Lesson 5
Music at the Vietnamese Court
May it Please Your Highness: Music of the Asian Courts
Author: Dr Alexander Cannon
Author: Dr. Alexander Cannon
We're on our birthday trip in Asia!
We are visiting many countries that are part of Asia.
Person with toy airplane on world map, Andrea Piacquadio. Pexels images
Next stop, Vietnam!
Kazakhstan
Turkey
Iran
India
Thailand
Indonesia
Vietnam
China
Japan
Korea
Asia, United States. Central Intelligence Agency
What does the Vietnamese court do?
What are the court’s rituals?
What does court music in Vietnam sound like?
Viet Nam: Court Theatre Music: Hat-Bôi, Van Khe Tran. UNESCO/AUVIDIS.
Music of the Vietnamese Court
Thien Mu Pagoda by Nhan Duong, Public Domain, via Pexel Images.
Imagining the Vietnamese Court
20+ minutes
Path 1
Văn quan vinh quy đồ, by unknown artist, {PD-Art (PD-old-75-expired)}, via Wikimedia Commons
Hello, students!
Lesson 5: Music of the Vietnamese Court / Introduction
Xin chào means hello in Vietnamese.
Các học sinh means students.
Can you try saying “hello” in Vietnamese?
Vietnamese Names
Lesson 5: Music of the Vietnamese Court / Introduction
Phạm Đình Hổ
Family Name
Middle name
First name
Playful Stick Figure Kids, unknown artist. Public Domain, via FreeSVG.com.
How would your name be expressed if you were Vietnamese?
Vietnam Today
Map of East Asia, by the US Central Intelligence Agency, Library of Congress.
Vietnam 400 Years Ago
1650
Vietnam Map 1650, by Sgnpkd, CC by 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.
There were several different countries and kingdoms.
The country looked very different 400 years ago.
Compare the two maps
1650
2023
What did the court do?
The court was led by the Emperor.
The Emperor and his assistants (called, "Mandarins") tried to keep the country safe.
What do you notice about how the Emperor is
traveling?
Rituals in Our Lives
What are some rituals we associate with bedtime?
Folk Songs of Vietnam, cover art by Zetlan & Stephens. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.
A ritual is an event that is ordered with many steps.
Ritual in the Vietnamese Court
How do you think they keep this harmony?
The Emperor and his helpers give special gifts to their ancestors to show respect.
Offerings are made to Heaven and Earth gods.
The goal is to be in harmony with the universe.
People by Statue in Vietnam, by Vinh Quang Nguyen, Public Domain, via Pexel Images.
Ceremony Activity 1
The Emperor and his assistants spend a lot of time preparing for the ceremony. Let's watch some parts of the event.
Lễ tế Giao- Hue Festival (2008). Director Qúy Tiet.
1:37
6:06
12:15
Ceremony Activity 2
Sĩ nữ đồ (仕女圖) [Female Knight], unknown artist. {PD-Art|PD-old-70}, via Wikimedia Commons.
“Ritual Music Orchestra,” by Dai Nhac Orchestra.
Your Own Birthday Ritual
In this activity, you will create your own birthday ritual. Try to use these questions to help you determine the details of your ritual.
When should the Emperor or Empress arrive?
What will you say at your ritual?
Where should it be held?
What should people wear?
Learning Checkpoint
- How did the Emperor travel?
- What did the Emperor and the mandarins try to do for the people?
- What is a ritual?
End of Path 1: Where will you go next?
Elegant Music of the Vietnamese Court
20+ minutes
Path 2
Brown and Black Pagoda, Loifotos, via Pexels Free Images.
Vietnam Today
Court music is called nhã nhạc, meaning, “elegant music.”
Elegant music is very beautiful and somewhat serious - not bouncy or light.
Court music isn’t for entertainment. It’s serious and educational.
Elegant Music of the Court
Kèn and Trống Players, by Alexander Cannon, courtesy of artist.
Mã Vũ (Dance of the Horse)
Gia Đình Mục Đồng, by Khang Nguyen and Kim Diep Nguyen. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Photo Of Kid Sitting On A Chair, by Colin Guernsey, CC-0, via Pexels Free Images.
Can you imagine dancing horses?
"Mã Vũ," unknown artist
Read about nhã nhạc instruments!
There is a book about instruments from Vietnam called "Writings on Rainy Days".
In Vietnamese, the title is Vũ Trung Tùy Bút.
Vũ Trung Tùy Bút, by unknown artist, via NXB Hội Nhà Văn (Writers Association Publishing House).
