Composer's family seeks copyright protection

Contemplation: Music by late composer Trinh Cong Son, above, has been highly popular with students and young people. His younger sister has asked the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for help to stop unauthorised use of his music. — File Photo

HCM CITY — A younger sister of late composer Trinh Cong Son has sent a letter to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, asking that it help put an end to the unauthorised use of Son's music.

Trinh Vinh Trinh said she had been entrusted by the family to protect the intellectual property rights of the celebrated composer who died 10 years ago.

Son's music, most of which he wrote in the 1960s and 1970s, is highly popular with students and young people.

Three years ago, Trinh, on behalf of Son's family, asked music concerts, bars and music clubs that used Son's music to pay copyright fees.

However, most concerts have not paid fees to Son's family.

"The unauthorised use of Son's music has been going on for a long time, which has prompted us to raise our voice," she said.

"We want to collect copyright fees for Son's music to have money to set up Trinh Cong Son Fund to assist young talented artists at Son's will."

Many music concerts have been organised in Ha Noi and HCM City to mark Son's 10th death anniversary this year.

"Of these, only Ru Tinh (Lullaby to Love) concert bought the rights to perform Son's songs," Trinh said.

"Son's music copyright fees may reach VND1 billion (US$50,000) a year, the highest for any composers in Viet Nam," said Pho Duc Phuong, director of the Viet Nam Centre for Protection of Music Copyright.

"As a composer, I understand the difficult problems faced by Son's family as his music copyright has been violated publicly and more often," Phuong said.

According to Phuong, Son's family has not signed a contract with the centre, which has been entrusted by more than 1,000 songwriters and composers to collect royalty fees from those who use their materials.

"Son's family has called music concert organisers about the copyright violations, but few of them are ready to buy a copyright for the use of his music," Phuong said. — VNS

Related Articles

• Wrong diagnoses almost kill two in delta hospital
• NA Committee debates Law on Denunciations
• Tiger Woods and wife divorce after sex scandal
• HCMC begins to think about giving up meat
• HCMC urges efforts to save Dong Nai River

Ca Tru folk music sees revival

The family of Ca tru -- (from L) drummer Nguyen Van Mui, singer Nguyen Thuy Hoa, and three-stringed lute artist Nguyen Van Khue. Young singer Kieu Oanh (at back)

Photo: Tuoi Tre

The millennium-old northern folk music genre of Ca tru is making a comeback after decades of neglect, with more and more young girls training to become dao nuong, or professional singers.

The music is said to have originated in Hanoi during the Ly Dynasty era around 1,000 years ago, mainly to entertain the royal court just like many other Vietnamese arts.

With the unwritten rule that only young, beautiful girls could become dao nuong, things took a nasty turn in the 20th century when mandarins and high-profile officials began to prey on them.

A stigma soon set in and “good” young girls were no longer taking up Ca tru.

The feudal system may have ended in Vietnam in 1945 but the shame persisted until recently.

It took UNESCO’s conferring of the status of an intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding in 2009 for the stigma to be shed and a revival to begin.

It takes years for a young girl to master control over rhythms and tones and become a Ca tru vocalist. It is usually performed as an ensemble with at least two more performers on a ceremonial drum and a dan day, the three-stringed lute.

The most illustrious dao nuong of the 20th century and renowned to this day despite her death 10 years ago was Quach Thi Ho.

Ho is cherished not only for talent but also her great love for and her sacrifice for Ca tru.

During the difficult period in the 20th century, Ho remained steadfast and continued to sing despite being scorned by neighbors.

One of her closest friends is Prof Dr Tran Van Khe, who recorded some of her music in 1976 to take Vietnamese folk music to the outside world.

Two years later, UNESCO and the International Institute for Comparative Music Studies and Documentation awarded Ho an honorary credential for her contribution to preserving traditional music.

In 1988 the recordings won the top prize at an international traditional music festival in North Korea attended by 29 nations. The same year the Vietnamese government conferred on her the title of People’s Artist, the only Ca tru artist to be thus honored.

Despite fearing the possible extinction of the art form, Ho was hesitant to teach it due to the social prejudices.

Once when writer Luu Trong Van asked her why she refused to teach it, she replied: “Who is willing to learn it? And learn for what?

“A high-profile cultural official told me bluntly that my Ca tru mainly served feudalists and colonialists.

“Let a tree dying out die out,” she quoted him as telling her.

“You just wait to see its flowers blossom,” she replied.

One family

The ancient folk music has been well preserved by at least a family of Nguyen of Hanoi’s Thai Ha, a place with a rich Ca tru tradition.

The family, known commonly as Nguyen Thai Ha, produced many famous singers and three-stringed lute players who performed in royal courts - such as Nguyen Duc Y, Nguyen Van Xuan, and Nguyen Thi Tuyet.

