Years have passed, Trinh's music still captivates many people and stories about the genius musician are always attractive and captivating.
Once Trinh Cong Son is mentioned, many Hue people immediately remember the attic on Nguyen Truong To street, next to the An Cuu river - where the genius musician lived his youth with his family and friends.
That small, lovely and cozy attic is now a stopover for many tourists every time they visit Hue. For writer and translator Buu Y - a close friend of musician Trinh Cong Son, this attic is a place filled with countless memories of the talented musician and with family members as well as literary and artistic friends.
Not only was it the residence of Trinh Cong Son's family from the early 1960s to the late 1970s, "Gac Trinh" was the birthplace of many immortal love songs. After Trinh Cong Son's death, writer - translator Buu Y often visited this attic. "People probably cannot imagine it. Imagine, from front to back, only that much space but there are many people living together. Son's mother, three sons, five daughters and a 15-year-old child were busy cooking," writer Buu Y remembered vividly.
But not only that, right in this attic, there are always friends of musician Trinh Cong Son. And writer Buu Y admits that he is the one who is present regularly, sometimes staying for a whole month.
The old corridor is still there, the front, middle and back compartments of the attic are still not much changed. Writer Buu Y walks step by step familiarly, pointing to each corner inside the compartments, telling the "biography" full of love of the attic - The corridor is where Trinh Cong Son often goes in and out and sits on a large wooden cutting board. In the front compartment, it is where the sofa set and four large chairs are placed, with an altar placed in the middle. This small corner is also where Trinh Cong Son, Buu Y and a few other friends often visit such as Ngo Kha, Dinh Cuong, Buu Chi, Duong Dinh San, Hoang Dang Nhuan, Trinh Cung, Hoang Phu Ngoc Tuong... and many students often "talk".
The most impressive thing for writer Buu Y is probably the middle compartment of the attic. He said: "It's very strange, you have to look to feel it", because this compartment is quite small, but at night it can still be fully spaced, not only family members of the musician and friends can sleep together. "The mother and five younger sisters are lying on one bed. It is impossible to lie in one direction, so some people lie down horizontally and some people have to lie horizontally at the feet of those lying down horizontally. Next to that women's bed, is where a curtain is placed. That is where 3 men of the family and a few friends lie down," writer Buu Y recounted in detail.
And especially, according to writer Buu Y, musician Trinh Cong Son and him and many close friends work together to remind each other to work. Each person has a specialty, helping each other develop together. Also from that place, famous names. "Trinh Cong Son is talented in music, Dinh Cuong is famous in painting, Hoang Phu Ngoc Tuong writes poetry, teaches and writes criticism. Trinh Cung both writes poetry and draws; Ngo Kha is a very good legal expert in theory, and I, in addition to teaching, also participate in writing essays and translation...", Mr. Buu Y recounted about the group of friends who met in the attic that "laid the foundation" of friendship.
As for Dr. Thai Kim Lan, the first meeting with musician Trinh Cong Son when he was still a student and was immediately impressed with the demeanor of the slender, scholarly young man. Ms. Lan recounted that at that time Mr. Son appeared without being noisy, had a very cute smile and especially did not talk much, liked to listen to others.
Every time we talked, I had the feeling that Mr. Son paid a lot of attention to other people's words. Despite discussing many issues from philosophy to poetry, Mr. Son was still very taciturn. I knew he was listening, he was absorbing and not criticizing. And surprisingly, after such conversations, songs were born about what he had listened to," Dr. Thai Kim Lan recalled.
From initial contacts to familiarity, Dr. Thai Kim Lan has always been confided in many things by the genius musician. In Mrs. Lan's memory, whether heartbroken or disappointed, Trinh Cong Son never thought he was weak. At such times, he would sing. "It can be said that Trinh Cong Son is like a cicada, knowing how to listen to all the melodies of Hue to make very Hue songs," Dr. Thai Kim Lan concluded and added that her life was very lucky to meet "a very ordinary person but also a cultural person".
