Chèo ghe chanty and the Poetry Narrates (known as Nói thơ) are two special kinds of folk song in Bạc Liêu province. They are the folk music activity bearing many traits of the aquatic area in Southern Vietnam. Along with Đờn ca tài tử art, ancient songs, Lý tunes, lullabies and ceremonial music, Chèo ghe chanty and the Nói thơ make a considerable contribution to the abundance of Bạc Liêu people’s treasure of folk music. However, having been through the rise and fall in the history, these two kinds of folk song are in danger of oblivion being lost for many reasons.

In the framework of the 2014 National Tourism Promotion project, the Vietnamese Institute for Musicology in cooperation with Bạc Liêu Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism conducted the fieldwork to collect, audio record and film the Chèo ghe chanty and Bạc Liêu Poetry Narrates in Hồng Dân district, Phước Long district and Bạc Liêu city. The output would be used as materials for the archives and preservation. Simultaneously, the team worked with folk artists to pick special repertoires which would be transmitted to people in tourism areas so that these two kinds of folk song could be introduced to visitors and used to boost the tourism.

The cooperation between the Vietnamese Institute for Musicology and Bạc Liêu Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism resulted in a significant number of valuable audio and video data about core repertoires and basic performing art of Chèo ghe chanty and Bạc Liêu Poetry Narrates. Remarkably, the two parties jointly produced a 60-minute film to introduce these two kinds of folk song, the landscape and tourism potentiality of Bạc Liêu to the visitors. Furthermore, this product would be used in schools and a cultural training institutions in Bạc Liêu. It could probably be cultural gift and useful data to people who love Chèo ghe chanty and Bạc Liêu Poetry Narrates.

NGUYỄN BÌNH ĐỊNH