Message about the spirit of Dien Bien Phu

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory (May 7, 1954 - May 7, 2024), the Department of Party and Political Affairs, Ministry of Public Security directed Ho Guom Theater to carry out a special art program called: "Dien Bien Phu - never forget". We had an interview with Dr. Le Y Linh - a music researcher, currently residing in France, about the script of this program. - Hello Dr. Le Y Linh! As a person working in music abroad, what opportunity made you come up with the idea and propose the script content for this historical art project about Dien Bien Phu in May?

Dr. Le Y Linh.

As researchers, we always have to ask ourselves and what we do, say, summarize, express or perform... is it scientifically sound? Has it been put into the most objective situations possible? Is there enough evidence to justify our choice?... and many other questions. And, when putting forward an idea, we need to compare and consider to ensure the most seriousness possible. Dien Bien Phu, to me, is the symbol of an independent Vietnam, mastering its own destiny to go out into the world. And, if we look back at the history of contemporary Vietnamese music, this symbol can also be applied to the achievements of Vietnamese music in the field of academic music, the pinnacle language of world music. From the above two propositions, I built the first idea of ​​the program with conductor Le Phi Phi. And, fate has brought us the desire to build a commemorative program with the highest criteria being the art of Ho Guom Theater. We expect "Dien Bien Phu - never forget" to carry the message about the spirit of Dien Bien Phu that created outstanding people both on the battlefield and in art. - Can you tell us what the script idea and highlights of the program are? + The first meaning is Dien Bien Phu, but the program also has the second meaning of turning a page in the history of Vietnamese music with the audience and the third meaning is to bring an artistic message of Vietnamese classical music to the public today. The 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu victory is an important milestone. What is special is that, right from the moment the idea of ​​the program "Dien Bien Phu - never forget" was presented to Ho Guom Theater, it received high consensus. Because the great significance of the program is to reaffirm the great achievements of a part of the history of the struggle for national independence through music, and at the same time show the development achievements of Vietnamese music - accompanying the nation. A little pressure for us is to ensure the large-scale artistic quality of the orchestra with hundreds of artists, musicians, actors from the Vietnam Symphony Orchestra; Vietnam National Opera and Ballet, Police Brass Band and Choir. Along with that is the ordering of musicians to arrange music to preserve the soul of the work but still have to bring the breath of the times. The program also has the mission of leading emotions and sublimation with the audience to avoid falling into clichéd formulas. This is a huge challenge but will also be a source of motivation for the crew when implementing the program. All taking place in a short period of time is also a challenge for the crew.

The art program "Dien Bien Phu - never forget" was directed by the Ministry of Public Security.

- The selection of works must have its own reasons? + During the Dien Bien Phu campaign, hundreds of songs by musicians were sung to encourage the entire army and people to strive for victory. When the Dien Bien Phu of the soldiers ended, the special significance of that heroic campaign has been the inspiration for hundreds of works of art in all fields of literature, poetry, music, and painting in Vietnam and around the world for the past 70 years. Choosing works for a program with strict artistic requirements is a difficult problem. The answer chosen for the 70th anniversary program has a common denominator of a collection of works born in a special moment - a little-known page in the history of Vietnamese music. Accordingly, on the morning of December 16, 1954, the Resistance Art Troupes attended the opening ceremony of the First National Art Congress, held at the Hanoi Opera House. The Congress was then held for two weeks at many locations with more than a thousand artists participating. The main location was the People's Theater (now the Vietnam-Soviet Friendship Cultural Palace). Previously, the French-era Exhibition Area was bombed during the war. The outdoor grandstand with a capacity of more than ten thousand spectators of the Theater was built within 23 days to serve the Congress. Therefore, the first idea for the art program came from a book published in 1955 with the title "Music Collection Awarded by the National Arts Congress", in 1954. Of which, the First Prize was the work "Ho keo phao" by musician Hoang Van and 4 Second Prizes included the works: "Que toi giai phong" by Van Chung; "Mung vi thang Tay Bac" - music by Dang Dinh Hung, lyrics by Dao Vu and Thai Ly; "Hat cong chien chien vi thang Dien Bien" by Do Nhuan; "Mua lua rien" by Hoang Viet. - What are the highlights and messages that the crew wants to convey in the program, Doctor? + Along with the message about the spirit of Dien Bien Phu that created outstanding people both on the battlefield and in art, the crew hopes to bring the public profound feelings through the expressive power of the Symphony Orchestra and the Choir. Notably, two iconic works of Dien Bien Phu in the list of winners at the Congress will be arranged in a completely new style. The work "Liberation of Dien Bien" will be rewritten by musician Do Hong Quan for the Brass Band of the Ministry of Public Security to perform; "Ho keo phao" by musician Hoang Van will be arranged by musician Trong Dai for the choir without accompaniment Acapella. This is also one of the artistic criteria of the program, which is to bring the public a rich and diverse art program through musical language and form of expression. The "Dien Bien Phu" Symphony - a monumental 4-movement work written for choir, conductor and orchestra by musician Hoang Van is a work about the Dien Bien soldiers of the past. And, he himself was once a composer who matured from the Dien Bien campaign. The score and arrangement have been restored, digitized and edited by conductor Le Phi Phi. The Dien Bien Phu Choral Symphony has been staged many times, but we think that to have the work resound on the occasion of the 70th anniversary is truly meaningful. The work aims to pay tribute to the soldiers who sacrificed to gain independence for the nation. War is not only painful but through music is also full of love for the Fatherland. The program also reserves a place of honor for 4 works full of optimism, lyricism and tragedy: "Guerrilla of Thao River" (Do Nhuan), "Bac dang cung chung toi hanh quan" (Huy Thuc), "Biet gon chi Vo Thi Sau" (Nguyen Duc Toan), "Nguoi chien sy that" (Hoang Van). Three of the five winning songs will be restored and arranged for the Symphony Orchestra for the first time: "My Homeland Liberated", "Ripened Rice Season" will be arranged for choir and orchestra, and "Celebrating the Northwest Victory" really has the material to become the theme of an instrumental piece. This idea also came up as a sudden inspiration and harmony, I asked what to do with this theme and conductor Le Phi Phi gave the answer: a Fantaisie for piano and orchestra. The selection of the musicians to perform this piece was also quite a feat, we hope that the work that the team ordered the musicians to restore will meet expectations. The song of the days of “digging mountains, sleeping in tunnels, pouring rain, and steaming rice” (To Huu) as well as the picture of all Vietnamese people standing together in the resistance war for independence in the symphony - grand chorus of Dien Bien Phu will be played at the Hoan Kiem Theater, with the expressive language of academic music on this important anniversary having a special symbolic meaning. Because, right from the location where the Hoan Kiem Theater is located today, called the Garde Indigène during the French colonial period, there was a brass band following the revolution with musician Dinh Ngoc Lien - the core musicians and artists of the Vietnam Symphony Orchestra in the early days. The performances at the Hoan Kiem Theater are a happy and encouraging signal for the continued development of Vietnamese academic music in the future. - I would like to sincerely thank Dr. Le Y Linh.

Dr. Le Y Linh is a music researcher, currently working at the Institute of Modern and Contemporary History, French Pedagogical College (IHMC-ENS) and the Southeast Asian Studies Center, French National Center for Scientific Research (CASE-CNRS), a member of the French Society of Ethnomusicology (SFE). She is also a member of the compilation of the entry for Volume 33a on Music and Dance, Encyclopedia of Vietnam.

Tran Le Chien

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