The first Chau Van (trance) singing festival for the Red river delta will be held in March 2010 in the northern province of Vinh Phuc, says the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Artists will sing songs in praise of the Party, late President Ho Chi Minh, national heroes and Thang Long-Hanoi.

Singers to the festival will come from Red river delta provinces of Ha Nam, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Ninh Binh, Nam Dinh, Thai Binh, Vinh Phuc, Hai Phong city and the capital city of Hanoi .

Chau Van singing is a spiritual genre of music used to invoke spirits during ceremonies. It is highly rhythmic and trance-oriented. It combines trance singing and dancing; a religious form of art used for extolling the merits of beneficent deities or deified national heroes. Its music and poetry are mingled with a variety of rhythms, pauses, tempos, stresses and pitches.

The art of Chau Van singing originated in the Red river delta in the 16th century, and then spread to the whole country. It has since adopted the essential beauty of folk songs from the uplands and highlands of the North, Centre and South.