Under The Green Moss

Since time immemorial, music has always been an indispensable part in the spiritual life of humans. Besides the vocals, instruments are essential parts of music. Dan tranh( 16-string zither), dan nguyet( two-string guitar), dan co( two-string fiddle),… seem not to be so popular to the youth as the guitar or the piano, but play a massive role in many classical songs in music history of Vietnam.

There lies a small village located nearby Hanoi’s center, named Dao Xa, which upholds the tradition and the long-lasting mission of generating and spreading these traditional instruments to every corner of the country.

Craft Village Dao Xa, situated inside hamlet Dong Lo, ward Ung Hoa, has entwined with the craft of making instruments for more or less 200 years. The artisans here deem the instruments they make as their own children and devote all love and passion to them. They are dedicated to their occupation, determined to hold on to it till the end of their life. There was a time when everyone in the village did the same job of making instruments; or to put it another way, the whole village back then lived on instruments. However, the village is now in a struggle to bring old-aged instruments closer to everyone. Now that people become disinterested in traditional instruments, no one bothers to buy one, leaving villagers no choice but to find another job. Nowadays, the village is facing the obilivion of the long-established craft. Let’s join Under The Green Moss to take a visit to this village through a series of short videos “ Highs and lows of Dao Xa”


MUSIC ATTRIBUTION
Like Music (cdk Mix) by cdk (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/cdk/43816 Ft: snowflake