HCM CITY — A music video (MV) of contemporary folk music featuring 25 singers and musicians will be released on YouTube.

The work, Chúc Xuân (Happy New Spring), highlights love, youth, and women. It celebrates Tết (Lunar New Year holidays), which begins on January 29.

The song’s lyrics are written by poet Lâm Xuân Thi.

Producer and composer Hoài An combines Vietnamese folk music and pop with dance for the production. 

To perfect his MV, An invited Meritorious Artist and zither player Hải Phượng as a lead performer. 

Phượng, who has 30 years in đàn tranh (16-chord zither), has worked to introduce traditional Vietnamese music to the world. She has performed in Japan, South Korea, the US and Germany, and is a lecturer at the HCM City Music Conservatory.

One of Phượng’s highlighted albums is La Music Hier et Aujourd’ hui (Zither of Today and the Past), a production recorded with late music professor Trần Văn Khê in France in 1993. 

She has performed in many concerts and international music festivals, including Vietnamese Music Day at the ACL (Asian Composers League) Music Festival in 2000, Expo’ 93 in the Republic of South Korea and at the Vietnam Festival in Japan in 2001.  

The MV Chúc Xuân includes beautiful scenes featuring famous tourist destinations in HCM City and southern provinces. 

“The music of Chúc Xuân sends best wishes to people during Tết,” said An, who has more than 15 years in the industry. "We hope listeners at home and abroad will feel the beauty of Việt Nam when listening and watching our artists perform in different areas around the country in the MV.” 

An has composed more than 500 songs, of which many became hits during 1990-2000. 

He is also the Music Director of highly-rated TV game shows Gương Mặt Thân Quen (Your Face Looks Familiar), Vietnam Idol Kids, and Ca Sĩ Giấu Mặt (The Hidden Singer).

In 2022, An released his album of 12 songs called Thơ Ca (Poetical Songs), a combination of Vietnamese folk and pop. 

“Folk music plays to the heart of Vietnamese audiences. It has infused a deep passion into singers who come from different ages and backgrounds,” said An. 

Chúc Xuân will be released on YouTube and Spotify on December 25. — VNS