The home of the 2006 Winter Olympics is now heating up again with its 29th annual Torino Settembre Musica - a "concert for the people" that chose Vietnam's traditional music as its spotlight this year.

Italy or bust: Quan Ho, the traditional music of the northern province of Bac Ninh, is one of the Vietnam's original musical forms to be featured at the Torino Settembre Musica 2006.

The city's Gobetti Theatre and Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory will play host to Vietnamese music troupes, who bring with them a wide range of music traditions that have been moulded throughout the years from foreign cultures and innate changes from different ethnic groups.

"Every year, the organising committee invites a country to participate in the festival to present its culture and arts. Everyone chose Vietnam this year because of its powerfully unified cultural traditions with 54 different ethnics," says Nguyen Van Nam, Italy's Vietnamese Ambassador.

"Torino is a place where Vietnam has many traditional friends and where in the past many movements were held to support Vietnam widely," Nam adds.

The programme, entitled Chan Dung Vietnam (Viet Nam Portrait), which will be held from September 18-26, features participation of a gong group from the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) province of Dac Lac, along with Hue royal music and Bac Ninh quan ho (love duet).

This is the first time the Central Highlands gong is taking part in an international festival after UNESCO's Cultural Heritage Centre recognised it as a Masterpiece of Humanity's Oral and Intangible Heritage last November.

"Vietnam's renewal is attracting international attention, and appreciation for its music's elegant and ongoing changes is high in Europe. What is important is that in the new development process traditional culture is valued.

That's why the participation of Vietnam this year honours ethnies from cheo (traditional opera), ca tru (ceremonial singing) and quan ho to royal music and gongs with the participation of 70 musicians nationwide," Nam says.

Professor Tran Van Khe, a famous traditional music researcher, will lead the troupe.

The gong group of Dac Lac takes part in the programme with 17 people - among them are six male artisans of Ko Sier Hamlet (Buon Ma Thuot City) and six female artisans of Trap Hamlet, Krong Ana District, says Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, deputy director of the Culture and Information Department of Dac Lac.

The one-month festival intends to spice up its libraries as well with Southeast Asian flavour by providing archive collections of traditional Vietnamese instruments including dan bau (monochord zither) and k'long put, and Vietnamese handicraft displays.

(Source: Viet Nam News)