Hello musician Giang Son! As someone who lives and works in Hanoi, how do you feel during these historic October days?
- For me, these October days are always the most beautiful days in Hanoi. Especially when this year is the 70th anniversary of the Liberation of the Capital, I myself feel very excited to join in the vibrant atmosphere of these historic days.
It can be said that "Hanoi 12 Flower Seasons" is closely associated with the name of musician Giang Son. What observations and experiences helped you write this song?
- I feel very lucky to be born and raised in Hanoi, I can say that my entire childhood was spent admiring the streets of Hanoi. When I was 7 years old, I studied at Hanoi College of Art, at first the school was at Nguyen Thai Hoc and then moved to 7 Hai Ba Trung. Because my house was in Cau Giay, I had to go to Hai Ba Trung, so along the way, I got to see the rows of trees along the road, the very large acacia trees with wide canopies and the dracontomelon trees - a type of tree especially associated with Hanoians.
Then there are images that have been imprinted in my mind since childhood, such as ancient moss-covered tiled roofs, bicycles full of flowers going around Hanoi. Flower carts sometimes signal to us what season is coming. For example, when spring comes, peach branches are carried down by carts, filling the streets, then in summer there are lilies, or when you see daisies, it means autumn is coming...
Those are all very special things that are kept in my memory and make me always wish to be able to write a really good song about Hanoi that everyone loves. When I was still thinking about that idea, I happened to read an article about Hanoi's flower seasons. At that time, I thought that this was the topic I had always cherished and that was what I saw every day, which had been familiar for nearly 40 years, so I started writing the song "Hanoi 12 Flower Seasons".
How long did it take you from writing the first lyrics to completing this song? And did you encounter any difficulties during that process?
- If I were to talk about a difficult thing, it would probably be refining the lyrics. Indeed, I wrote the song "Hanoi 12 Seasons of Flowers" in just 2 hours, but before that, refining each sentence and each word was also a difficult problem.
If I just counted each month corresponding to a flower, it would be too easy, but art cannot be that easy. In the first months, I put each month 1 corresponding to a flower, but when the chorus comes, the music starts to get more intense and climax, so I have to filter each word.
I had to find the most characteristic thing in the remaining months to encapsulate but those lyrics also had to have Vietnamese accents, tones and had to fit the music flow. That made it quite difficult for me to think but fortunately I only finished this song in about 2 hours.
When I finished writing it, I didn't give it to any singer. About 2 years later, I got an offer from a center to order it, so I gave it to them. At that time, I still didn't know which singer would perform "Hanoi 12 seasons of flowers". One day, singer Thu Phuong suddenly called me and confided that when she recorded this song, she cried because she missed Hanoi so much.
She told me that all the lyrics and words in the song, although only about flowers, made her feel very moved and miss Hanoi deeply. And singer Thu Phuong is also the most successful singer of this song.
"Hanoi 12 Flower Seasons" was released in 2012. So up to now, has your perception of Hanoi changed much compared to the time you wrote this song?
- Since I was a child, from the time I was in primary school, to secondary school, high school, university and now when I am an adult, Hanoi has changed a lot. In the past, Hanoi was quieter, less crowded, bustling, noisy or dusty like it is now. Hanoi before was greener and more peaceful.
However, Hanoi now has the appearance of a rapidly developing city with high-rise buildings and luxurious apartments. However, I still hope that Hanoi can retain its ancient features and its elegant, refined and refined people.
There have been many songs written about Hanoi by veteran musicians as well as young musicians. What do you think about Hanoi makes musicians feel so strongly and put every breath of Hanoi into their songs?
- Hanoi has always been considered a romantic city, with a rich culture and history. Ancient architectural works, hundreds of years old moss-covered tiled roofs, flower-filled streets and when autumn comes, the streets are filled with golden sunshine, pleasant weather...
Those things make people feel more love for life and people. And that is also what makes artists, musicians, poets, and painters have endless emotions and inspirations about Hanoi.
I think each person will feel about Hanoi according to their own beauty that they discover and each person will write about Hanoi from a different angle according to what they find. I think Hanoi has always been and will forever be an endless subject for artists to exploit.
At different times of the year, songs about Hanoi resonate and touch people's hearts. From immortal songs like "Tien ve Ha Noi" to "Ha Noi 12 mua hoa" or every year there are many young musicians writing about Hanoi, how do you evaluate the vitality of these songs in the flow of modern music?
- The works of senior musicians about Hanoi are really too beautiful. That also puts a lot of pressure on generations like us or even younger people. The Hanoi of our uncles is too passionate, too romantic, too poignant and I also have to follow in that beauty and romance. I also try to put into my works the breath of the times and my own personality.
Up to now, I see some young people writing about Hanoi very well, very modern, civilized but still romantic like "Passionate Hanoi" by Nguyen Duc Cuong or "Beloved Winters" by Do Bao... Hanoi is still very young, modern but not less romantic and lyrical.
In the future, does Ms. Giang Son have plans to write another work about Hanoi?
- That's what I've always cherished, but you know, writing about Hanoi is not easy. To have "Hanoi 12 Flower Seasons", it took me more than ten years to cherish, find a topic and it had to be a topic that no one had written about, no one had exploited to have a difference.
I am still exploring and learning every day, still discovering Hanoi in my own way and hope that one day soon I will be able to write more and more beautiful and wonderful songs about Hanoi.
