Hat Chéo- The music of Vietnamese Theatre

Hat Chéo- Traditional Folk Music of Vietnam

Drums

Musical Example Links:

A resurgence of Past Culture

Trong De

Trong Dai

Origin of Hát Chéo

Trong Com

Trong le

Phach

• Vietnamese folk music is extensive in forms and type depending of region and origin
• Chéo is a satirical theater used to entertain, teach morals, and be political commentary.
• Hát Chéo formed in Northern Vietnam, specifically the red river delta of Northern Vietnam.
• In rural Vietnam, Chéo was invented in communal houses and yards as a form of entertainment
• Type of theater known for merging the tragic with the comic.

• Vietnam was one of the many asian countries colonized by Europe. Specifically, in the case of Vietnam, France.
• After decades of colonial tyranny, Vietnam was finally left by French colonists
• In the wake of this freedom, Vietnamese citizens sought to prove that they had their own culture, free of past influences
• In this search, Vietnamese citizens looked for past culture, untouched by European society, uniquely Vietnamese
• Hat Chéo was rediscovered, having lost popularity. Being unique to northern Vietnam, there was a resurgence of popularity for this style of musical theater.
• Ho Chi Minh sought to display Vietnamese culture at it's best, and began writing down and collecting Chéo.

https://you tu.be/_VxgE6Ea52Q?t=1h49m14s

Traditional Chéo

"Ethnologists were to show that the revolution marked a

point of cultural enlightenment for the Vietnamese

Musical Example

people, before which there was ignorance

of the richness of their own culture."

-Lauren Meeker

Updates in Chéo

• Originating in the 12th century, Chéo was created by peasants and farmers in rural areas
• Most performances are based of legends passed down for hundreds of years
• Most traditional shows commonly featured improvisation from the actors, as the plot, characters, and songs were transmitted orally, allowing for improvisation with current events
• The costuming of the musicals was largely casual and dressed down compared to performances in larger cities
• The actors chose to display the characters alignment through their body movements. Ex. evil characters would move in a typically sneaky way.

• Basic Plot rundown:
• Lưu Bình – Dương Lễ
• Lưu and Lễ were childhood friends that lived and studied together.
• Lưu, from a rich family, was lazy and Lễ, from a poor family, was hardworking.
• Lễ passed his exams and earned a high-ranking post, while Lưu failed and eventually fell into ruin.
• Lưu sought Lễ’s help, but was chased away, and vowed to take revenge.
• Lưu met a woman named Châu Long, who encouraged him to study.
• Lưu passed the exams and went to tell Châu Long, but she disappeared.
• Lưu went to Lễ to ridicule him, but Lễ was welcoming and kind.
• Châu Long reveals herself as Lễ’s wife, and Lưu learns she was sent to help him.
• Lưu and Lễ reconcile.

With the aforementioned revival in Chéo came changes in the old format:

• Chéo was performed on larger stages and in bigger venues, with improvisation and audience interaction removed.
• Instead of being transmitted orally, Chéo was written down like Western music
• Classical Vietnamese pitches were replaced with Western pitches, scales, and harmonies.
• Tempo was increased as a method to show joy and reflect the revolutionary mood of the time.
• Harmonies were included in the music

The Instruments of Chéo

Dan tam thap luc

Dan nhi

"The use of Western notation for the transcription

of Vietnamese folk music is a necessary

yet inadequate tool for

preservation."

Dan Tranh

sao

Dan nguyet