Xẩm

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History and performers#

The origin of xẩm was dated from the Trần dynasty in the 14th century. During the dynastic time, xẩm was popular in the Northern region of Vietnam. At the beginning of the 20th century, xẩm artists performed on the trams of the public transport system of Hanoi, so this type of folk music was sometimes called xẩm tàu điện (tram xẩm). When the tram lines were abandoned in the 1980s, xẩm tàu điện disappeared and xẩm gradually fell into oblivion. Nowadays, xẩm is considered an endangered form of Vietnamese traditional music because the number of experienced artists rapidly declines while the younger generation usually prefers modern types of music. She was one of the few artisans who was honoured by the title Nghệ sĩ ưu tú (Outstanding Artist of Vietnam). There are several efforts to preserve and propagate xẩm, such as the introduction of xẩm performance in the Đồng Xuân night market, and encouraging young artists to learn xẩm from old artisans.

XA on Music Theory Print

Xẩm

History and performers#