Last
year, the first German Christmas Market attracted about 30,000 visitors.
(Photo: vntravellive.com)
Local
residents will have a chance to enjoy a festive atmosphere and get into the
Christmas spirit through the market, an important folk tradition set up in the
traditional German fashion.
"We are honoured to host the second Christmas market and Christmas
concert," said Reverend Alphonsus Pham Hung, Chancellor and Chaplain of
the International Catholics in Hanoi. "It is a big event to provide an
opportunity for everyone to gather happily and welcome the Christmas season. It
also expresses the cultural relationship between Vietnam and Germany."
The three-day event will feature not only German specialties such as Christmas
beer, hot wine and traditional cakes, but will also sell typical German
handicraft Christmas gifts. These gifts are made by the German community and
other organisations.
Music performances will feature the unique band Bamboo Ensemble, amateur
musicians and German students from the Hanoi Goethe Institute and Hanoi
University. The Bamboo Ensemble will perform at 6pm all three days of the
festival under the baton of conductor Dong Quang Vinh.
A Christmas concert will be held on December 19. The concert will begin at 8pm
and will include popular pieces by musicians from the Vietnam National Symphony
Orchestra (VNSO).
Mozart’s Tantum Ergo will open the concert, followed by two special
pieces of the Baroque period by Handel and Bach.
"The Concerto in D-minor by Bach is a special choice for the
atmospheric evening," said conductor Tetsuji Honna. "Bach left space
for freedom of interpretation in his composition. That gives each concert and
each new setting of his pieces a certain uniqueness and particularity."
A highlight of the concert will be Coronation Mass by Mozart. The
piece will be performed by soloists from the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet
including soprano Dao To Loan, alto Phuong Thao, tenor Dinh Chuc and baritone
Manh Dung and the Catholic Youth Choir.
The concert will begin at 8pm with a request for donations. The market will
open on December 13 and 14 from 2pm to 9pm and on December 15 from 10am to 9pm
at Cua Bac Church, 56 Phan Dinh Phung Street.
Originally named the Church of Martyrs, Cua Bac Church was designed by
Frenchman Ernest Hebrard and built in 1932. It is one of the popular tourism
sites in Hanoi and is one of three major churches in the city along with Ham
Long and Saint Joseph Cathedral.
Last year, the German Christmas Market attracted about 30,000 visitors, six
times the organisation’s expected participation.
Source: VNA
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