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A NOSTALGIC NOMAD

je viens d'un pays qui n'existe plus, je viens d'un paradis perdu

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a charactern obscured corner which is largely forgotten in VN music, two greatest geniuses that the Vietnamese race could hardly produce again for centuries to come. Their music, their voice are in my veins, the almost - extinct native sounds of Vietnam. There were hundreds of post on Phạm Duy's compositions and the singer Thái Thanh around my blog, but I would rarely talk about them in public. Cause I personally feel it's like an offence and great shame to present those precious gems to the majority of very lowest level of "music education" as of Vietnam nowadays, ones who could never understand the values of those heritages.

Phạm Duy

My first met with the musician was in June, 2012. After quite a long time exchanging via email back and forth, he finally invited me to his home, to introduce some of his last works. I then had the honour of meeting the greatest monument of Vietnamese music, the 92 years old man, though weakened, his sharp eyes and thinking lead our hours - long talk. It's also our last met, a few months later he passed away. People is all discussing about Phạm Duy today, but I doubt that few could really understand his works. It's only by his talents that Vietnamese folk music was given a new stage of development. The unique bright star of Polaris in a deeply - darkened night, history would one day bring him back to the position he deserves.

Thái Thanh

Come straight out from Vietnamese traditions, like an awakened princess from her forest, this woman's splendid and unique interpretation of music, the singer's crystal-clear soprano voice tuned up the whole nation, and in a very conplex and chaotic period of our history, nurtured and educated generations of people. What's a better combination when her talents came alongside to convey Phạm Duy's compositions!? It's through her recordings that I've first learned about Phạm Duy's (and others') master-pieces, it's by her performances that lead me into feeling the delicately - profound vibrations of our own traditional pentatonic tunes. She, simply, was born to sing, to introduce the beauties of Vietnamese music to the world!

 

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