VietNamNet Bridge – Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces late last week received a UNESCO certificate that recognizes Vi-Giam folk music of the two north-central provinces as a world intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Artists perform Vi-Giam folk music on the river in Boi Son Commune, Do Luong District in the north-central province of Nghe An - Photo: TTXVN

What is special about this genre of folk music is its vitality. It was created hundreds of years ago but now it still exists. Nghe An and Ha Tinh people say they never stop singing Vi-Giam music, according to Vietnam News Agency.

Kim Lien Commune in Nam Dan District is where Vi-Giam folk music has evolved and where Vi Phuong Vai, a song of people in fabric making areas and one of the most famous Vi songs of Nghe An and Ha Tinh people, was produced.

Trinh Hung Minh, a culture official who has composed most songs for Vi-Giam clubs in Nam Dan District, said a house that is over one hundred years old in Kim Lien Commune is where around 30 members of Vi-Giam club of the commune usually meet.

In the old days, Vi Phuong Vai was usually sung by young people of Kim Lien Commune, he recalled. It is basically a conversation between young men and women in weaving villages. But what makes Vi Phuong Vai special is the lyrics of the song, which can make people more optimistic about life and more efficient at work, and can make many couples husbands and wives.

Today, the manual weaving villages no longer exist in Nam Dan but Vi-Giam singing has not fallen into oblivion.

At Kim Lien Secondary School, teacher Nguyen Thi Mai Lan still shows her ninth-grade students how to sing Vi-Giam songs. Most schools in Nam Dan run courses on Vi-Giam folk music. Therefore, the traditional music remains popular in the young generation.

Thanh Chuong District is famous for Vi Phuong Non song, whose lyrics are rustic yet poetic.

This district is also where Ngoc Son Vi-Giam Club is based. Established five years ago, the club with more than 40 members played a significant role in gaining UNESCO recognition of the folk music.

The busy lives in a modern city do not prevent Vinh people from taking part in preserving and developing Vi-Giam music, because the clubs for people to gather and sing the music are still operational. For example, the club in Vinh Tan Ward of the city comprises 40 members who are mostly State employees.

Artisan Hong Luu, deputy director of the Center for Conservation and Development of Folk Heritage of Nghe An, said organizing performances of Vi-Giam folk music is a very important step in the process of preserving and developing the music of Nghe An and Ha Tinh.

The two provinces have carried out many joint activities to protect and promote the values of Vi-Giam, including holding singing contests, arranging courses on the music in school, and publishing documents, books and CD-ROMs to promote for the music.

People in the two provinces have a strong love for Vi-Giam folk music. This is a strong belief that this folk music will continue existing in Nghe An and Ha Tinh in the years to come.

SGT