Singers perform quan họ, recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009. Photo VNA/VNS

HÀ NỘI —  A rich offering of UNESCO recognised local love duets is on the horizon. The Quan họ Heritage Villages Festival takes place in Bắc Ninh City from November 16 to 18, bringing together 49 villages across 11 communes and wards to preserve and promote the region’s folk culture.

Quan họ (love duet) is an art form that combines various elements, including music, lyrics and costumes, and features the distinctive culture of people in the region formerly called Kinh Bắc.

Quan họ was recognised by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2009. 

The songs are performed as alternating verses between two women from one village who sing in harmony and two men from another village who respond with similar melodies, but with different lyrics. 

Each participating village will form an art troupe of at least 25 members, comprising artisans and members of quan họ folk song clubs who live, study or work in the locality.

Each troupe will have up to 20 minutes to perform three pieces: a solo, a duet, and a group performance. 

The duet must follow the traditional quan họ singing style, featuring an exchange between a liền anh (male singer) and a liền chị (female singer), without instrumental accompaniment.

The performances will showcase traditional Bắc Ninh quan họ melodies with old lyrics, as well as the spirit, philosophy, local identity of the communities in this region, and help forge social bonds within and between villages that share this cherished culture. 

Organisers have also asked the troupes to limit theatrical staging and modernisation that could affect the heritage’s authenticity.

According to the Bắc Ninh Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, this is the first edition of the festival, which aims to raise awareness and strengthen the responsibility of authorities, sectors and local communities in preserving traditional quan họ.

It also provides an opportunity for artisans, liền anh and liền chị singers, clubs and quan họ practitioners to meet, exchange experience and nurture new practitioners, helping keep the heritage alive in contemporary life.

The three-day festival is scheduled to take place at the Main Hall of the Bắc Ninh City Cultural and Exhibition Centre on Nguyễn Thị Định Street, in the southern urban area of Bắc Ninh Ward. — VNS