Luala Street Concert is an annual event that took place this year as well at Hanoi on 5th May 2013. Although the event carries a traditional music fest look, however it became famous effective 2010 and has gained a lot of appreciation in the past two years. This concert has provided a fantastic experience to the audience and specially due to the fact that even after there is a rising demand and preference of the western music, such an event has been greatly successful in providing the cultural importance of local folk music and how phenomenal it can be when played with modern instruments.
General Reaction
The best part about this event was that there was a mixed use of various genres like Jazz, piano, electronic music and drums to produce local folk songs compiled by local bands and they all received great applauses from the crowd. Contemporary music was never a favorite to the audience however folk tunes in contemporary style, played with symphony orchestra really made a lot of difference and got unusual attention which was a great addition to the musical taste of local population. Luala Street concert has been extremely successful in the past few years however usually they contributed to the western music however this was the first time that there was an effort to create a combination of the traditional Vietnamese music and western musical styles which became a big hit everyone’s favorite.
Composition I liked best
Hat A Dao, which is one of the traditional forms of folk music in Vietnam has no similarity what so ever with Jazz and it is very difficult to think about mixing these genres considering the fact that they fall apart in terms of the notes completely. Phu Sa, Alluvial Band which has local artists successfully merged the above mentioned two genres to come back with an excellent mixed genre, playing the song “Gong of the Central Highlands”, which is a traditional song of the Mong ethnicity. In that group also, I specially liked the performance of Saxophonist Quyen Thien Dac who was very successful in playing a tune that mixed Cai Luong and Jazz and it was very spontaneous as that was on the request of the general audience.
Performance of composition
The performances collectively achieved melody and harmoniousness despite creating a highlighted impact of the typical sounds of each instrument. It is common that usually concerts play what the audience demands and therefore common musical instruments like guitar, drums and keyboard are the only ones that sem to dominate. The Luala Concert has brought a new system, where non traditional musical instruments like Saxophones, panpipe, jew’s harp, 16-cord zither, and the Gong were used and the audience developed a new taste towards these instruments. This is not only an encouragement to the local cultural and Vietnamese music however it is also a matter of enthusiasm for young musicians who have chosen to lean traditional forms of music.
Reaction to overall performance
Musical concerts are usually seen as music fests where fast and loud music is played however events like Luala Concert can effectively prove the fact that even traditional music can be mixed and represented with latest instruments, making it far more melodious and harmonious. This is not only a pleasure to the audience but also a major point of inspiration for the aspiring musicians.
References
Tuan, To. Luala concert: a melting pot of traditional and modern music. 11 May 2013. 21 June 2013 <http://vovworld.vn/en-US/Saturday-Report/Luala-concert-a-melting-pot-of-traditional-and-modern-music/153557.vov>.
