Nha nhac, Vietnamese Court Music - an Intangible Cultural Heritage
The UNESCO Council appraised Vietnamese royal music
in the following terms: “Vietnamese royal
music represents an elegant and refined music. It deals with the music
performed in the imperial courts and on different anniversaries, religious
festivals, and on such particular occasions. Of the different categories
developed in Vietnam, only the royal music was national.” Nha nhac (Vietnamese
royal music) and its principles came to Vietnam under the Ho Dynasty
(1400-1407). The Ho Dynasty, however, only existed for a short time, so nha nhac rapidly fell into oblivion. In
1427, Le Loi defeated the Chinese Ming invaders and liberated the country.
However, nha nhac only began to
develop in the reign of King Le Thanh Tong (1460-1497) and reached its peak
under the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945).
Nha nhac is genre
of scholarly music. It attracted the participation of many talented songwriters
and musicians, with numerous traditional musical instruments.
From now on, nha nhac will
have opportunities to preserve, develop and popularize to the public, inside
and outside the country.
