HCM CITY — A workshop featuring tài tử, a traditional music genre originating in the southern region, will open on Saturday in HCM City.

The event, Đờn Ca Tài Tử (Singing and Playing Tài Tử), will include talks and performances by artists of Sáu Hưng Tài Tử Troupe.

It will feature talks by cultural researcher Phan Khắc Huy, who has years of experience in traditional culture, lifestyle and arts of the South.

The workshop, organised by Thư Quán Cội Việt, a cultural centre in HCM City, aims to preserve and expand Vietnamese traditional music and theatre.   

Tài Tử is a prototype of vọng cổ (traditional tunes) and cải lương (reformed opera) of the southern region, where the musical forms originated 100 years ago.

The music is always performed at traditional festivals, weddings and death anniversaries in the Cửu Long (Mekong) River Delta provinces of Cần Thơ, Sóc Trăng, Cà Mau and Bạc Liêu.

It often centres around farmers who enjoy singing and playing musical instruments in the fields or while relaxing at the end of a hard day.  

Musicians play traditional instruments, including the đàn kìm (two-stringed guitar), đàn tranh (16-chord zither) and đàn nhị (two-chord fiddle), to accompany singers who convey different emotions to the audience.

The music has 20 old and unique songs featuring the themes of east, west, south and north. Each work includes four pieces depicting spring, summer, autumn and winter. Their themes include friendship, love and dreams, as well as the culture and history of the country.

One of the most popular tài tử songs is Dạ Cổ Hoài  Lang (Night Drumbeats for Absent Husband), written in 1919 by well-known composer Cao Văn Lầu, a native of Bạc Liêu Province.

The song tells of the love, anguish and pride of a young woman watching her husband leave to fight for the country.

In 2013, tài tử music was recognised as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

The workshop Đờn Ca Tài Tử will begin at 6pm on March 30 at Salon Saigon at 6D Ngô Thời Nhiệm Street in District 3.— VNS