Impressive performance "Tien Quan Ca" in the concert celebrating the 100th anniversary of musician Van Cao's birth. Photo: Organizing Committee

Impressive choral performance

In the art program "Vietnamese Birds" celebrating the 100th birthday of musician Van Cao, one of the most memorable impressions on the public was the performance of "Tien Quan Ca" - the National Anthem of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam with a large number of participating artists.

It is not difficult to find emotional and proud exclamations when talking about the program. "So touching and proud". "The last three performances were emotional and very special". "The orchestra played very well and impressively". "The open stage was wonderful, the staging was extremely elaborate". "Van Cao's music gives me goosebumps"... Those are the feelings of the viewers who witnessed the special performance.

General Director Pham Hoang Nam shared: “Perhaps this is the program I have encountered the most difficulties since entering the directing profession, because no one has ever done this kind of organization before. No one has ever organized a program where the stage inside and outside the Opera House, and television also had to make two cars of the same color. Sound, lighting, and engineering have never organized two programs at the same time because there would be too many incidents and unexpected situations.”

“With the scale of those two performances, we had to rely on the contribution of 200 soldiers. The total number of participants in the program was approximately 1,000 people, including 450 people from the public outside the Theater, and more than 100 people from the orchestra and choir inside the Theater. Among the 450 people outside were soldiers, dancers, veterans and many other people. These were truly large-scale community scenes. Everyone felt very happy and honored to be able to contribute a small part to the implementation of these two performances,” shared General Director Pham Hoang Nam.

Impressive performance of “Tien Quan Ca” in the concert celebrating the 100th anniversary of musician Van Cao’s birth. Photo: Organizing Committee

"Marching Song" in a new way

This is not the first time the song "Tien Quan Ca" has reached the public in a new way, different from the traditional concept. After the National Assembly amended the Intellectual Property Law in the direction that "no individual or organization is allowed to prevent or hinder the dissemination and use of the National Flag, National Emblem, and National Anthem", some singers - with love, pride, and appreciation for the song - have released new arrangements of the song "Tien Quan Ca".

On the occasion of the Liberation of the Capital, October 10, 2021, singer Tung Duong released a solo version of "Tien Quan Ca". This recording was commented as "generous, cheerful and intense in Tung Duong's style", and for the first time there was a version of the National Anthem performed in a solo style (previously other recordings were mostly in the form of choir or group singing).

Previously, in May 2016, singer My Linh also had the opportunity to perform the "Vietnam National Anthem" during the visit of US President Barack Obama to Vietnam. During the performance, My Linh wore a traditional Vietnamese ao dai and performed the song in a chamber music style without accompaniment.

Although some people complained about My Linh's singing style, those in the profession highly appreciated her creativity. Musician Tri Minh said: "I found that My Linh's performance really touched on the feelings about homeland, country and national pride. To accurately evaluate the performance of a work, listeners and viewers must feel the space and environment in which the artist performed. Each note and piece of music that the artist presented were their best and most wonderful things. Therefore, I found My Linh's performance very successful because it was her most natural and sincere emotion at that time."

Just like every Vietnamese person has a sacred and proud feeling when placing their hand on their left chest and singing: "The Vietnamese army marches/ Together to save the country. Footsteps echo on the bumpy, distant road", no matter how new the versions of the National Anthem are, they must maintain the spirit of the original, which is the spirit of generosity and intense exuberance.

As someone who has delved into the vast archive of Van Cao’s music, paintings and poems, distilling the most quintessential things to bring into the program “Vietnamese Birds”, director Pham Hoang Nam shared as if pouring out his heart: “That genius and humble man, until the end of his life, never said that his songs should be sung this way or that way to be correct. He only wished that his music would be loved, accepted and sung by life in any way”.

“Today, his songs resonate in every Vietnamese person in their own way, without any common standards. But they will all be in his own dream, also expressing the message and symbol of Vietnamese national harmony and unity into strength, from now on people know how to love each other.”

Laodong.vn