Xoan
singing has existed for more than 2,000 years since Hung Kings dynasty.
So all old Xoan songs originated from ancient villages in the center of
Van Lang nation (now Phu Tho Province), after spread out the villages
in the two banks of Lo and Hong rivers. Four old Xoan guilds are An
Thai, Phu Duc, Kim Doi and Thet in two communes of Kim Duc and Phuong
Lau (Viet Tri City, Phu Tho Province).
The Xoan guilds perform Xoan singing at the village’s communal house according to phrases as follows:
Firstly, the worship singing
to commemorate Hung Kings, village guardian gods, the people who had
merit for the country and families’ ancestors through the repertoires of
Giao trong and Tho nhang…
Secondly, the ritual singing
(with 14 different melodies) to express admiration of nature, human
beings, and communities’ life, and some repertoires about history such
as Trang Mai cach and Hoi lien cach…
Finally, the festive singing
is alternate singing between singers and instrumentalists. The audience
could take part in singing together with Xoan guilds to express love
and dreams about happiness through melodies of Mo ca (groping for fishes), Xin hue (asking for flowers), Bo bo…
Most
Xoan songs were composed by common people following poetry styles such
as seven-seven-six-eight-word-meter verse, seven-beat-meter verse,
six-eight-word-meter verse, the variants of six-eight-word-meter verse,
four-word verse, and six-word verse. Xoan music has a simple structure
with few ornamental notes. It often uses three-note scale and four-note
scale with simple rhythm.
