ABSTRACT
Vietnam memorializes selected epochs from its past, glorifi es its natural beauty, and expresses a desire to exist through song. It is a songwriter’s heaven in many ways, because there is so much in its past, present, and future about which to sing-good times and bad. Traditional Vietnamese vocal expressions have included narrative songs (ca trù, hát ả đào, and others), lyrical songs (nhạc cải lương, hát chèo, hát tuồng, vọng cổ, and other theatrical forms), declamatory songs (quan họ and other folk forms), love songs (tình ca, nhạc trữ tình, and other romantic songs), and a large variety of ethnic minority and other rural songs. Through songs and singing, the people of Vietnam entertain, celebrate, and defi ne themselves as independent and proud, sensitive and modern, loving and romantic. How much of the content and activity of songwriting in Vietnam is the result of persuasion by the communist government? In this chapter I present biographical sketches of a number of songwriters (i.e. composers-the two terms are used interchangeably), categorized according to the following titles and dates of their activity: The Patriarchal Trilogy (1960-1975); Postwar Period (1975-1995); and Post-Sanctions Period (1995-Present). Additionally, I discuss songwriting contests and lyrics that address particular social issues in Vietnam, analyzing them with regard to government involvement and persuasion.
