ARTIST: Huong Thanh
COUNTRY: Vietnam
GENRE: Traditional Music of Vietnam
MORE ABOUT:
HUONG THANH
Traditional Music of Vietnam
Huong Thanh – vocals
Hong Nguyen – sen luth, zither, drums/percussions, vocals
Daniel Nguyen – Moon Luth, vielle, monochord, vocals
Located in the far east Asia, at a crossroad of two great civilisations, Vietnam has inherited from the sounds’ richness of both India and China worlds.
The music is its spirit, the singing is its life. The songs are fully part of the everyday life: Vietnamese sing to express suffering, pain, and sorrow… Vietnamese sing for joy, happiness, hopes… Vietnamese sing in the pagoda to pray, in the temple to honour the protective spirits, in the rice fields to relieve the labour pain, at home to recall the ancestors, in the village house for musical loving jousts between young boy and girls… the Vietnamese language, being tonal, sounds even like music.
The band is composed by Vietnamese musicians who were born or spent their life far from their country. They express the attachment to their homeland through a personal rediscovery of the Vietnamese music respectful of the tradition. They offer, through the crystalline voice of Huong Thanh, an interpretation of this music bringing out the diversity of the regional flavours and style from the three main regions of Vietnam: from the heavenly North, to the nostalgic South crossing the imperial Centre.
Vietnamese instruments used by the musicians
Dan Tranh (Sixteen Stringed Zither)
Dan Tranh is a musical instrument of chordophonic family, plucking branch of the Viet ethnic group. Dan Tranh has 16 strings. The bridge of instrument or chevalet is put in the middle. It is used for hanging the strings and movable to tune the pitches. The strings are made of metal with different sizes. When playing, artist usually wears inger-nail plectrums on thumb, forefinger and middle finger to pluck. The finger-nail plectrum is made of different materials, such as metal, horn or tortoise-shell. Its timbre is bright and clear and it expresses jubilant and pure melodies. Dan Tranh is rarely suitable with strong and moving characteristics.
Dan Ty Ba
Dan Ty Ba is a plucking stringed instrument of Viet majority. Dan Ty Ba is a four stringed lute with a pear-shaped body. Some sources proved that Ty ba has long appeared in China under the name Pipa, and Japan under Biwa. Ty ba is made from wood of wootung tree. Its neck connects with a sound box forming a shape of cut-half pear. The undecorated surface is made from light and soft wood. A component namely bridge located at one end the body is for string hanging. The head of Ty ba is sophisticatedly carved with a longevity character, or bat figure at times.
Song Loan
Song loan is a musical instrument of the idiophonic family, striking branch of the Viet ethnic group. Being a small wooden temple block, it is made of hard wood with flat round-shape. When playing it, player beats the stick by his hand or foot to and the stick strikes the Song loan to make sounds. Its sound is sharp and fine. Song loan is used to keep the beat in orchestra of Tai tu music of the South, in orchestra of renovated opera (Cai luong) and in Hue singing.
Dan Nguyet (Moon-shaped lute)
Dan Nguyet is a musical instrument of chordophonic family of the Viet ethnic group. Nguyet is used to accompany Van singing, Hue singing, Tai tu singing, Bat am music, ceremonial music and traditional stage orchestra.
Dan T’rung
Dan T’rung is an instrument of Giarai minority that mainly lives in provinces of Gialai, Kontum, Daklak, and scattered in some other provinces in the Central Highland. T’rung is categorized into knocking branch of idiophonic family. It consists of strong bamboo tubes of various sizes, of which, each bamboo tube comprises two components namely air sub-tube and sympathetic slab. The air cylinder closely cooperates with sympathetic slab in providing tubes with standard pitches, and sonorous sounds.
Dan Bau (Monochord)
Having literary name as monochord, Dan Bau is a a single stringed instrument of Vietnamese origin. The string passes over an oblong body and is attached to a tuning screw at one end. The other end passes through a small «wooden tunnel» and is attached to a curved stalk.
