Falling into the city deeps

A violin and piano performance at Roi Café - Photo: Thanh Hang

The violinist seemed to recognize the little girl at once and smiled faintly at her as she came into the room. A brief moment later, he was lost again in the Ave Maria. The girl of about six or seven sat next to her brother and told him to shush, then made room for her grandfather.  Once settled, the family sat in silence to listen to the live classical music which is a regular weekly event at Roi Café.

Roi Café is in a fine house which also has a flower shop. Opening only two hours a night from Wednesday to Sunday night, Roi is purely for music lovers. The way that sonatas for violin and piano are played in the private sitting room resembles how chamber music used to be enjoyed in European salons in the 18th Century. It’s the intimate nature that makes people call chamber music the “music of friends”. In Roi cafe, although its not a string quartet there is an intimacy that is a vital aspect of chamber music.

And it’s not just classical music at Roi. A few instrumental versions of old covers are rolled out. As the musician played the much-loved Russian song “One million roses”, all the visitors at Roi Cafe seemed to fall into reveries. An old man closed his eyes and tapped his fingers gently on the table. In the easy flow of music, the tiny space created an illusion of drowning in the deepest ocean, with all the trees waving in the dark outside.

Roi Café serves drinks for a very reasonable price from VND30,000, compared to other live music café lounge in Saigon. Doors open at 8pm from Wednesday to Sunday and close at 10pm. Roi Café is at 92 Dinh Tien Hoang, Binh Thanh District, HCMC.

Related Articles

• Falling into the city deeps
• NA Committee debates Law on Denunciations
• Visit hell then heaven
• Gov’t orders check on Guang Lian steel project
• HCMC to relay grand sale program to November