Under the framework of the third National 'Don Ca Tai Tu' Festival, as organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in collaboration with the People's Committee of Can Tho City, the contest has drawn the participation of 21 provinces and cities in the southern region.
Artists from each group will participate in the contest with 35-minute performances, including solo, duet, group or band performances, with familiar melodies and lyrics associated with the lives of southern people, promising to attract large numbers of viewers.
'Don Ca Tai Tu' is an invaluable spiritual asset that the forefathers left behind. After more than 100 years of birth and development, 'Don Ca Tai Tu' is closely linked with the lives of the people of the Southern region.
The music is typically performed at festivals, commemoration rituals and other celebrations by farmer-performers. Instrumentalists and singers express their feelings by improvising based on a selection of 20 principals and 72 classical songs.
At the end of 2013, the art was listed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
The Southern 'Don Ca Tai Tu' contest is held every 3 years and has now become a tradition. The contest is considered as the playground of amateurs, contributing to preserving and promoting the popular and scholarly musical form of ‘Don Ca Tai Tu’.
The contest will run until April 10.
