 |
| His love for nha nhac has never faded |
Living with nha nhac
At 3 p.m., in a small room that once belonged to Hue Cultural Museum on Le Loi Street, Tran Thao is sitting next to a young student, slowly tapping out a musical phrase as an example. The sounds soon spread all over the room, then settled, like an invisible thread pulling listeners back to the atmosphere of the royal court in the past.
“You mustn’t play it wrong. In nha nhac, every drumbeat is a ritual, signifying the discipline of the court. Don’t just play with your hands, but with your ears and your heart too,” he tells the boy. The student listens quietly, then lifts the drumsticks. His sounds seem a bit hesitant, but less awkward than before. And so, in the still afternoon, the dialogue between the teacher and his student, present and past, remains only in the rhythm of the drum.
Tran Thao grew up in a family where the sounds of traditional musical instruments were part of his everyday life. His father, Excellent Artist Tran Kich, was a respectable figure deeply devoted to nha nhac, spending many years collecting and restoring rare compositions.
His family house was once a gathering site for renowned artists in Hue, such as Vinh Phan, Thanh Huong, Minh Man, etc. On moonlit nights, sounds of musical instruments and percussion would blend into a flowing stream, gradually becoming part of young Tran Thao’s childhood. His passion grew from initially quiet listening, then awkward trials and finally a serious career choice. For nha nhac, written notation is just the beginning of the learning process. As important is hands-on oral transmission.
According to Tran Thao, he is fortunate to always enjoy the wholehearted guidance of great masters of traditional music. He attended Hue National School of Music from 1969 to 1975, where his father taught traditional instruments and nha nhac. It is that environment, together with his family continuity, that gave him strong foundation for his career.
He knows nha nhac so well that he can remember every composition. Music for welcoming distinguished guests includes Dang dan kep, San xe, Bong, Ma vu; music for the Nam Giao Offering Ceremony includes Dang dan cung, Cung bang, Duoc; Nam Ai is music for funerals, etc.
The flame keeper
Carefully stored in a small wooden box at the bottom of a cabinet is the letter from the Netherlands, which Tran Thao has kept for decades as a treasure. It was the invitation letter to him, his father and the artists of the Phu Xuan club to perform abroad.
“After listening to the CD you recorded with your father, Tran Kich, for the CD collection of the World Cultural Center in Paris, we were deeply moved and captivated by your artistry. We would very much like to introduce this remarkable treasure of Vietnam’s musical heritage to audiences in the Netherlands since it is something they have never listened to before,” read the letter. With that invitation, Thao and his fellow artists brought nha nhac to the Netherlands, giving five concerts, followed by another in Belgium. Thus, the royal court melodies of Hue were heard in distant Europe.
Throughout his artistic journey, Tran Thao has brought nha nhac to many countries, including France, Belgium, the Netherlands, South Korea, the United States, and Japan. According to Thao, when performing for international audiences, what matters is helping them understand the music. Nha nhac is instrumental music; audiences need to know when a certain piece was played and what that meant in order to understand it fully. Therefore, when performing abroad, he always stresses the spoken introduction as a way to “open the door” to nha nhac. In that way, the artist is both at the same time the performer and the guide, helping audiences touch upon the cultural depth hidden behind each sound.
Now in his seventies, he turns to living his leisurely life, teaching, mentoring, and maintaining the Phu Xuan club. He continues to teach at Hue Academy of Music and Hue School of Culture and Arts, passing ancient musical compositions on to younger generations. His own house has, for over 40 years now, become a familiar address to those who love traditional music.