''Nhã nhạc'' (, , "elegant music") is a traditional music of

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. Vietnamese court music is very diverse, but the term ''nhã nhạc'' refers specifically to the Vietnamese court music performed from the

Trần dynasty The Trần dynasty, ( Vietnamese: Nhà Trần, chữ Nôm: 茹陳）also known as the House of Trần, was a Vietnamese dynasty that ruled over the Kingdom of Đại Việt from 1225 to 1400. The dynasty was founded when emperor Trần Thá ...

of the 13th century to the Nguyễn dynasty at the end of the 20th century.

Nhã Nhạc

Vietnamese court music was performed at annual ceremonies, including anniversaries and religious holidays, as well as special events such as coronations, funerals or official receptions, by highly trained and skilled court musicians. Along with the musicians, a number of intricate court dances also exist (''see Traditional Vietnamese dance''). Both musicians and dancers wore elaborately designed costumes during their performances. While the largest foreign influence on nhã nhạc came from the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

court of China, later on there were also adapted a few elements from the music of Champa, which the Vietnamese court found intriguing.

Instruments

Instruments commonly used for ''nhã nhạc'' include ''

kèn bầu The ''kèn bầu'' () is one of several types of kèn, a double reed wind instrument used in the traditional music of Vietnam. It is similar in construction and sound to the Chinese ''suona'' and the Korean ''taepyeongso''. It comes in var ...

'' (conical oboe), '' đàn tỳ bà'' (pear-shaped lute with four strings), '' đàn nguyệt'' (moon-shaped two-string lute), '' đàn tam'' (fretless lute with snakeskin-covered body and three strings), ''

đàn nhị The (, Chữ Nôm: 彈二), also called , is a Vietnamese bowed string instrument with two strings. The word ''nhị'' means "two" in Vietnamese, and means "instrument". Its sound box is generally covered on one end with snakeskin.''Garland En ...

'' (two-stringed vertical fiddle), ''

sáo The ''sáo'' (Chữ Nôm: 筲, also called ''sáo trúc'' or "sow trook", pronounced ) is a family of flutes found in Vietnam that is traditionally thought to contain the culture and spirit of Vietnam's countryside. The most common variety is playe ...

'' (also called ''sáo trúc''; a bamboo transverse flute), '' trống'' (drum played with sticks), and other percussion instruments.

Development during the Nguyễn dynasty

It is believed that ''nhã nhạc'' did not truly reach the pinnacle of its development until the Nguyễn Dynasty, when it was standardized. The Nguyễn emperors declared it as the official court music, and it became an essential part of the extensive rituals of the royal palace.

UNESCO

''Nhã nhạc'' is still performed in the old capital of

Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...

. 'Nhã nhạc of Huế court' () was recognised in 2003 by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

as a

Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity The Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity was made by the Director-General of UNESCO starting in 2001 to raise awareness of intangible cultural heritage and encourage local communities to protect them and th ...

. Extensive efforts have gone underway to preserve this truly unique and highly developed art.

References

External links

UNESCO Hanoi websiteUNESCO page''Nhã nhạc'' recorded in Hue

Video

Thập thủ liên hoàn, a royal piece''Nhã nhạc'' performanceLion dance performance with ''nhã nhạc'' accompaniment
Vietnamese traditional theatre Vietnamese music Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity Vietnamese words and phrases Royal and noble courts {{music-genre-stub