HCM CITY — A workshop featuring hò and lý, two folk singing genres originating in the southern region, will open next week in HCM City.

The event, Hò-Lý Phương Nam (Folk Singing of the South), will include performances by veteran artists, including singer Tánh Linh and band Sáu Hưng.

It will feature talks by cultural researcher Dr. Nguyễn Thị Mỹ Liêm, who has years of experience in the art and has written books and documentaries on traditional culture, lifestyle and arts of the South.

The workshop is part of Diễn Xướng Nam Bộ (Folk Singing Genres of the Southern Region), a project to preserve diễn xướng (folk singing and talking) of the South by the Soul Music and Performing Arts Academy’s Soul Live Project.

The Soul Live Project is a long-term cultural programme that aims to preserve and expand Vietnamese traditional music and theatre.   

The project includes a series of performances, talk shows and seminars featuring the history of diễn xướng, including folk songs, dances and plays of various styles created and performed by southern farmers in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.  

It has received support from dozens of cultural researchers, music and theatre critics, and veteran performers of the region.        

The project’s first workshop in April was welcomed warmly by audiences, many of them students at cultural and art school.   

The second workshop Hò-Lý Phương Nam will begin at 7pm on August 4 at the Soul Live Complex at 216 Pasteur Street in District 3. — VNS