Dan Nhi (Two-stringed fiddle)
Dan Nhi is an chordophonic instrument of bowing branch. Dan Nhi is a instrument with a small cylindrical body, sometimes covered at one end with snakeskin. The bow passes between two strings and the instrument has no frets. Strings are stopped directly with the fingers.
Senh Tien (Coin clappers)
Senh tien, or Phach xau tien is a musical instrument of the idiophonic family, striking and beating branch of the Viet ethnic group. Senh tien is a double castanets made of hard-wooden sticks. The first one is called double-wooden stick, the second is called simple-wooden stick. At one end of the longer bar is attached coins. The single wooden stick is about 25 cm in length. It has notches along the edges and on the surface.
BIOGRAPHY:
Born in Saigon, Vietnam, Huong Thanh comes from a family of renowned traditional musicians. Her father Huu Phuoc († 1997) was one of the most famous singers of Cai Luong, Renovated Vietnamese Theater, a kind of opera which mixes traditional singing, dance and theater. Cai Luong was created in 1916 by a group of southern music lovers, with the heritage of traditional theater styles from the north, Hat Boi and Hat Cheo, southern chamber music and the introduction of elements of French music. Cai Luong was very popular from the 30s on. Unfortunately, the young generation in Vietnam is losing interest now. Huong Lan, Huong Thanh’s sister, now established in USA, is also one of the most famous Vietnamese singers, in Cai Luong as well as in traditional and modern music.
In Vietnamese singing there’s a special and very strong relation between melody and words: there are six linguistic tones, and the same syllabe can have different meanings depending on the pronounced pitch. The poetry of the text has its internal melody, and the singer has to convey the emotions of both. Huong Thanh embodies the particularities of the Vietnamese traditional singing, full of detailed inflections, ornaments, finesse and diversity of expression and timbres.
At the age of 10 Huong Thanh began to learn Cai Luong and traditional singing in the family context – her parents house was always full of visiting singers and musicians, who also acted as her teachers. At 13 she perfected her skills in studying intensively in Saigon music and theater schools, and at 16 she performed on stage for the first time.
Since her move to Paris in 1977, she has taken part in several shows of Cai Luong theater with great traditional artists – including her father – in the Vietnamese community in Europe (France, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium). Each time Huong Thanh returned to Vietnam she has worked on several recordings which include the best musicians of the country.
In 1995 she met Nguyên Lê who brought her to the world of jazz, a music she had never performed before. The adventure of “Tales from Vietnam” began: the band has toured in the most important festivals of France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, England, and Switzerland. The CD has received a great welcoming from international critics: Diapason d’Or, Choc du Monde de la Musique, Choc of Year 1996 Jazzman (France), 2nd best CD 96 for Jazzthing (Germany), Best CD 96 on radio TRS 2 (CH), “a minor masterpiece” (Jazztimes, USA).
In 1996, in Banlieues Bleues festival, Paris, Huong Thanh was part of a complete show where traditional and contemporary Vietnamese dancers were integrated to the Tales from Vietnam orchestra. She performed as a singer, as usual, but also as a dancer (the traditional sword dance of Trung Trac Trung Nhi, two sisters heroines of Vietnam, training their troops for battle). The same year Huong Thanh was invited to sing for the celebration of the anniversary of the declaration of human rights at the UNESCO. In 1997 she recorded in Los Angeles, USA, with her sister Huong Lan. In 1998 she appeared on Maghreb & Friends, Nguyên Lê’s last CD, on “Louanges”, a song by Algerian musician Karim Ziad. After translating the words from Arabic to Vietnamese, she sings the replica to the North African singers.
After several months of work, she presented “Moon and Wind”, her first CD for ACT, produced, written and engineered by Nguyên Lê. A peaceful celebration of all the aspects of love: child love, with lullabies from different regions of Vietnam, parents love, love of the one who will share our life, love of the far away homeland.
