“Vu khuc Dong Duong” (The Indochinese dance), Vietnam’s oldest notated “don ca tai tu” (southern folk music), which will be featured at the International Traditional Music Seminar held in Shanghai, China from July 10 to 17, will help better promote the country’s traditional music to the world.

“Vu khuc Dong Duong” was notated by Julien Tiersot, a famed French ethnologist and musicologist, in 1900 when a Vietnamese “don ca tai tu” band performed at the Paris World Fair in France as a representative of Indochinese culture. At the fair, celebrated French artist Cléo de Mérode also danced with the piece in the background.

The piece was recently discovered by Nguyen Le Tuyen, a Vietnamese music researcher and lecturer at the Australian National University, at a French museum. Tuyen later sent it to local researchers.

On July 5, over 100 years after the piece was notated, it was performed once more by six seasoned local artists in Ho Chi Minh City.

“The piece was notated on Western notations, and while reproducing it, we realized it was infused with the Northern influence. We had never seen this piece before and weren’t sure how our predecessors had performed it. We thus encountered several difficulties, particularly in covering it in the original band’s improvisational style,” shared artist Hai Phuong.

“Vu khuc Dong Duong’ is indeed an intriguing and rare don ca tai tu piece, as very few items are used for dances. I think it could be the original artists’ impromptu performance,” said folk artist Ut Ty.

The piece, along with nine others, including signature “Da co hoai lang” (Missing husband at nightfall), will be performed at five 60-minute sessions during the Shanghai seminar.

Tuyen and Tran Quang Hai, the son of revered folk music researcher Tran Van Khe, will accompany the artists to the seminar to present on the piece as well as “don ca tai tu”.

“The event is a good opportunity to further promote Vietnam’s traditional music, especially “don ca tai tu”, which is of particular significance to the country’s bid to earn UNESCO recognition as a World Intangible Heritage,” noted Kim Anh, deputy head of the HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

“Don ca tai tu”, considered one of the country’s main chamber music genres, originated from the Hue court music and the southern region’s folk music and has been developed since the 19th century.

Despite its origin of royal music, “don ca tai tu” is entertaining and highly improvisational. The genre is simplified for laborers and farmers with lullabies and rustic songs, and is often performed on a small stage to entertain audiences after hard working hours or to celebrate bumper crops.

Musicians typically play string and percussion instruments. Apart from harmonizing with one another, they also accompany singers. Musicians and singers often reply to or challenge one another with music or songs, which appeals greatly to common audiences.

The genre thrived in the early 20th century and remains crucial in the country’s traditional cultural activities.