Vietnam Travel > Travel Special Features > Hanoi - The Ancient Capital > Hanoi - Songs of a Thousand Years

Hanoi - Songs of a Thousand Years

1 2

More than songs, Cheo is theater. Sentiment is very important: a praise-worthy performance will include characters who express the seven basic moods: hi (happiness), no (anger), ai (sadness), ai (love), o (joy), lac (optimism) and duc (aspiration). The singing will never be sad or happy for too long, in order to allow for variation in the mood and complexity in narrative.

Originally developed in the 11th century, Cheo performance was a time for villagers to gather to celebrate the beginning of the rice planting cycle and the success of a harvest. Cheo was also about recalling popular legends and heroic figures, or commemorating and important event in the life of a powerful family. Additionally, Cheo was a venue for social commentary. A performance could include clownish characters who not only provided comic relief, but who also made fun of current events, thus slyly criticizing the ruling regime.

After the lighter mood of Cheo and the clacking rhythms of Ca Tru, you'll be treated to the trance singing and dancing of Chau Van. The beginning of the performance is slow and dignified, followed by a more festive air created by the layering of voices and instruments working up to a climax in the tempo. Dating back to the 16th century, Chau Van is a ceremonial activity that originally developed as a way for an ill person to beseech the blessings of deities (than). This form of Chau Van is also known as Hau Dong or Hau Bong. A master of the ceremony (Cung Van) will invite the deities to come to the altar that has been set up. If the deities come, they will enter the sick person's body, leaving behind spiritual renewal. The master of ceremony and the orchestra are there to encourage the deities to enter the person's body with shouts of praise and music suited for the different styles of dancing.

Another form of Chau Van is Len Dong. Like Hau Dong, it is a religious form that honors deities and deified heroes. But its purpose is different - the incantations are used to invite deities to bless the living with good fortune or bring black the dead to visit with their loved ones. The medium will dance trance-like and change clothes depending on the personality of the spirit within.

Of the three genres you'll hear, Chau Van relies more on instrumentation than singing to mark shifts in the performance and signal the different moods. The orchestra backbone is the Dan Nguyet or moon-shaped lute. The Phach (wooden board with two wooden sticks) is used to mark time. These are also the Xeng (clappers), Trong Chau (drum), Chieng (gong), Dan Tranh (16-stringed zither), Sao (flute), and Dan Bat Am (eight-sound lute).

Whether you'll new to Ca Tru, Cheo and Chau Van or you're a connoisseur, this intimate music club will beckon you back for more. The country's most famous musicians mesmerize and awe with the songs of a thousand years.

Am Nhac Sac Viet, 75 Hang Bo, Hanoi. Performance begins at 8 PM on Friday, Saturdays and Sundays.

< Back

1 2