The dossier for Hat Xoan Phu Tho has been submitted to UNESCO for recognition as an intangible World Cultural Heritage in need of urgent protection as scheduled.
Associate Prof. Le Van Toan, Director of Vietnam National Music Academy told Hanoi Moi Newspaper on April 2 that after more than six months of building, the compilation group has been able to send in the dossier ahead of the deadline on March 31.
As planned, the UNESCO Secretariat will review the dossier, and UNESCO will conduct verifications in October.
Hat Xoan, a kind of folk song of northern Phu Tho Province, is believed to have been created more than 500 years ago. It is not only popular in 18 communes long the Lo River in Phu Tho Province, but it is also sung in midland and northern regions.
Hat Xoan has some similarities with the lullaby. Like
Quan Ho, many of the songs are about love, but it is also a kind of folk music that praises a village genie.
There are many forms of
Hat Xoan: duet, group singing accompanied by several kinds of dances.
Xoan Festivals are often held in spring in village temples. On the fifth day of the first lunar month, the artists often sing it at the Hung Temple Festival.