VietNamNet Bridge – Film director Luong Dinh Dung has just released a DVD of a documentary featuring late well-known folk singer Ha Thi Cau.

Simple life: Director Luong Dinh Dung (left) and artist Ha Thi Cau in a scene in the documentary Xam Do. Photo tin247.com

The 68-minute documentary titled “Xam Do” was made four years ago; however, it has just hit the stores.

The documentary has no voice over and features Cau, then considered the oldest living singer of xam art, which was generally performed by blind artists who roamed to different places to earn their living by singing.

Xam artists often play traditional instruments, such as dan bau (monochord instrument) or dan nhi (two-string instrument accompanying the songs). Sometimes bands are formed with one singer and others who play traditional instruments.

Explaining the title "Xam Do" (Red Xam), Dung said when he thinks about then xam art, the colour red immediately comes to his mind. Each lyric and melody stirs up feelings inside the audience.

Dung said he didn’t want to do a voice over for the documentary as he wanted the audience to feel they were directly communicating with the main character.

The team producing the film visited Cau’s home in Ninh Binh Province many times. They filmed her while talking, singing and doing her daily chores.

Dung said he has another 1,200 minutes of film on the artist and will provide the footage to anyone interested in obtaining material on the art of xam.

Dung said he would give half of the proceeds from DVD sales to the artist’s children. The rest was to be donated to other living xam artists who are in need.

“The sum may not be large, but it shows my love for the art,” he said.

Artist Ha Thi Cau (1928-2013) was from the northern province of Nam Dinh. She was born into a family with three generations of xam singers. Her father was blind and earned a living by singing. At the age of 8, she accompanied her parents to earn money by performing the art.

When she was 11, her father died and she moved to the northern province of Ninh Binh with her mother.

She learned from noted local xam singer Chanh Truong Mau, who at that time managed six groups of singing in the province. At 16, she got married to Mau and had seven children.

Cau led a simple life and earned her living mostly through her art. She retired at the age of 80.

Her songs and folk melodies have been recorded as part of the heritage of folk art. She has received the title Folk Artist by the Folk Art Association and the Meritorious Artist award by the State.

The folk singer died at the age of 85 in 2013.

VNS