Published:  00:00 Monday - July 20, 2009

Hundreds of local spectators and Japanese tourists flocked to the courtyard in front of Hue Royal Citadel’s Thai Hoa Palace on July 17 to enjoy a special performance that brought together “nha nhac” (Vietnamese court music) and “gagaku”, its Japanese counterpart.

The performance by the Hue based Theatre of Traditional Court Performing Arts and the Tokyo New City Symphony Orchestra featured gagaku artists from Japan, including the renown musician Togi Hideki.

Hideki’ skills have been passed down through his family from generation to generation of his family for more than 1,300 years.

The two groups performed 12 instrumental pieces representing the best of this musical genre.

The Vietnamese court players displayed their talents with “tam luan cuu chuyen” (three rounds of drumming that can reach nine the gods), a classical piece once performed as a ritual in royal offerings to God.

Another piece, “luc cung hao dang”, a court dance with lotus lanterns, pays respect to Buddha and various genies.

The Togi family, performing five new songs composed by Hideki influenced by “gagaku”, played traditional Japanese instruments, including the “sho” and “ryuteki”, with Hideki on the “hichiriki” flute.

Hideki also performed a new melody reflecting local culture that he composed while he was studying Vietnamese court music.

The final performance, which blended “gagaku” modern symphonic music and “nha nhac”, included members of the Togi family playing two symphonies composed by Hideki.

“We hope that this concert will help Vietnamese people to understand the deep cultural link that has existed between us for a long time,’ said Kazuo Aichi, deputy and secretary general of Japan’s World Heritage Concert Committee.

“These cultural values have been built over hundreds, if not thousands of years, distilling the culture and talent of our ancestors, “ said Hideki, adding that they are invaluable cultural heritages that must be preserved.

In 2003, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation include “nha nhac” on the list of the world’s intangible cultural heritages. Japanese “gagaku” aspires for this status, according to the event’s organisers.