In 2001 Huong Thanh followed up with her next ACT album “Dragonfly”, also produced in close cooperation with Nguyên Lê. As in the case of “Moon and Wind” she is accompanied by musicians from widely varied backgrounds as Paolo Fresu, Tino di Geraldo, Renaud Garcia-Fons, Etienne Mbappé, as well as Richard Bona, with whom she sings a duet.
In January 2004 she released “Mangustao”, a world music highlight with Nguyên Lê, Paul McCandless, Paolo Fresu, Dhafer Youssef, etc.
In 2007 she received the France Musique des Musiques du Monde award and recorded a new album produced by Nguyên Lê, “Fragile Beauty”.
SELECTED PRESS REVIEWS AND QUOTES:
“Simply brilliant” (Paul Fisher, Far Side Music)
“This woman has a voice that melts glaciers and make deserts bloom with roses. You get some of the best music being made in today’s shrinking world: absolutely rooted, modern as it gets. Killer Album!” (Ian Anderson, fRoots)
“Huong Thanh is one of the great female interpreters of traditional Vietnamese song, and an impressive composer” (Robin Denselow, The Guardian)
“Huong Thanh is a vocalist rooted in the glottal manipulations, high, trilling sounds and soft mid-range intonations of the region’s traditional techniques, and this is a project that imports her remarkable sound into a mix of contemporary global and indigenous contexts.” (John Fordham, The Guardian)
“Huong Thanh is a powerful singer with an ethereal voice that touches your heart and opens up the little known and extraordinarily beautiful world of Vietnamese music” (Lucy Duran, BBC Radio 3)
“Huong Thanh, dressed in traditional costume, has one of those beguiling, beautiful voices that floats around a melody, that only singers from east Asia seem able to do” (fRoots)
“Fragile Beauty simply is an album that captures the heart from the first note and leaves it hungering for more as the last one fades” (John Kelman, All About Jazz)
“For beginners of vietnamese music, Dragonfly and Mangustao are the best stepping-stones to become a true lover of vietnamese identity. They are full of great percussions and exotic joy when you need it, and some asiatic quietness and touching emotion when you need it too. Huong Thanh’s voice is absolutely incredible & the most vietnamese possible. Her friend Nguyên Lê is also there on every of her albums, that’s why they are often some jazzy sounds in her music. The album ‘Fragile Beauty’ succeed to marry true emotionality with traditional vietnamese music. ‘Moon And Wind’ album is probably the one I love the less, yet it’s still so wonderful music. I strongly advise the music of Huong Thanh, for all the lovers of asiatic music, and even for all lovers of world music, for the ones who love travelling by music, and why not for every people who declare being open-minded in music, you could be surprized to love this music which brings you between Sky and Earth.” (Easy-Muffin, Last.fm)
“Soaring above the spacious lanscape is the marvelous voice of Huong Thanh, as exquisite & subtle as bridsong. This is deeply spiritual, highly sensual & very intelligent music that communicates perfectly across the cultures.” (***** World CD of the week, Birmingham Post)
“The delicate, passionate, ethereal voice of Huong Thanh is accented by the interplay and the synthesis between diverse cultures. It’s a marvelously beautiful work.” (Global Beat Jazz, Roots, Rhythms)
SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY:
- “L’Arbre aux Rêves” (2011)
- “Fragile Beauty” (2007)
- “Mangustao” (2004)
- “Dragonfly” (2001)
- “Moon and Wind” (1999)
- “Maghreb & Friends” (1998)
- “Suo Em No Vôi Lây Chông” (1998)
- “Tales of Vietnam” (1996)
- “To Duyên” (1996)
- “Duyên Ta Nhu Mây” (1996)
- “Chuyên Phim Buôn” (1996)
- “Chuyên Ba Nguòi” (1995)
SELECTED VIDEOS:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4w0c3
SONGS:
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