Vietnam’s traditional music in Germany

Poster of concert Osmosis, featuring two Vietnamese artists and three other international musicians

Osmosis, a venture to bring Vietnam’s traditional music seen from a modern perspective to the public, especially the younger generations, as well as bring contemporary music closer to the audience, will take place on September 7 at LOFT and the next day at Kunsthaus Rhenania at Festival STROM in Cologne.

Ngam tho, xam” and “ca tru are three traditional yet living musical genres of poetry chanting in a melodious language with six different fixed intonations - Vietnamese. The “chanting poem” with its improvisatory embellishment and melismas enhances the beauty of the language itself, the emotive power and the multilayered meanings behind each poetic word.

This intuitive improvisation is based on expression corresponding to Europe’s troubadour traditions and Gregorian chant, and to modern improvisation.

The concerts will feature Vietnamese percussist and pianist Cao Thanh Lan, who initiated Osmosis, Vietnamese traditional music singer Kim Oanh from Hanoi, German saxophonist Gregor Siedl, flautist and contrabassist Constantin Herzog, Austrian electronics player Sergej Maingardt, and percussist David Hernandez Deniz from Kazakhstan.

Cao Thanh Lan is currently completing her Master’s Degree in Contemporary Piano Music at the Cologne University of Music and Dance. After six years of studying European classical music in Belgium and Germany, she has gained a greater appreciation of the beauty of Vietnam’s traditional music and the importance of preserving and developing its tradition.