The First Asian Zither Festival

The Guzheng of China, Tranh of Vietnam, Koto of Japan and Kayagum of South Korea were played at the First Asian Zither Festival in Ho Chi Minh City.

To enhance the friendship and mutual understanding among neighbouring asian countries, artists from Japan, Singapore, the Republic of Korea and Vietnam enchanted zither music lovers with their different playing styles at the First Asian Zither Festival in HCM City from Sep/10/2000 - Sep/14/2000. Zitherists from participating countries brought the best traditional music from their homelands to the festival.
The zither is a kind of traditional asian stringed instrument originated from an ancient chinese zither and is known as dan tranh in Vienam, Koto in Japan, Kayagum and Komungo in Korea and Guzheng in Singapore. In each country they have been reformed in shape, structure, material and performance technique to manifest people's feelings. The Tranh zither is small and has 16 iron strings, hence it is also called the 16-stringed zither, while the Koto zither, made of wood, is bigger and has 13 strings. When played with an ivory square-pointed plectrum worn on a finger, the Koto zither produces low timbre in deliberate rhythms. The Kayagum and Komungo are played with the fingertips while other zithers are played with plectrums.

The host country opened the festival with a performance by Tieng Hat Que Huong featuring a tai tu traditional piece of music entitled "Duyen Ky Ngo" (Marvellous Encounter).

Three Vietnamese National Zither Competition First Prize Winners, Hai Phuong (1992), Van Anh (1995) and Thanh Thuy (1998) performed nha nhac royal music, cheo opera and Southern Vietnam's tai tu traditional music (Nam Xuan, Nam Ai, Tu Dai Canh and To Vo). Tai tu music was popular in South Vietnam in the 19th century. New musical pieces were also reflected through the clear and boisterous timbre of the Tranh zithers. Tieng Hat Que Huong provided the backing music.

Japan sent 13 zitherists to the festival, the highest number of representatives. At 1.8m, the length of the Koto impressed audiences.

The Japanese group was the only one at the festival that sang and played zithers at the same time. Prof. Miyagi Kanami was warmly applauded when she played a japanese folk song praising peace.

The japanese artists presented two Koto musical schools, including the Chikushi, introduced by Prof. Miyagi Kanami, and the Ikutaryu, introduced by artist Kazuno Urasoe. Through the melodies of the Koto zithers, which were accompanied by flutes, or played in a concerto with the zithers of the National Flower Group that presented old and new musical pieces, the audience seem to see the natural Japanese landscapes with cherry blossoms, the Mount Fuji and young girls in their national dress.

The performance of two zitherist from South Korea, Prof. Lee Chae Suk and Prof. Kim Sun Ok was held on the Mid- Autumn night and they gave the audience a special treat with most of their songs praising the beauty of the moon. They presented the old and folk music, which was at times melodious at other times strong and moving. When one of them played solo, the other played drums as accompaniment. The Kayagum looks like the Guzheng, but it is played without plectrum, thus producing soft and harmonious melodies. On the contrary, the Komungo has only 6 strings and is played with a hard stick, thus producing strong and bass timbres. The deep sounds of the Kayagum are similar to that produced by Vietnam's dan day (the long neck three-string, a distant cousin of the guitar played in ca tru and cheo).

Prof. Thum Soon Boon and his two young students, female artists Chow Hui Ming and Low Guan Yi came from Singapore and captivated the audience with their performance of several Singaporean folk songs, including Harvest Drum, The Tune of Qin Mulberry, Drumming of Xiang Shan and Spring Melody, the "Beauty of the Red River", which was composed for the festival and reflected through the Guzheng zither. The Guzheng zither is close to the Vietnamese Tranh zither, but its playing technique of the left hand and the number of strings (normally 21 strings) are different. Its string size is bigger, thus giving it a distinctive timbre.

The 5-day festival was an opportunity for the artists to introduce the distinctive features of the traditional musical instruments of their countries and boost their interaction as well.

As part of the festival, seminars and exchange sessions were held at the City Opera House and the Conservatory of HCM City.

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