Malaysia’s Broadway Academy Choir has re-arranged this classic tune, incorporating a contemporary choir. Interestingly, the arrangement retains the signature pentatonic rhythm and melody, but has been adapted to a Western classical music format, making it more accessible to an international audience.

Spirit of the Land

Meritorious Artist Dang Chau Anh - one of the judges at the 8th International Choir Festival recently held in Hoi An shared that the highlight of this year's competition is the dense presence of folk music performances, reflecting the efforts to preserve and promote the traditional cultural values ​​of the countries.

In particular, the Folklore genre has become a vibrant playground where choirs perform unique traditional melodies of their nation.

The Chorale senior du CEAO (Canada) won the Grand Prize with a performance combining folk music and modern choir, demonstrating creativity in renewing traditional melodies.

Novo Concertante Manila (Philippines) brought a choral and folk performance, demonstrating the interweaving of indigenous beliefs and cultures.

Malaysia with Broadway Academy Choir with the folk song “Mak Inang” with modern arrangement, bringing a new look to the traditional melody. Thailand with TSIS Young Choristers opened with works combining classical and folk music...

Ms. Chau Anh believes that “preservation by reproduction” is a popular term in Southeast Asia. This means that folk songs are increasingly becoming a material for composing all genres of contemporary music.

The conductor of the Novo Concertante Manila Choir, Arwin Q. Tan, said the seamless blend of Catholic hymns and indigenous folk melodies is a testament to how the Philippines preserves its folk music.

Through religious rituals, folk melodies are also introduced into theatrical performances as part of living heritage. Elements such as seasonal melodies, lullabies, and rural folk songs are delicately arranged in choral works – affirming that traditions can spread strongly when linked to faith and community.

Spirit of Inheritance

Mr. Johan Rooze, Artistic Director of Interkultur, shared that the biggest highlight in Hoi An this year is the cross-cultural spread of traditional music.

No longer a “local treasure”, folk melodies have stepped out of their native languages ​​to step onto the world stage, blending with polyphony and international performance techniques. This is the process of internationalizing traditional music without losing its roots - a great lesson for preserving intangible heritage in the global era.

This year, the Hoi An Children's Choir continued to leave an impression with the competition performance "The Open Sea and the Seine". Meritorious Artist Xuan De - the team's instructor shared that this work was staged based on the original "Ho giut chi" - a typical folk song genre of the South Central region, combined with folk melodies and modern musical elements such as Rap. This combination brought a fresh and attractive nuance to the audience.

Through each organization, choral music art is a little closer to people's lives. Not limited to the space of theaters and halls, academic music combines native melodies, and chooses open spaces to perform, creating unique artistic products.

To see, folk music needs to be revived in a vibrant artistic space to survive. It can be a stage, a school, a theater, or even cultural exchange competitions such as the Hoi An International Choir. Like a cultural gene, indigenous melodies - the folk songs that have existed for thousands, hundreds of years - will permeate the life of contemporary music.

It could be a “viral” composition like Bac Bling, a combination of many art forms to become a hit show like “Hoi An Memories”. Or it could also be choruses that resonate in different spaces, creating a borderless bridge, starting from the melody.