encouraged his son, Dang Tuan Anh, a master of information technology, to spend time learning and playing the Dan Day. Currently, Tuan Anh is one of the main players in the performances of Hat Nha Tro, from village festivals to folk art performances in the province.

A great success is that Mr. Dang Thai Son personally collected, edited, translated ancient songs, compiled into a document of 14 Kinh Chau folk singing melodies. At the same time, he organized the recording and storage of the singing of the elderly female singers. This is a valuable source of documents to preserve and maintain the folk singing art with its own identity of Kinh Chau homeland.

Source: https://www.vietnam.vn/