Traditional Music and Dance in Ho Chi Minh City
After our morning excursion in Ho Chi Minh City, our afternoon adventure at the HCMC Museum of Fine Arts, getting lost in the city, and enjoying beer and fries at a local brewery, we finally returned to the Majestic Hotel Saigon for the Folkloric Show.
We hung out in the hotel lobby for a while, waiting for showtime. The hotel is a gorgeous piece of architecture, built by the same businessman who constructed the residences that now house the HCMC Museum of Fine Arts.
THE FOLKLORIC SHOW was a Regent-included excursion. Most folks took a bus into the city for the evening show, but a few cruisers had also spent the day in the city. (You could tell who we were—we all looked like we’d been walking for miles in the heat and humidity.) One of our younger cruisers shared that she and her grandparents had eaten at a wonderful restaurant where these carved “roses” were decoration on their food!
We watched an hour-long folkloric show featuring costumed dancers and musicians. Vietnamese fan dances are meant to be appreciated for their visual beauty. The fans mimic the movement of brightly colored flowers floating through the air. The accompanying music is performed on instruments such as zithers, fiddles, and lutes, which are deeply rooted in the culture.
Traditional Vietnamese court music, known as Nha Nhac, is so revered that UNESCO has recognized it as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.
A family of musicians from Ho Chi Minh City entertained our group by performing multiple traditional songs on various instruments, as well as an intriguing rendition of "Ghost Riders.” The younger members played drums and electric guitar, while their mother played the more unusual traditional instruments. The following instruments were showcased:
T'rung (Bamboo Xylophone): This instrument is closely associated with the spiritual life of ethnic groups in Vietnam's Central Highlands. It is most similar to Western-style xylophones, though it produces a wooden instrument sound.
Đàn Bầu : (Single String Zither): This is a Vietnamese single-stringed instrument, a monochord zither. It looks nearly impossible to play, but the musician played evocative music with lots of eerie sliding-scale tones.
K'lông Pút: This is a traditional bamboo xylophone. The sound is produced by clapping the ends of the tubes, not striking them. Members of the audience were invited to the stage to try it. No one could make even the barest whisper of a note, but the musician made it look easy!
The show took place on the fifth floor of the hotel in an open-air bar, offering a stunning view of the city illuminated at night. Although it was hard to see, crowds of people gathered along the river, enjoying the pre-celebrations for Vietnam’s 50th anniversary.
Tomorrow we dock at Cam Rahn Bay, Vietnam.
Seems like a beautiful musical way to enjoy your evening after a long day! Fun to learn about the instruments.