XA
Xẩm
Xẩm (Chữ Nôm: 眈) or Hát xẩm (咭眈, Xẩm singing) is a type of Vietnamese folk music which was popular in the Northern region of Vietnam but is nowadays considered an endangered form of traditional music
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.
Performance elements#
The melodies of xẩm are borrowed from different types of Vietnamese folk music such as trống quân, quan họ, chèo or lullabies. Themes of xẩm songs are often drawn from popular stories, poems and legends in Vietnam like Truyện Kiều, Lục Vân Tiên, Thạch Sanh or Nhị độ mai.
- Genre family
- Folk music genres
- Region
- Vietnam