Tran Hoan: composer of springtime

Today, just like in the 1980s and 1990s, every time the first season of the year makes its comeback on the street, spring songs by Tran Hoan are played on the radio and television.

The late composer wrote dozens of songs about the season or with its vibe, which are well-loved and have continuing vitality. Quang Tri people always feel great pride in the native of the land who was the Minister of Culture and Information, an exemplary revolutionary officer, as well as a songwriter known for his soul-stirring music devoted to the homeland and springtime.

Composer Tran Hoan embracing his guitar. Photo: T.L

Composer Tran Hoan was born Nguyen Tang Hich in 1928 in a rural area of ​​Hai Tan Commune, Hai Lang District. He taught himself music and started composing at the age of 16 or 17. When Hoan turned 20, he wrote the famed song “Son Nu Ca” (Mountain Girl Song), for which some believe that “he joined the ranks of renowned pre-war songwriters such as Van Cao, Doan Chuan, Le Thuong and Dang The Phong”.

Despite the early fame, Hoan was not a professional musician but a revolutionary officer, who participated in the anti-French resistance war since he was a student. Steeled through hardship and trusted by his comrades and superiors, he held many important positions: Director of Hai Phong Department of Culture, Head of Binh Tri Thien Information Department, Deputy Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, Member of the 6th and 7th Party Central Committees, Member of the 8th National Assembly, Minister of Culture and Information, Deputy Head of the Central Ideology and Culture Committee, and Chairman of the National Committee of the Alliance of Literature and Arts Associations of Vietnam.

Countless tasks took up most of the officer’s days. Only with downtime - and inspiration - could he produce music, composing only a few works each year. Nevertheless, many of his songs became widely popular, including timeless ones. Regarded as one of the best writers of spring songs by many, Tran Hoan was nicknamed “the composer of springtime”.

“Hoan is passionate about writing music, intoxicated by spring. Spring always gives him fresh, sublime, creative emotions,” Thanh Hong, Tran Hoan’s wife, once said about her husband’s spring songs.

For example, “Tinh Ca Mua Xuan” (Spring Love Song) describes the arrival of spring as a sweeping change of the whole universe, teeming with refreshing colors. The song begins with a young man’s announcement: “Dear, oh dear, spring has returned on leafy branches / The bird calls are so sweet for the vast blue sky.” The song was released in 1978 (based on Nguyen Loan’s poem), in the context of a poor country just three years after the complete liberation of the South. The wounds hadn’t healed, while the fields were still full of residual ordnance.

The daily meals then mainly featured boiled cassava and potatoes in place of steamed rice, served with the sound of gunfire at both ends of the border... “In your smiling eyes, there is the green color of cassava and potatoes / In your pretty hands, there is the image of the green canal,” the song vividly reflected the local life in the difficult period.

Strangely, rather than sorrow, the lyrics and melody are overflowing with unusual brightness, excitement and optimism: “Spring is back, dear, the first oddly cool rain / Spring is back, dear, the new sunshine has flown back.”

Notably, “Tinh Ca Mua Xuan” conveys the composer’s personal feelings - the longing for his wife during long years of war, and the joy of family reunion. That’s why the song’s birth had a great impact, especially upon the soldiers on the front line and the wives in the rear: “On the enemy-defeating front line, there are my firm hands / In the distant rear, there are your steady hands”.

Vibrant colors of spring. Photo: T.N

Three years later, Tran Hoan reached his peak with another spring-themed song, “Mua Xuan Nho Nho” (Little Spring), which was broadcast on the radio in the spring of 1981. It owed its inspiration to a poem with the same name by Thanh Hai, a long-time comrade-in-arms of Hoan.

Both of them followed the August Revolution and made contributions to the cause of anti-colonialism, but they were very modest people: “I am a singing bird / I am a flower branch / A fluttering low note / Disappearing in harmony”. Even their lives and careers are likened to just “a little spring”.

“Growing in the middle of the green river / Is a violet flower / Oh the skylark / Why does it sing so loudly / Each sparkling drop falls / I reach out to catch,” the song depicts a beautiful picture of springtime, with joyous sounds making people’s hearts flutter.

Composer Tran Hoan once shared his thoughts: “We artists shouldn’t bang on our chests thinking we’re doing something great. It’s fine if we only contribute a bamboo branch, a flower branch, a musical note, as long as it’s in the overall harmony of the artistic symphony that serves the revolution.”

In “Mua Xuan Nho Nho”, the key word is repeated multiple times: “Spring, spring, a little spring”, expressing great excitement before spring comes. The song also incorporates features of Hue folk music: “Nam Ai and Nam Bang melodies / The thousand-mile country of us / The thousand-mile country of love / The land of Hue with Senh Tien rhythm.”

Except for minor changes, the lyrics kept most of the words in Thanh Hai’s poem, showing the sympathy and understanding between the two friends. The combination of a fine poem and a lovely melody exposes listeners to the love of the poet and musician for their beloved fatherland.

A while later, in 1987, the local audience first listened to “Hat Ve Mua Xuan” (Singing About Spring), written by Tran Hoan and performed by singer Thanh Hoa. The song opens with a cheerful melody: “La la la la, la la la la / Joyful spring has come again / Trembling sunlight with thousands of shimmering beams / Spring is coming / Giving life rhythm and the scent of new life...”

Listeners can hear the echoes of labor, production and building of the country, which are associated with the love story of a young couple: “Meeting each other at the works, what dream makes your eyes sparkle? / Meeting each other in the field, what we say makes your rice plants greener?” Spring is filled with warm sunshine, flowers and human affection.

The song is a story that blends romantic love with love for the vast country, with a gentle, bright melody playing in the background. In addition, Tran Hoan also composed a number of songs about spring or with spring vibes, including “Em Nghi Gi Khi Mua Xuan Den” (What’s on Your Mind When Spring Comes), “Tham Ben Nha Rong” (Visiting Dragon House), or “Tieng Chim Mua Xuan” (Spring Bird Twitter).

Mostly born amidst difficulties in the country in the late 1970s and 1980s, his spring-themed works still exude vitality and an optimistic outlook on the future, lighting a flame of faith that keeps people then and now and moving forward. Listening to Tran Hoan’s spring songs every time the season is around the corner, we modern audiences still feel elated and ecstatic, as if our hearts were in full blossom.

Hoang Nam Bang- Jenna Duong