 

Nguyen Thi Tuyet - one of the Ca tru masters of the Nguyen - Thai Ha family

Related Articles

• Australia wants stronger cooperation to vocational education
• City promotes prepaid bus cards
• Overloaded trucks keep damaging roads in south
• 7 detained as train hits 6 cars stuck on tracks
• Saigon-Hanoi charity caravan heads north

We are one family, Jet Li tells Vietnam students

"Try your best to help needy people when you are a child because we are a big family,” Jet Li told students during a visit to Hanoi-based Chu Van An High School today as a goodwill ambassador for the International Red Cross.

The Chinese movie star and kung fu master made a speech at the “Xuan Hong” (pink spring) blood donation at Tuoi Tre (Youth) Park this morning and presented gifts to 40 active volunteers of the Vietnamese Red Cross.

After that, Jet Li warmly talked with blood donors.

He left the Park for Chu Van An High School and made a short speech about the charity.
He will have a question-answer session during a press conference in Hanoi on January 24 before returning home.

At his hometown, he is chairman of the Chinese Red Cross Foundation.

Jet Li, 47, is a real martial art master that makes international fame as an action star. Jet Li is arguably one of the most famous Chinese in the world.

He began practicing Wushu at the age of 8 and after years of training he represented Beijing Wushu team in various performances and competitions.

Jet Li already started acting when he was still an active martial artist. His debut movie is Shaolin Temple in 1982, followed by 2 sequels which made him a national action star.

Related Articles

• Small change in short supply ahead of Tet
• Australia wants stronger cooperation to vocational education
• Proposal to lift limits on amount of advertising
• Ha Noi celebrates heritage listing
• State President asserts Catholics’ services to nation

French, German and Vietnamese films screen at Idecaf

In October, the institute for cultural exchange with France (Idécaf), and the Goethe Institute HCMC will screen six award winning films from France, Germany and Vietnam.

French film La Graine et Le Mulet directed by Abdellatif Kechiche tells of a 60-year-old man named Beiji. A father of a broken family, he works at the marine port but his life gets harder as he gets old forcing him to give up his dream to own a restaurant. His family love him, however, and get together to try to make Beiji’s dream come true.

La Graine et Le Mulet will be screened on Oct 2 at 3 p.m. The movie won four Cesar awards in 2008, including best movie award.

Comme Les Autres of France also at 3 p.m. on Oct 9, was made by Vincent Garenq with Lambert Wilson, Pilar López de Ayala, Pascal Elbé and Anne Brochet. The film is a story of two gay men who cannot adopt a child. One of them marries a Columbian woman so she can live in France. She has to bear a child for her husband… and for his boyfriend.

Divided Heaven, a German movie based on the 1960’s novel of Christa Wolf describes the love tragedy of two persons when Germany was divided. Rita and Manfred fall in love but they have opposing political views. Rita has to choose when Manfred leaves the German Democratic Republic for Western Germany.

The film by director Konrad Wolf starring Dominique Pinon, Fanny Ardant and Audrey Dana will be screened on Oct 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Bi, Don’t Be Afraid!, a Vietnamese movie that won two awards at Cannes 2010, will be screened at 3p.m. on Oct 16. It is directed by Phan Dang Di and stars Hoa Thuy, Kieu Trinh, Mai Chau, Tran Tien, Ha Phong and Phan Thanh Minh.

The film is a story about a Hanoian family told by a six-year-old boy named Bi. His father and grandpa are distracted from family affairs by their hobbies, but don’t know they are hurting the women in the family.

Letters from Son My, which was shown at Cannes 2010, will be screened on Oct 23, 40 years after the Son My massacre. William Calley, a lieutenant who had commanded a massacre of 504 innocent people in 1968, apologizes to the public: “There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened that day in My Lai. I feel remorse for the Vietnamese who were killed, for their families, for the American soldiers involved and their families. I am very sorry....” 

The film follows Calley as he stays in the house of a Vietnamese piano teacher, who he met on a train to Quang Ngai Province. Calley sends letters to his wife and tells her about how Vietnam has changed and the strong character of people in Son My on Tuesday.

Le Dan directed the movie.

The Little Heart of Nguyen Thanh Van, starring Hong Anh, Lan Ha and Kim Hanh will be screened at 3p.m. on Oct 30. The film tells about Mai, a 17-year-old girl, who leaves her home town for Saigon with the hope to be a tailor. But Saigon is not what she hoped for and she returns home with HIV.

The Little Heart won the 2007 Silver and Golden Kite Awards for best director, actress, soundtrack and movie.

Idécaf is at 31 Thai Van Lung, HCMC’s District 1 with tickets at VND15,000.

Related Articles

• French, German and Vietnamese films screen at Idecaf
• Ha Noi plans fun celebration