Ha Thanh: "The painter of Hue" sings like pouring honey into the ear, the "pink shadow" in the dreams of many poets and writers

Ha Thanh is a famous female singer who is mentioned by many people with beautiful names such as "Hue painter", "No. 1 golden voice"... Her voice echoes as pure as the bell ringing. , but sweet to numb.

Referring to the generation of Vietnamese singers before 1975, people often only remember Thai Thanh, Khanh Ly, Le Thu, Hoang Oanh, and Thanh Tuyen. Few people know Ha Thanh because she lives a quiet, quiet life, away from the hustle and bustle of the stage.

Ha Thanh does not sing much, often refuses invitations to show shows, even though she is always welcomed and respected. She also rarely gives interviews and almost does not want to be in the press and media.

Perhaps that's why not many people remember Ha Thanh in the contemporary audience. But her stature in the Vietnamese new music scene is very large, worthy of the 2 capital letters "DANH CA".

Ha Thanh is a rare singer who brings a noble academic quality to Bolero music, making it classy and luxurious. Not only that, she is also successful in many other music fields such as pre-war, Slow, Ballad... Whenever she touches any genre of music, Ha Thanh also leaves a deep impression, coming from the luxurious quality. superlative and her rich, complex techniques.

Ha Thanh singer's real name is Tran Thi Luc Ha, born in Lieu Coc Ha, Huong Tra district, Thua Thien - Hue province. Ha Thanh is the fourth child in a religious family with 10 siblings, but only she follows the path of singing. As a Buddhist, from a young age she attended Dong Khanh School and sang in the program "Song of Students of Quoc Hoc - Dong Khanh" on Hue Radio.

In 1955, in the selection of singers organized by Hue Radio, she won the first prize when she was only 16 years old, with 6 songs, including the song Green River . After that, the song's name became her stage name: Ha Thanh.

In the mid-1960s, Ha Thanh's singing was regularly present on Radio Saigon, Tu Do... and participated in concert programs. In the Saigon art world before 1975, there were many people who loved Ha Thanh's singing. Pre-war songs such as: Truong Chi, Ben Xuan, Thien Thai... were performed by her very sweetly and captivated listeners.

Ha Thanh's name is associated with many immortal songs of Vietnam such as Old Voice, Ben Ngu Night (Duong Thieu Tuoc), Suoi Mo, Ben Xuan (Van Cao), Winter Night (Nguyen Van Thuong), Hoa. Spring (Pham Duy), I came to visit you on a rainy afternoon ( To Vu), My hometown Tu Dam (Van Giang), Love song from Hue (Tran Dinh Quan), Who went to the land of peach blossoms and Purple shirt (Hoang Hoang) Nguyen), female student Dong Khanh (Thu Ho)...

Ha Thanh also stands out in the use of traditional Hue folk songs, with an enchanting bouncing way of singing. It can be said that there are few singers in Vietnam with a sweet and smooth voice like Ha Thanh. She was attached as if she were singing a lullaby, attached to an extremely bright messa voce, resounding as pure as a bell, but sweet to the point of numbness. Every time listening to Ha Thanh's voice, the audience is lulled to death, like pouring honey into the ear.

With that characteristic voice attachment, Ha Thanh pushed Hue's emotions, the voice of Hue's heart to the climax, the ultimate. It can be said that she has reached the realm of painting Hue, speaking the language of Hue's heart, describing Hue's thoughts with her voice. In that voice is both the noble quality of the royal court, and the suffering and hardship of the poor, which brings tears to eyes.

Today's Bolero singers are very attached, but most are superficial. Few people reach the bottom of their emotions and embrace the hearts of a whole class of people like Ha Thanh.

Therefore, during her lifetime, Ha Thanh was highly appreciated by many talented researchers and musicians such as Pham Duy, Trinh Cong Son, Nguyen Van Dong, etc. She also became the dream shadow of many poets. , writer. Writer Mai Thao is a person who is very passionate about Ha Thanh, he used to come from Saigon to Hue to ask to marry Ha Thanh.

And Ha Thanh is the most typical female singer of Hue in the whole 20th century, which no one can match. She deserves the opinion of researcher Nguyen Xuan Dac: " Ha Thanh with the number 1 golden voice is considered the most typical female singer of Hue in the 20th century ".

Even in Hue, it is rare to find a female singer who possesses the most beautiful and luxurious singing voice like Ha Thanh. As soon as she raised her voice, she exuded her brooding, uncompromising attitude.

Hue's daughter is inherently famous for being naughty. Ha Thanh was born in a noble, educated family, was carefully educated from culture to manners, words, so it must be extremely elegant and polite.

In 1970, Ha Thanh married Lieutenant Colonel Bui The Dung of the Armored Army (Army of the Republic of Vietnam). In 1972, the two had a daughter, Kim Huyen.
After 1975, Bui The Dung had to go to re-education. In 1984, Ha Thanh and her daughter were sponsored by their family to settle in the Eastern United States. In 1990, Ha Thanh and his wife reunited but broke up two years later.

In the US, music centers have released 4 albums for Ha Thanh's voice alone. Those are Hue Love Songs, Border Rain Afternoon, Chinh Phu Ca and Sadness. She has also appeared on major stages such as Paris by Night, Asia, and Lang Van.

Along with her music career, singer Ha Thanh is also known for her spiritual life. From a young age, Ha Thanh soon turned to Buddhism. She took refuge with the Most Venerable Thich Tinh Khiet, with the Dharma name Tam Tu and participated in activities at the Huong Tu Buddhist Family in Hue.

She released overseas two CDs of Buddhist music titled Ngat Huong Dam and Branched Duong Cuu Suffering. Ha Thanh also put music into many Buddhist verses. In 1988 she went on a three-week pilgrimage with the Sangha of Plum Village up to Linh Thuu Mountain in India. She was bestowed by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh with the title of Ca Lang Tan Gia (a legendary bird that, when singing, will enlighten listeners).

On January 1, 2014, Ha Thanh - Ca Lang Tan Gia died in Boston of blood cancer. Many friends and admirers organized memorials for her in Boston-Massachusetts, Virginia, California, Hue and Saigon.

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