History
Quan Ho was born about the 13th century in the Bac Ninh province and was always heard during spring festivals, especially of the Buddhists. Bac Ninh is the province where numerous pagodas were built, therefore, big Buddhist offering ceremonies were celebrated each year in spring. Boys and girls came to adore Buddha and after that, gathered together inside or in front of the pagoda or in the field to sing "Quan Ho”.
Originally Hat Quan Ho were exchange songs between two mandarins' families. Gradually, it spread out and became popular among the northern people. Groups were formed just for singing, and many marriages were formed at these get-togethers. After centuries, Hat Quan Ho became the most significant Vietnamese folk-song type.
Hat Quan Ho, also called Quan Ho Bac Ninh singing, is an antiphonal singing tradition in which men and women take turns singing in a challenge-and-response fashion drawing on a known repertoire of melodies. Usually a pair of women starts, presenting in unison a complete song called Cau ra (challenge phrase") lasting three to eight minutes. A pair of men of the opposing team responds with another song called Cau doi ("matching phrase"), which must match the melody of the women's song in order to be considered correct. Next it will be the men's turn to challenge the women with a song that can be completely different from the previous pair of songs.
According to the tradition, only young people used to sing Quan Ho songs, as the major body of song texts centers on the subject of love and sentimental desire among young adults. Nowadays, elderly singers are quite enthusiastic about singing for guests.
Unlike the simple lullabies, which were inspired by daily works, Hat Quan Ho was always searching for new content and new reforms.
Love in Hat Quan Ho is not sad and pessimistic as it is in lullabies (ru) or in calls (ho). On the contrary, the tune of this type is rich in tunes and rhythms because it received all the influences of lullabies, poem recitation, etc.
There are four major airs in Hat Quan Ho:
1. Giong song (transitor air)
2. Giong vat (diverse air)
3. Giong ham (recitative air)
4. Giong bi (tunes borrowed from other sources)
The most popular Quan Ho songs, "Qua Cau Gio Bay", "Treo Len Quan Doc" (also known as "Ly Cay da"), "Se Chi Luon Kim", were sung in Giong Vat. The singers also imitated the musical sound, the sound of rice grinding, crying, etc. When one of the two singing groups used any specific tune, the other one was to reply in the same tune. The singing ends with songs in the farewell category, a feature that has never been changed giving the singing session a sense of completion.
Hat Quan Ho were spring festival songs. The farmers left their farming for a while to enjoy the beautiful weather, especially during the New Year (Tet).
Hat Quan Ho in festivals
Hat Quan Ho in festivals traditionally began either at the communal-ritual house or at the Buddhist temple as early as the night before the main festival day. Nowadays, only a few major festivals continue that tradition, while most villages carry out the singing on the main day.
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Quan ho folk song
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