Recently, two rap singers, Chi Ca (Eldest sister) and Color have just performed with Merited Artist Que Tran the rap song based on the melody of an old “vọng cổ” song named “the girl who sells durian” in the program “King of rap” (broadcast on VTV3). This interesting performance received a lot of praise from the audience. According to Merited Artist Que Tran, this combination helps young people learn more about “Cải Lương” and can be seen as “a bridge” to guide young people to learn about the Vietnamese traditional arts through rap music.

Mrs. Que Tran is not the first artist who combines traditional music with modern music. Before her, there was People's Artist Bach Tuyet who used to perform many “tân cổ giao duyên” songs that are considered a phenomenon of the young music industry (music for the young or the modern music). The famous female artist posed the question of why “vọng cổ”  cannot be combined with the music for the young. It is the gap we created that is constraining the development of “cải lương”.

The example above shows that even long-serving artists in the field of “Cải lương”, Southern folk music are looking for an “open direction” for traditional art forms. At the review of the project on preserving “Đờn ca tài tử” (Southern folk music) in Can Tho, many artists, and researchers discussed not only “promoting” but also “developing” this heritage. Merited Artist Minh Tho said that in addition to writing new lyrics for the Southern folk songs, it is necessary to compose new songs. We should not rely solely on 20 songs left by our predecessors. By doing that, we are giving wings to the Southern folk music to fly higher and farther.

In 2020, competitions such as Tran Huu Trang - Cai Luong got talent, young talent in Cai Luong, etc. will be streamed online. In each contest, the number of online viewers is quite large with many statuses expressing their interests in the performances, discussions about the techniques, and comments motivating candidates. Obviously, Cải Lương still attracts a very large audience, if those working in this art form have a suitable and effective approach.

For the past few weeks, Tran Huu Trang Theater (Ho Chi Minh City) has revived its traditional performances every Saturday night and also broadcasted its shows online. The Cao Van Lau Theater (Bac Lieu province) is also active again every weekend with attractive several “Cải lương” shows. In the middle of the year, Tay Do Theater and the Cultural Center of Can Tho city restored their traditional music performances on weekends. However, due to the COVID-19 epidemic, these activities were temporarily suspended.

Indeed, entertainment technology in the 4.0 era is increasingly developing, thus making traditional arts seem weak. However, before waiting for a savior, the artists have to “save themselves” first by searching for effective methods to renovate and preserve “Cải lương”, traditional music, and traditional arts. The examples above show that, if there is a suitable method or model, Southern folk music still exists and remains food for the mind of modern audiences. Dynamism and change are essential!

* Vọng cổ is a Vietnamese song and musical structure used primarily in the cải lương theater music and nhạc tài tử chamber music of southern Vietnam.

* Tân cổ giao duyên is a music genre developed from nhạc tài tử chamber music of southern Vietnam, a combination of old music and neo-music. It is very popular in the 1960s and 1970s (it can be understood as a “love exchange” (giao duyên) between the old music and the new music).