(HBO) - Formerly being a Secretary of the District’s Party Committee, however, he is more well-known among the people in Lac Son district as the person collecting the ancient folk songs of Muong ethnic people which are in danger of disappearing in the flow of culture and life.

Mr. Bui Van Nom (the external from the right) and his associates when contacting, studying and collecting Mo songs, the old folk songs of Muong ethnic people in Van Son commune (Lac Son).

Following the distinguished culture researcher and artisan, Mr. Bui Huy Vong, we visited Mr. Bui Van Nom, the former Secretary of Lac Son District’s Party Committee. There are full of books about history and culture he has been collecting over the years on his desk. The sound of the rhythms of Rang Thuong singing, love song singing (responsive singing) is peaceful, melodious and gentle from the small speakers mounted on the column. Mr. Bui Huy Vong says these are old songs. It is one of the peaks of Muong folk language expressed in a rustic but extremely deep and emotional voice by the elderly artists of Muong Vang region. Thanks to Mr. Nom, Lac Son district has been collecting and preserving many traditional folk songs of Muong ethnic people.

The treasure of folk tunes and ancient music that Bui Van Nom has worked so hard to gather, and the folk researchers and artisans collecting them during the past years can be considered to be "massive”. The folk songs, love songs, or Thuong Dang and Bo Met singing are all stored in the form of recordings and video recordings. These are all ancient lyrics, only the elderly people know and know how to sing them, and now they are in danger of disappearing. It is worth saying that "without the effort of Mr. Bui Van Nom, it is likely that a lot of folk songs would have completely disappeared and could not be found. Because many people have followed their ancestors to Muong Ma already. Those are extremely valuable documents,” the folklore researcher and artist, Mr. Bui Huy Vong said.

Talking with us, Mr. Bui Van Nom also says that currently the collection team has gathered, collected and saved hundreds of audio and video recordings with a duration of about 70 hours of responsive singing, in which there are songs that last from morning till night. Along with that, there are hundreds of high quality audio and video recordings of over 100 hours of folk artists’ performance. In addition, there are hundreds of old songs with lyrics and languages bearing a literary image.


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