The beauty of Thanh Dong through emotional songs

Many professional and amateur singers have chosen songs written about Hai Duong City to perform on the occasion of the 218th anniversary of Thanh Dong's founding, the 68th anniversary of the city's liberation and the 25th anniversary of Hai Duong City's founding.

Love into music

“I return to Hai Duong, I return to my homeland/Through the vast, sunny streets”. The familiar streets of Hai Duong City gradually appear through each lyric of the song “Hai Duong, the city I love” by musician Mai Doan, set to music from a poem by author Nguyen The Truong.

Although not born in Hai Duong City, the time living and working here has given musician Mai Doan his own feelings. The musician said that Hai Duong City is peaceful and beautiful with every street corner and road. “I am especially impressed with the old streets: Tuy An, Tuy Hoa, Dong Xuan, Tran Binh Trong... to the rows of milk flowers on Bach Dang Street that are sweetly fragrant every autumn. The peace of the city has made every time I compose or set music for works written about Hai Duong City, the melody just comes out, without having to hesitate or think too much,” musician Mai Doan shared.

In his more than 200 songs, musician Mai Doan has many works written specifically about Hai Duong city, but the ones that impress listeners are "Hai Duong green city", "Thanh Dong's daughter", "Hai Duong the city I love"...

Referring to songs written about the city, musician Khuc Kim Tinh said: “Thanh Dong has a history of more than 200 years and has become a creative inspiration not only for me but also for many artists. In each of my works, Hai Duong City has an ancient, familiar feel but also changes and develops with the country”. Some of musician Khuc Kim Tinh’s songs have been performed by famous singers such as Anh Tho and Trong Tan on major anniversaries of the city. Some of his songs about Hai Duong City have been recorded and broadcast on Voice of Vietnam Radio.

There are currently no complete statistics on the number of songs written about Hai Duong City, but through a number of competitions, it can be seen that Thanh Dong has become a source of inspiration for many musicians both inside and outside the province. In 2017, in just 6 months of launching the songwriting contest about the city, it attracted 172 works from 118 authors inside and outside the province. The Organizing Committee selected 22 excellent works to award prizes, including many good songs about the city such as: "Them yeu Thanh Dong" by musician Pham Cong Quong, "Hai Duong thanh pho toi yeu" by Tran Van Tien, "Tinh ca Thanh Dong" by Le Xuan Chung, "Chao Hai Duong cuc xuan da ve" by Pham Ba Chinh, "Yeu que minh Hai Duong" by Duong Duc Nghiem, "Di gioi chieu xuan thanh pho" by Pham Quang Hien, "Hai Duong thanh pho ngan hoa" by Hoang Thanh...

Love the city more

The song “Singing about the city of love” was composed by musician Hoang Thanh from a poem called “Homeland” by author Tran Thi Thanh Tam, a teacher at Vo Thi Sau Secondary School (Hai Duong City) and performed by singer Bich Ngoc on a lyrical background music, quite impressive. The song is like a story of a mother telling her child about the changes in Hai Duong City.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, a retired official in Pham Ngu Lao ward, said: “Listening to the song “Singing about the loving city” makes us feel more proud of the city that is constantly changing. The song has simple, rustic lyrics that easily touch people’s hearts, so every time we participate in local events, our art troupe often chooses this song to perform.”

Hoang Thanh, one of the musicians with many songs about the city, said: “Everyone has a hometown to remember, so when composing songs about Hai Duong City, we always choose familiar places and events associated with each city resident to remind and evoke feelings in the listeners. Through each song, we musicians hope that the music will evoke in each listener a special feeling for their hometown.”

Whether deep, affectionate or bustling, heroic, or cheerful, songs written about Hai Duong City all express the special feelings of artists for this land. Ms. Dinh Thu Lan on Tran Binh Trong Street, who often performs songs about Hai Duong City, said: “Being a daughter-in-law in Hai Duong for more than 15 years and having sung many songs about the city at conferences or big holidays, I always try to learn about the places or events that musicians mention in the songs. That is why I find Quang Trung Street covered with green banyan trees or the sound of the train whistle when entering the station, Phu Luong Bridge, and the water tower at the Children's House very beautiful.”

From the inspiration of many musicians, many good songs about Hai Duong city have touched people's hearts.

HAI MINH