Musician Nguyen Van Thinh
MUSICIAN NGUYEN VAN THINH
(or GIAO THINH)
(1908-1991)
Musician Nguyen Van Thinh, stage name Giao Thinh (Teacher Thinh), was born in 1908 (Mau Than) in Binh Hang, Tong Phong Nam, Sadec province.
At a young age, Teacher Thinh studied with Musician Nguyen Van Hanh (Teacher Tam Hanh) and Ms. Sau Dung. These are the two teachers who initiated Teacher Thinh about the pliers, Tranh, and Bhikkhu in the Southern ceremony and Tai Tu music.
In 1922, 14 years old, Giao Thinh studied at Indochina Primary School.
From 1924 to 1926, Giao Thinh studied as a boarding school at the Nam Ky Pedagogical School – Saigon. He continued to study music with teacher Tam Hanh.
From 1926 to 1928, Teacher Thinh studied music with the famous contemporary musician Lai Van Thoi (meaning Mr. Sau Thoi). Mr. Sau Thoi is the best student of Nguyen Quang Dai (Mr. Ba Doi).
In 1928, Thinh graduated from the Pedagogical School and taught at the Soc Trang Girls’ Primary School.
He always researched and studied the structure of ancient songs, the relationship of sound law between ancient music, poetry and ancient painting. He researched on five elements, five tones, five colors and found the principles of Vietnamese Harmony with sound laws similar to and equal to Western Harmony in both aspects: sound law and science.
In 1930, he moved to Saigon, taught at Giong Ong To Primary School. In the same year, he joined “BanTai Tu: Cao Quynh Cu, Cao Hoai Dieu, Cao Hoai Sang”, the most famous band in the Southeast at that time.
In 1958, in addition to teaching at home, Giao Thinh assumed the position of Director of Education at the Saigon National School of Music and Drama (now Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music) in place of Professor Nguyen Huu Ba. He adjusted and rearranged all Tai Tu songs to include in the teaching curriculum.
Giao Thinh with more than 60 years of life devoted to the art of national music, training many classes of talented musicians. In 1988, Giao Thinh was awarded the noble title of ” Elite Artist” by the state.
In 1990, Teacher Thinh won the Hoang Mai Luu Prize for Music, a great award for talented artists who have made great contributions to the arts. The Board of Directors of the Vietnam Academy of Music commented: “Mr. Giao Thinh is a highly skilled teacher and a senior artist”.
In 1991, after receiving the award for 1 year, Teacher Thinh died forever in the regret of everyone. At that time, he was 84 years old.
Source:
- Ty Ba – GS Hoang Co Thuy – Nguyen Xuan Yen
- https://nguyenvinhbao.wordpress.com/tag/nguyen-van-thinh/
