• About Jeff von der Schmidt, the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble & LA International New Music Festival

Sound Travels with Jeff von der Schmidt

~ A blog about new music, travel and food

Sound Travels with Jeff von der Schmidt

Tag Archives: Nom Calligraphy

The Silence of Nôm Calligraphy: Memories of the Tết Lunar New Year

24 Friday Jan 2020

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Nom Calligraphy, Tet Lunar New Year, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vietnamese Cuisine, Vu Nhat Tan

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Ancient Music Ensemble of Tonkin, Bamboo House Hanoi, Banh Chung, Buddhism, Food, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hanoi Old Quarter, Nom Calligraphy, Poetry, Temple of Literature, Tet Lunar New Year 2018, Tet Markets, Travel, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Craftsman Era sunset glows on “Good Health” our Nôm calligraphy scroll.

As we say a “good riddance” to the chaotic Year of the Boar and as the more hopeful Year of the Mouse approaches on Saturday January 25, 2020, my thoughts and dreams return easily to 2018. That was the year I experienced my first Vietnamese Tết Lunar New Year in Hà Nội, the Year of the Dog.

“Anh Jeff, we want to show you and chị Jan the real Việt Nam!” said our good friends.

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The Eroica Moment for Việt Nam and the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble

06 Wednesday Sep 2017

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Buddhism, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Ken Burns, Kim Ngoc Tran, Music, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Buddhism, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Ken Burns, Kent Nagano, Kim Ngoc Tran, Luong Hue Trinh, Nguyen Minh Nhat, Nguyen Thien Dao, Nom Calligraphy, Paris, Ton That Tiet

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Composer Nguyễn Minh Nhật in Paris with his mentor, Tốn Thất Tiết.

While Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and PBS turn American attention to the Vietnam War with an important new documentary on September 17th, Jan Karlin and I will be in Việt Nam turning our attention to the third season of the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble. For the first time, Vietnamese composers are writing new works for their own Vietnamese ensemble for a supportive Vietnamese public, guided by their first ever American arts advisors, with trusted friends sending best wishes from Paris on October 21st.

Burns, Novick and PBS are justifiably concerned with the Vietnam War. But Jan and I want us all to truly to move forward, and to do that you must be prepared to see Việt Nam as a country. We firmly believe new music is writing the inspiring next chapter of our story together.

Why not join us in Hà Nội on October 21st and hear for yourself?

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Where the Dragon Descends: A Trip to Hạ Long Bay, Part Three

27 Tuesday Dec 2016

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Halong Bay, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Uncategorized, Vietnam

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Au Co Tours, Halong Bay, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Ho Xuan Hưởng, Nom, Nom Calligraphy, Poetry, Vietnam

The view out of my cabin window.

The morning view out of my cabin window.

Look and love everyone, whoever sees this landscape is stunned Hồ Xuân Hưởng

To understand Việt Nam, keep in mind that poetry remains a national pastime. Rhymes, puns, word play, metrical schemata, aphorisms, banners all over the place, all blend to create an identity that blooms into daily graceful utterance. I’ve never seen people come up with better titles for things than the Vietnamese.

Do you know Hồ Xuân Hưởng’s poem Questions for the Moon?

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Where the Dragon Descends: A Trip to Hạ Long Bay, Part Two

21 Wednesday Dec 2016

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Cat Ba Island, Halong Bay, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Nom Calligraphy, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam

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Asia, Au Co, Cat Ba Island, Halong Bay, Han Tuyen, Kimngoc Tran, Nom Calligraphy, Southeast Asia, Tran Dynasty, Trung Sisters, Vietnam

Jan on the Au Co as it docks for Cat Ba Island.

Jan on the Âu Cơ as the boat docks for Cát Bà Island.

My last post ended with our Hạ Long Bay boat docking at Cát Bà Island. In English, Cát Bà translates to Women’s Island.

As Jan and I prepared to disembark, we reflected quietly about the extraordinary role of women in Việt Nam’s history. Reaching back centuries, female military leadership against Chinese invaders remains embedded in the collective national unconscious. Việt Nam’s story about women strikes us as unique, and might well be one of the most compelling of any country on earth.

You question women in the military as armed combatants? Are you kidding me?

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A Pilgrimage to Chùa Dâu, the Oldest Buddhist Temple in Việt Nam

05 Wednesday Oct 2016

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Composers, Contemporary Music, Food, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, LA International New Music Festival, Minh Dam Quang, Paris, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Ancient Music, Asia, Bắc Ninh, Buddhism, Chùa Dâu, China, Confucius, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Mahayana Buddhism, Minh Dam Quang, Nom Calligraphy, Vietnam, Vietnam War, Vu Hoa, Vu Nhat Tan

Chua Dau, at 3000 years the oldest Buddhist temple in Viet Nam.

Chùa Dâu, at 3000 years the oldest Buddhist temple in Việt Nam.

It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop. Confucius

Rarely do I experience the guardian angels of my life coming back to Earth, encircling me with love, humility, thankfulness, generosity and, as I acknowledge the unavoidable fate of being human, life memory. As momentous as a baptism, wedding or funeral, these rare moments of spiritual contact leave a new connection, refreshing me for the next chapters of my life.

At Chùa Dâu, the oldest Buddhist temple in Việt Nam, I had one of those spiritual moments finding the guardian angel, the bodhisattva, of my work in Southeast Asia, Loi Trinh Le.

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