Vietnamese couple give bamboo its due

Something the International Children’s Festival does really well is bring in intriguing cultural acts from far-flung places of the world. Prepare to embark on a trip to the Orient this year with Khac Chi Bamboo Music June 1 to 5.

Originally from North Vietnam, the husband and wife duo of Chi Khac Ho and Bic Hoang respectively showcase haunting Vietnamese melodies with an exclusive collection of rare and unique bamboo instruments.

“Chi and I love bamboo. In Vietnam and parts of Asia, you can find bamboo anywhere. People build houses and make houses from bamboo. We can contain water or cook rice in bamboo. We eat bamboo shoots or make chopsticks and toothpicks. And we love to use bamboo to make instruments,” explains Hoang.

To build the instruments, they often buy long bamboo tubes about four metres in length and choose the best part. “But first we have to let it sit for a few months. If after a few months, it hasn’t cracked we can use it. If it has cracked or shrunk in the heat, we cannot use it.”

The two musicians plan to play about 10 different musical instruments including the dan bau, a one-string zither that produces high clear sounds. Ho is the world’s premiere virtuoso on the dan bau. Hoang also specializes in the dan bau and many not-so-accessible instruments from Vietnam’s rural and mountainous region.

Hoang is also credited as being the first woman to play the modern two-string k’ni, a stick fiddle that is held between the player’s legs. The strings are attached to a resonating disc held in the player’s mouth and varying movements of the lips and tongue create a broad range of tones.

Hoang graduated from the Hanoi National Conservatory of Music in 1987 and a year later married Ho, one of her teachers. The duo formed a five-piece band in Vietnam. By 1992 they undertook a month-long tour of Canadian music festivals. Impressed with the country, the people and the freedom of artistic expression, they settled in Vancouver. “In Vietnam, tradition is very strong. It takes lots of time to accept new ideas.”

In their 50-minute show, the couple combines music and storytelling. “Vietnamese instruments are quite different, but we introduce them with humour and dance and people like to get up on stage with us.”