VietNamNet Bridge – For the first time after the country’s reunification (1975), some more songs in the song collection entitled “Da Vang” (Yellow Skin) by the late songwriter Trinh Cong Son will be performed again in Vietnam.

 

 

Composer Trinh Cong Son.

On March 15 the Performing Arts Agency granted a licence for the circulation of eight songs by the late musician Trinh Cong Son, including: Canh Dong Hoa Binh (Field of Peace), Nguoi Me O Ly (O Ly Mother), Nuoc Mat Cho Que Huong (Tears for Home), Doi Mat Nao Mo Ra (Which Eyes Open), Dung Lai Nguoi – Dung Lai Nha (Rebuild Ourselves – Rebuild Our Homes), Ta Thay Gi Dem Nay (What We See Tonight) and Cho Nhin Que Huong Sang Choi (Wait to See Our Bright Hometown).

Some of the eight songs will be performed in the concert "Remember Trinh Cong Son" at the outdoor stage in Phu My Hung urban area in Ho Chi Minh City at 16h on March 31.

The Da Vang song collection has made a name for Trinh Cong Son in the Vietnamese music history in the 20th century, as well as in the hearts of millions of people who love peace in Vietnam and the world. These are songs about the homeland, the human condition in war, anti-war voices and the powerful exhortation to peace.

This is good news for millions of people who love the music by Trinh Cong Son when these songs are licensed in Vietnam. "These are the songs that are associated with the youth, with the enthusiasm of my brother, are the words that millions of people who love peace and love the homeland wish to say, and are the sufferings of a generation," said singer Trinh Vinh Trinh, Trinh Cong Son’s younger sister.

Ms. Le Nhu Thoa, representing the organizing board of the upcoming Trinh Cong Son concert, said that many famous singers and songwriter of Vietnam like My Linh, Hong Nhung Thanh Lam, Duc Tuan, Ngoc Mai, MTV and saxophonist Tran Manh Tuan have agreed to participate in the show.

"The organizers are confident that these songs will bring about new emotion for young people to enjoy and contemplate the lyrics and the melodies that have become the country's heritage," said Thoa.

Like every year, in order to maintain the public nature of the concert to commemorate the late composer, the show will be open for free.

In related news, the Performing Arts Agency has called all provincial Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism, individuals and organizations in Vietnam for collecting the songs composed before 1975 and the songs by Vietnamese overseas composers for reviewing and licensing for circulation in Vietnam. The move has been warmly welcomed by recording firms, music producers, singers and musicians.

Trinh Cong Son (February 28, 1939 – April 1, 2001) was a Vietnamese composer, musician, painter and songwriter. He, along with Pham Duy and Van Cao, is widely considered one of the three most salient figures of modern Vietnamese music.  

Trinh Cong Son wrote over 500 songs, and, during the 1960s and 1970s, Joan Baez dubbed him the “Bob Dylan of Vietnam” for his moving antiwar songs. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered at his funeral in HCM City, for a spontaneous ad hoc funeral concert, making such a spectacle the largest in Vietnamese history. His music remains very popular among both old and young Vietnamese.

T. Van