Published:  00:00 Wednesday - May 06, 2009

Many delegates from the diplomatic community and parliamentarian delegations, including Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem, have attended a cultural exchange to enjoy the quintessence of Vietnam’s love duets.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the northern province of Bac Ninh co-organized the event at Phu Lam commune, Tien Du district, about 30km from Hanoi, on May 5.

The participants had the chance to ‘taste’ traditional quan ho melodies without musical accompaniment and find out about the quan ho culture, including cuisine, costumes and the lyrics used in the songs. Dr Nguyen Chi Bien from the Vietnam Institute for Culture and Arts introduced different types of quan ho performances and discussed how the art is taught and preserved, as well as its charm and influence.

A number of overseas quan ho ‘singers’ took part in the performances and talked with Vietnamese quan ho singers and performers.

The Republic of Korea’s Ambassador Im Hong Jae said that he listened attentively to the quan ho tunes, which he found very affectionate and passionate, similar to those from Korean culture which he had heard when he was a child.

Mr Jae added that the Republic of Korea’s Government has decided to support Vietnam’s efforts to win UNESCO recognition of quan ho singing as intangible cultural heritage.

The Italian ambassador Andrea Perugini said the meeting helped him and his colleagues to better understand the profoundness of Vietnamese culture and the human spirit in quan ho melodies, which shares many similarities with those from his homeland.

Other ambassadors from Mexico, Cuba and Turkey also expressed their support for Vietnam’s submitting the file on quan ho to UNESCO to seek recognition of the art.