A Ca Tru (ceremonial singing) performance programme was organised on November 21 in Tu Ky district, Hai Duong province, by the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
The event attracted the participation of 70 artisans from six Ca Tru clubs inside and outside the province.
It also saw the performance by outstanding artisans, including the 93-year-old Nguyen Phu De, Truong Quang Hien, and the 9-year-old kid vocalist Pham Thi Giang of the Dan Chu club.
During the event, the Ca Tru clubs performed 11 performance acts with various melodies.
The programme served as a chance for the local Ca Tru clubs to share experience, thus helping to preserve and uphold the value of the art.
Ca tru is an ancient genre of chamber music featuring female vocalists, with origins in northern localities of Viet Nam, including Ha Noi, Bac Ninh and Vinh Phuc in the 15th century. It was inscribed on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in need of urgent safeguarding in 2009.
Ca Tru is a complex form of lyrical poetry using lyrics written in traditional Vietnamese poetic forms.
A Ca tru group comprises three performers: a female singer who use breathing tecniques and vibrations to sing, while striking a wooden box, and two instrumentalists who play a three-stringed lute and a praise drum. Some Ca tru performances also include dance.
The varied forms of Ca tru fulfill different social purposes, including worship, entertainment, singing in royal palaces and competitive singing.