The author's name is Phạm Đình Hổ
(we met him at the beginning of the lesson!)
Let's listen to part of the book.
Bộ Nhã nhạc có dùng thứ trống ngưỡng thiên lớn và kèn trúc nạm vàng lớn, cùng là long sinh, long phách, và các đàn ba dây, bốn dây, hoặc mười lăm dây, ống sáo, trống mảnh một mặt, sơn vàng, tang mỏng, phách sâu tiền.
How does it look or sound different from English?
?
What are nhã nhạc instruments like?
"The Ministry of Elegant Music uses a big ceremonial drum turned towards the sky, an oboe made of bamboo and covered in gold, two kinds of percussion instruments designed to make a clapping sound, a three-stringed instrument, a four-stringed instrument, or a 15-stringed instrument, a flute, a single-sided gold-painted tambourine, and wooden clapper with coins attached to it."
English translation
Two Important Instruments
Kèn
Trống
What is "great" about it?
What do some of the instruments sound like?
Ritual Music of the Great Orchestra
"Ritual Music: Big Orchestra," Dai Nhac Orchestra.
Listening With the Emperor
"Ritual Music of the Great Orchestra," Dai Nhac Orchestra.
What do you see?
How do you act?
Imagine that you are listening to music with the Emperor (vua).
Boy ... expression, mohamed abdelghaffar, via Pexel images.
Members of the audience use the trống chầu (praise drum) to comment on the performance.
Audience Participation
How would you try to make a comment during a performance?
Audience Trong Chau, by Hoàng Trong.
"Ritual Music of the Great Orchestra," Dai Nhac Orchestra.
Learning Checkpoint
- What was court music used for?
- What are two important nhã nhạc instruments?
- How did the book describe some of the Vietnamese instruments?
- What instrument was used to comment during a performance?
End of Path 2: Where will you go next?
Path 3
Court Theater Today
20 to 25 Minutes
Vietnam Today
Caption
What was court theater?
Actors and actresses would present stories for the Emperor and Mandarins of the court.
This theater was called
hát bội or tuồng.
Theater costumes, in Hue: warrior chiefs, by E. Ronjat.{PD-Art|PD-old-70}, via Wikimedia Commons.
Theater Today
Đào Tam Xuân, by Vanilafeel. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Performers use costumes, headdresses, and face paint to tell a story.
Today, it’s no longer performed for the Emperor but for a general audience.
Face Paint
On the stage, face colors are used as symbols that show the personality of the character.
We have many kinds of symbols in our lives.
Can you name some?
Evil
Funny
Good
Openmoji, by Benedikt Groß, Daniel Utz, et. al., CC BY-SA 4.0, via EmojiPedia.org.
Face Paint Examples
Mặt nạ Tuồng, by Vanilafeel. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Symbolize personality with color.
Important to Remember!
Lan Anh lạc đẻ, photo by Vanilafeel, CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons.
In everyday life, people have faces described as one color or another, but these are not the same as the colors found in the stories told in hát bội.
When the actors paint their faces, they are pretending, just like someone in a Halloween costume.
Watch part of, "Đào Tam Xuân."
What instruments do you hear?
Đào Tam Xuân, Vietnamese National Opera, posted by vannghegiaitribinhinh1309.
What emotion do you think is expressed?
The character tries to find her husband and feels great sadness that he has been lost.
How does the character use her voice to express this emotion?
Listen to part of, "Đào Tam Xuân."
"Excerpt from the Play: Dào Tam Xuân Bao Phu Cuu," by Nam Dô Bà, Thanh Kim, Long Van, Lua Van, Anh Ngoc, Tuong Van.
Time to color!
Color Templates, by Jennifer Walden.
Color meanings
"Excerpt from the Play: Dào Tam Xuân Bao Phu Cuu"
Learning Checkpoint
- Long ago, who watched court theater?
- How does the audience know the personality of a theater character?
- What are some of the color meanings in court theater?
End of Path 3 and Lesson 5: Where will you go next?
© 2024 Smithsonian Institution. Personal, educational, and non-commercial uses allowed; commercial rights reserved. See Smithsonian terms of use for more information.
This project received support from the Together We Thrive Youth Access Grant.
For full bibliography and media credits, see Lesson 5 landing page.
Lesson 5 Media Credits
Audio courtesy of
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Kamaryn Truong, pronunciation recordings
Videos courtesy of
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Images courtesy of
Alexander Cannon
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Special Thanks T0
Trung Truong, pronunciation consultant