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Pham Duy is one of the most few well known musicians in the Au Lac's world of music. As one of the special guests at the "Evening of Music and Poetry -- Traces of the Previous Life and Love Songs", he expressed his viewpoints concerning Supreme Master Ching Hai's poetry. At the same time, he introduced two of his newly composed songs, using lyrics from two of Supreme Master Ching Hai's poems -- "A Lonesome Night" (which he changed to "Lonesome") and "Existence and Nothingness". After the concert, Pham Duy was also interviewed by Vietnam Performing Arts Radio in relation to his two newly composed songs.
Following is his introduction of Supreme Master Ching Hai's poetry and the two songs at the "Evening of Music and Poetry".
Since the introduction of modern music about half a century ago, Au Lac people have staged many different kinds concerts, both inside Au Lac and abroad. First, there was the concert of love songs where we can praise the sentimental, passionate and sensual aspects of love. Then, there was the concert of heroic music in which we can express our patriotism for our homeland and countrymen. If there was ever a solemn concert about our country's history, then there would also be a concert with humorous music. Evidently, we know how to use music to nourish mankind through the depiction of emotions like happiness, anger, love and hatred.
However, up to now, we've rarely had the kind of concert with the main theme being spiritual, just like the one we had today. As a person who often composes spirtual music, as well as love songs and popular music, I sincerely thank the organizing staff for inviting me to participate in this concert and to say a few words about the journey of those who have guided us in the search for the land of eternity...
Today, I am glad to enter the world of Supreme Master Ching Hai's poetry. I'm not going to repeat what my friend Tran Van An already highlighted. Suma Chig Hai's poetry represents a mixture between worldly love and the purity of spirtual practice. For me, Her poetry is not just a breaking of preconceived ideas of a spiritual practitioner, It's also the poetry of the spiritual journey, the journey of human life on the wave of the spiritual path. The "baggage" is an open heart, the destiny is the realization of Self and inner peace. It is the turning away with no binding; it is the turning back very carefree. It is the kind of poem called "Listening to the story of our past".
I also believe that Supreme Master Ching Hai's poems are very worldly and yet also very spiritual, such as "I Feel Sorry For Him", "Like The Clouds Up In The Sky", "Passing By His House", "The Man Who Recreated Eden", et cetera. My colleagues, musicians and composers like Le Dinh, Nhat Ngan, and Phuong Vu carefully put these to music, and these musically improvised poems will be presented to you through the magnificent voices of Khanh Ly, Mai Huong, Le Thu, Duy Khanh, et cetera.
For myself, I've chosen one of Supreme Master Ching Hai's traditional spiritual songs from "Traces of a Previous Life," called "Lonesome" to compose music:
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"I felt lonely as I've never been so lonely I felt sad as I've never been so sad..." |
We Au Lac people who have been away from our homeland for over twenty years, we are the "birds" who have twice been "lost in the middst of an immense space" because not only are we lonely in our fate as human beings, but we are also very lonely being "a stranger in a foreign land". Supreme Master Ching Hai has extended Her open arms, and I'm really not surprise at all to learn that She has disciples all over the world. Indeed, in this rendezvous such as tonight, in this musical gathering, even though She has not preached anything, She is already with us on the journey back to our youth; back to the legendary land as mentioned in the poems.
You have heard Kieu Loan reciting this poem in the beautiful traditional recital style. Now, you are going to hear Duy Quang present this poem.
Modern music has the advantage over traditional poem recital in the sense that modern musical melody is more flexible than the fixed form of poetry recital. It can transform the atmosphere from "the loneliness of the vast open sky" to "the happiness of holding hand in hand in the night" much easier.
Ladies and gentlemen,on this last day of the old year, and in the warm atmosphere of this "Evening of Spiritual Music Performance", I would like to invite you to listen to the song "Lonesome": written by Supreme Master Ching Hai, music by Pham Duy, and presented by Duy Quang.
Ladies and gentlemen: Duy Quang!...
I used to think that a human life is an endless journey, but with every departure there is a return. With Supreme Master Ching Hai, Nirvana is not a place of refuge, and with Luu Nguyen, the Holy Land cannot make one forget his way home, therfore:
"One step forward we return to the original state
One step backward we go back to the world of dust!..."
For me, Supreme Master Ching Hai is always "turning away with no binding", and always "turning back very carefree". With the same ideal of harmonizing society and the individual human being, I have written music for the poem "Existence and Nothingness" by Supreme Master Ching Hai. Ladies and gentlemen, once again, Duy Quang!...
