 |
| Performance of Ca Hue (Hue Singing) at the Huyen Tran Cultural Center |
Traditional Hue music plays a special role in evoking national identity and contributes to promoting the local image. Currently, in the context of international integration, culture and tourism are becoming important bridges between countries and territories.
Promoting the value of traditional Hue music not only helps raise community awareness about the importance of heritage but also opens up new directions in socio-economic development. With strategic vision, Hue city has been implementing many policies to preserve and promote the value of traditional music, such as encouraging Ca Hue to be brought into schools, organizing art programs, and connecting music with tourism products and festival programs. These efforts have helped bring traditional Hue music closer to both domestic and international audiences.
According to Duong Bich Ha, M.A., the formation and development of folk music, especially folk songs, are always influenced by phonetics and language. Through the ups and downs of history, and the intertwining of the two main elements – Viet and Champa – the Hue dialect with Cham word roots has been identified by linguists as having a significant influence on folk music and Hue folk songs. Singing, especially folk singing from any region, is formed based on the customs, practices, and linguistic characteristics (dialect) of that region. Because folk singing is a form of emotional expression, only the local language and intonation can truly convey those sentiments.
In the article "Ca Hue on the Huong River: Then and Now", Dr. Phan Thuan Thao points out the shortcomings of leaving performance activities in the hands of businesses. The principle of business is profit, so companies compete with one another by lowering prices to attract customers. They cut performers’ fees to disgracefully low levels, making it hard for artists to maintain enthusiasm, leading to poor performance quality. Low pay results in low-quality performers, and the phenomenon of “one-song singers” still exists. The interdisciplinary team inspecting Ca Hue activities continues regular and unannounced inspections, but they can only evaluate appearance, not quality. Moreover, in the long run, management cannot rely solely on inspections and fines.
In the article "Vietnamese court music – Nha Nhac (of the Nguyen Dynasty) in international cultural exchange", Dr. Phan Tien Dung clarifies the history and value of Nha Nhac and the achievements in preservation and international cooperation. He also outlines next steps such as content preservation, human resource training, and promotion.
Some articles in the book also mention modernization trends such as applying blockchain technology to promote traditional Hue music; turning traditional Hue music into a tourism product, with case studies like the Hue Imperial City night street... The book is not only a scientific research work but also a strategic proposal to enhance the value of traditional Hue music in the journey to build Hue into a vibrant cultural heritage city.