As recorded, under the reign of Tay Son, a court music orchestra called "Annam national music" by Qing dynasty's historians was included in the delegation sent to China. Since 1808, the orchestra was renamed "Vietnamese national music band". It was the time when royal music orchestra was "expanded".
According to archaeologists and historians, royal court music originated from Ly dynasty. Images of 10 instrumentalists playing the Chinese zither, two-string vertical violin with wooden resonator, Chinese pipa, flute, Chinese vertical end-blown flute, etc were found on the stone pillars of Van Phuc and Phat Tich pagoda (Bac Ninh province). It was not until Tran dynasty that "Dai nhac" orchestra was introduced.
Hue court music performance in the past (Photo: internet)
Court music was maintained and developed over hundreds of year for its distinctive art values. It was evident that talented musicians far and near became members of the orchestra. There, they had time to practice and become professional musicians who could brilliantly compose and perform. Besides, compared to folk musical instruments, those used in the court music orchestra were more carefully designed. Therefore, they can show a wide range of sounds.
The orchestra consists of two sub-types. "Dai nhac" includes trumpet, drum, percussion and the two-string fiddle (optional) while "Tieu nhac" contains string instruments and bamboo flute.