Ca Trù Music

For our last music blog, I wanted to learn about a music culture I wasn't familiar with. After some research, I became interested in Vietnamese music and narrowed my options down to ca trù music. 

Ca trù (literally translated as "tally card songs") is described as a genre of traditional musical storytelling or sung poetry. Originating in northern Vietnam, Ca trù dates back to the 11th century and is known to have flourished in the 15th century; however, no one knows exactly when it was founded. There are different myths and theories but one of the more popular ones associates ca trù's origins with a female musician named Đào Thị, who was very talented and a favorite of the Lý Dynasty imperial court.

A ca trù band typically consists of three performers: a female vocalist and two male instrumentalists. Commonly, the female singer plays a phách, one of the instrumentalists plays a đàn đáy, and the other instrumentalist plays a trống chầu. A phách is a pair of thin wooden sticks struck on a small bamboo platform. A đàn đáy is a long-necked, three-stringed lute with a rectangular base. A trống chầu, also known as a "praise drum", is a small double-headed drum that is often played with a long wooden stick. In the first image above, the lady in the middle is playing the phách, the man on the left is playing the trống chầu, and the man on the right is playing the đàn đáy. This is just the most common form of ca trù groups, but, of course, there are other variations, which include different numbers of people and different instruments. 

Here is an example of a Vietnamese ca trù performance: 

What really interests me in one of these bands is that the person who plays the chầu drum is known as a spectator. This spectator is usually a scholar or expert in music whose drum strikes are associated with whether they are praising or disapproving of the piece, and the strikes are mainly played according to the beat provided by the vocalist's phách. 2 strikes supposedly mean disapproval and 1 strike approval. However, in the video clip above, I can't tell exactly how the number of strikes is associated with the spectator's approval or disapproval because I heard a lot of beats of 3. But when focusing on the spectator himself, I can see that he is looking at and analyzing the singer, along with the song. I also noticed a few head and facial gestures, such as nodding, here and there.

Here is a ca trù performance consisting of 2 singers and a total of 4 ladies. I not only wanted to include a different form of a ca trù group but also wanted to talk a bit about the clothing that is usually worn during one of these performances, the áo dài, because it reminds me of and is commonly compared to a qí páo, which is a Chinese traditional dress that I love to wear. The áo dài is a traditional and national clothing of Vietnam, often associated with elegance and grace. The traditional áo dài is a long, flowy dress that is typically long-sleeved with a high-necked tunic. As seen in the music video, more clearly with the right-most lady, there is usually a slit on each side of the dress to help with movement. 

Getting back to the musical components of ca trù, in the past, ca trù performances (like many of Vientam's arts) served as entertainment for the royal court or wealthy and noble clients. Up until the 13th century, it was recognized as only a form of folk music just for that purpose of entertainment. As the music genre spread and fluorished in the 15th century, it evolved into being further performed in cultural activities. There are many religious ties with ca trù, so it was performed in temples, shrines, professional ancestor worshipping houses, and ceremonies that worshipped the village tutelary god. Being rooted in folk music, it is also described as a synthesis of art that involves a complex blend of poetry, music, and dance. The video above shows how dance can be performed with the music. 

Ca trù also has its own system of music notation, which is applied by the phách. The musicians must learn how to properly use the phách before learning the vocal method. The Vietnamese lyrics sung are poetic, meaningful, and profound. Ca trù can fit any type of poem no matter how long or short it is. Back then, officials or poets would even invite ca trù artisans to their homes and perform ca trù using their poems as lyrics. I chose to include the video above because of how clear and sharp the singer's voice is. The singer in ca trù has to use breathing techniques and vibrato to create the unique ornamented sounds, which you can hear well in the video.

Although ca trù flourished in the 15th, as mentioned earlier, the music genre began to die out in the 20th century. It has been revived thanks to the joint efforts of state institutions and international agencies. Specific efforts made to bring its popularity back include clubs and organizations in Vietnam that plan events and practices to pass on the profession of ca trù to the next generations. I had a lot of fun researching about ca trù music and learning about Vietnamese culture. I would absolutely love to watch and listen to a live performance of ca trù! Also, as a lover of travel, I would definitely want to visit Vietnam as well to learn even more about their culture. 

Bibliography: 

- Tran, Rachel. “Ca Tru Singing - Ceremonial Singing in Vietnamese Culture.” Vietnam Discovery Travel, Vietnam Discovery, 3 Feb. 2020, vietnamdiscovery.com/culture-arts/ca-tru-singing/.

- “Ca Trù.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ca_tr%C3%B9. 

- “Cheongsam vs Ao Dai - Unveiling the Differences.” Dream Dresses by P.M.N., 16 Sept. 2023, www.dreamdresses.com/blogs/news/cheongsam-vs-ao-dai-unveiling-the-differences#:~:text=The%20Ao%20Dai%2C%20a%20traditional,in%20the%20early%2020th%20century. 

- Thao Vy/VNP. “Ca Tru - the ‘Chamber Music’ Heritage of the Vietnamese People.” Vietnam Pictorial, 21 Dec. 2022, vietnam.vnanet.vn/english/long-form/ca-tru-the-quotchamber-musicquot-heritage-of-the-vietnamese-people-318959.html.

- “Ca Tru Singing – Traditional Vietnamese Art - Hanoi Local Tour.” Hanoi Local Tour - Hanoi Tours & Day Trips from Hanoi, Hanoi Local Tour, 3 Mar. 2019, www.hanoilocaltour.com/ca-tru-singing-traditional-vietnamese-art/.