Past and Present” is an outdoor show that will be held from 3-7pm at the Kongens
Nytorv Square in Copenhagen, organised by the Vietnam-Denmark Cultural
Development and Exchange Foundation and the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry. The
show was developed based on Vietnamese folk music like Cheo (traditional
operetta), Xam (beggar’s songs), Quan ho (Love duet) and Cai luong (southern
folk opera) and performed in World Music style.
Vietnamese
folk music will be mixed with modern music to create a special kind of art.
is a meeting between Vietnamese folk songs and modern western music, between
traditional and electronic musical instruments to meet the strict requirements
of European audiences. Through the show, European audiences will learn about a
traditional, renovated and integrated
the show’s art director.
The key of
“
Past and Present” will be Quoc Trung’s “Duong Xa Van Dam” (The road of a
thousand miles). Duong xa van dam is a musical interpretation of the tale of
Thieu phu Nam Xuong (Young married woman in Nam Xuong) inked by Nguyen Du six
centuries ago.
The
programme is broken into 11 extracts, performed in a variety of styles, from
hat xam (songs of strolling blind musicians) to cheo (traditional operetta),
quan ho (Bac Ninh love duets),
singing and modern music. Duong xa van dam hit the stage for the first time in
February 2004.
Based on a
scene first set by poet Phan Huyen Thu, composer Quoc Trung retells Thieu phu
Nam Xuong through music that combines both Eastern and Western styles. Quoc
Trung brings both traditional and modern musical instruments to the stage, such
as a 16-stringed instrument, two-chord fiddle, monochord, bamboo flute, wooden
bell, and electronic percussion.
The show
will also see performances by a famous break-dance troupe in
Military Cultural and
