Singer Thai Thanh can be considered a legend and not many music lovers in Vietnam object to this. We know that life and death are a constant part of life, but her passing still brings great regret and sadness to millions of music-loving hearts.
One could write a whole book about Thai Thanh’s singing, about her wonderful voice, about the title “Timeless Singing”, about her biography and life path. However, in this article, the writer would only like to share with music-loving readers the most notable things and sincere feelings about Thai Thanh’s voice, as a tribute to the works that she has performed, spreading their wings to fly far away.
The woman created Impressionism/Exaggeration in her singing style
Thai Thanh has been singing since she was 14 years old and possesses an amazing voice that makes those who hear it for the first time startled. It is a smooth combination of Northern folk music (chan, quan ho, cheo) and Western opera. It is worth mentioning that she taught herself to sing, studied music through music books and shaped her own singing style – That is “exaggeration”.
Exaggeration and attention-grabbing is a quality that manifests outside the spiritual culture and personality of Vietnamese people at that time, which was heavily influenced by Confucian and Oriental culture. Even very talented men try to force themselves to be humble, and women are even more discouraged and discouraged from expressing themselves. From a young age, Ms. Thai Thanh dared to do things that even men were hesitant to do, and that started an extraordinary journey in Vietnamese literature.
Painting by famous artist Luu Cong Nhan of Thai Thanh
Có người nói vui là ai công lực yếu không nghe nổi Thái Thanh bởi tính cường điệu này. Tuy nhiên, khi nghe được thì sẽ bị nghiện, bị mê hoặc và tôn thờ. Bà sở hữu âm vực giọng rất rộng trải dài từ trung đến cao, uyển chuyển, kỹ thuật lắt léo lên bổng xuống trầm, bi ai, bông đùa như một trò chơi đơn giản đến khó tin. Hầu hết các tác phẩm qua giọng ca Thái Thanh đều thổn thức, rũ rượi, nồng nàn hơn nguyên bản bởi sự cường điệu hóa trong cách biểu hiện tác phẩm. Thường sự “đi quá giới hạn” sẽ gặp ngay phản tác dụng và làm mất tinh thần tác phẩm, nhưng với Thái Thanh, khi bà "làm quá", chính tác giả cũng giật mình, tâm đắc và phát hiện ra những chiều – góc ẩn sâu trong tác phẩm của mình.
Not to mention her extremely standard pronunciation and pronunciation, every sentence and every word is polished and beautified by her like the most demanding craftsman. It’s no exaggeration to say that Thai Thanh is a female singer who has contributed to making the Vietnamese language so splendid and sparkling that no word can describe it. I would like to quote writer Nguyen Dinh Toan’s comment on this: “Through Thai Thanh singing, people feel more in love with the national language and love each other more.”
With the exaggerated and impressive style of her singing voice, she can be seen as a heroic heroine of Vietnamese women in a time when they were oppressed and constrained by the harsh, conservative shackles of work – tolerance – language – conduct. Therefore, the title of music monument is only reserved for great musicians, and audiences do not hesitate to give it to her. Even without any name, the two words Thai Thanh carry a weight and a splendid, indelible radiance in the minds of music lovers.
Lesson: Thien Ca – Art Columnist
Watch Part 2: The voice of a famous family
