牛牛资源

After decades of neglect and suppression, why is an ancient genre of female-led Vietnamese sung poetry – once tainted by its associations with illicit sex and drugs – only now making a comeback?

牛牛资源 ethnomusicologist Dr Barley Norton explains all in a new multimedia report, bringing together history, video, audio and lyrics, for the Smithsonian Institution鈥檚 .

In the first half of the twentieth century, the refined tradition of Vietnamese sung poetry known as ca tr霉 was a popular form of entertainment in 鈥榮inging bars鈥�.

At the end of the Franco-Vietnamese war in 1954, however, the communist government led by President H峄� Ch铆 Minh closed the singing bars due to negative associations with drugs, prostitution and gambling, and for several decades ca tr霉 singing was largely silenced.

Writing for the , Dr Norton explains how the ca tr霉 tradition 鈥� which was once at risk of being lost forever 鈥� has recently begun to re-emerge.

鈥淩evival initiatives supported by state-run organizations like the Vietnam Musicology Institute and international agencies like UNESCO and the Ford Foundation have increased prestige and participation,鈥� explains Dr Norton.

"The Vietnamese state has established a network of ca tr霉 clubs across the country and organized large national festivals."

Sustaining tradition without stifling innovation

There are concerns, however, that musicians鈥� skills and audiences鈥� historical knowledge are not sufficiently developed to sustain a lively ca tr霉 music scene and that the preservation of ca tr霉 as a symbol of national cultural heritage is threatening musical creativity.

鈥淭he challenge for the international and national agencies that have shaped the revival process is to find imaginative ways of facilitating the stewardship of ca tr霉 traditions without stifling innovation and change,鈥� Dr Norton adds.

Dr Barley Norton is an ethnomusicologist and filmmaker with research interests in the music and culture of Southeast Asia.

He is the director of 牛牛资源鈥� Asian Music Unit and the convenor of the MA in Music (Ethnomusicology), a programme that engages with musical practices across cultures.

Visit the website to find out more about Vietnamese ca tr霉.

 

Photo 漏 Barley Norton - The Ca Tr霉 Th谩i H脿 Ensemble, 2009