This is a Manqabat, a Qawwali poem in praise of great religious personages, especially Sufi saints. \n\nLyrics: Batufail-e-daman-e-Murtaza, main bataaun kyaa mujhe kyaa milaa Keh Ali mile to Nabi mile, jo Nabi mile to Khudaa milaa Tere naqsh-e-pa se qadam qadam, woh maqaam-e-sabr-o- raza milaa Kahin khak-e-ahl-e-junun mili, kahin khun-e-rang-e-wafaa milaa Tu amir ibn-e-amir hai, teraa faiz-e-azim hai Tere dar se jo bhi milaa mujhe, mere hausle se siwaa milaa Tu sharik-e-haal e butul hai, tu rafiq-e-al-e-Rasul hai Main-e-marifat kas-e-ashiqi, yeh to jam kis ko milaa milaa. \nTranslation: “How can I describe what I have gained through my attachment to Murtaza*! When I reached Ali, I reached the Prophet; when I reached the Prophet, I reached God. Following your example, step by step I have attained perseverance and submission. Somewhere, I encountered the traces of the ecstatic; somewhere, the blood in the color of faithfulness. You are a lord of lords; your beneficence is the greatest of all. The uncountable blessings I have received from your bounty have gone beyond my aspirations. You are joined with the daughter of the Prophet, you are close to the Prophet’s kin.You are the wine of cognition, the object of love; oh, to receive this goblet!” Meraj Ahmad Nizami, Bulbul-e-Chisht, normally known as Meraj is the most senior among the descendants of Tan Ras Khan, the famous nineteenth-century court singer. Nizami indicates his attachment to the saint Nizamuddin Auliya, while Bulbul-e-Chisht is his honorific title, conferred upon him by the late Khwaja Hasan Nizami, who was a famous Sufi sheikh. .

Since ancient times, the Nùng ethnic minority regarded folksongs as confidence, a means of communication and love expressions, and the vibration of the heart. In singing, they can express their thoughts and feelings at anytime and anywhere. Hò khuyên is sung to the tune of Hèo Phươn, a typical Nùng An folk song. Hèo Phươn is sung based on a pair of poems, each pair has two sentences and each sentence has ten words. When singing, each part for men or women has two people— one bass voice and one high voice. They sing in harmonious and romantic parts. Words of the ancient songs are full of overflowing, profound, lyrical, yearning, and loving words.

Nhàn ngâm cách tells about village boys and girls having fun on New Year’s, going to a pagoda to offer incense and congratulate the king and mandarins.

The t’rưng is a popular instrument of ethnic minorities living in the Central Highlands. It is made of hornless bamboo sections of various lengths (between five and sixteen sections). One end includes the node, and the other end is slantingly cut. The slantingly cut end of each section is not only for decorating but also for adjusting the pitch to the principle, of which the big sections give a bass sound and the small sections give a high sound. The sections are linked to each other with rattan or parachute cord at a set distance so that the bamboo sections do not touch each other. These bamboo sections are hung upside down on a triangular frame. In performance, the instrumentalist stands and knocks the instrument by using two short sticks or plays upward or downward. The ambitus of the t’rưng is quite wide, up to three octaves, depending the number of bamboo sections. Its sound is joyful and clear.

The goong is a plucked stringed instrumentmade of a bamboo section. Its two ends have nodes. Its length is eighty centimeters and its diameter is five to eight centimeters. In some places, people tie a dry gourd to this instrument to increase resonance. The goong can have from eight to eighteen strings, but nine to twelve strings is the most popular. Each string produces one sound. To play this instrument, the instrumentalist puts the bottom of this instrument against his stomach and puts the head of this instrument in front of him to create a 45˚ angle. Two little fingers support the instrument and the rest pluck it. The goong instrument is only for men. It imitates the sound of the gong set. While gongs are allowed to be played only in some special occasions, the goong instruments can be played in anywhere in the Central Highlands.

According to the census data of 2009, the Thái ethnic minority in Vietnam had a population of about 1.5 million people, making them the third populous group in Vietnam, mostly residing in Sơn La and Điện Biên provinces. Thái people have a rich treasure of folk culture such as myths, poems, hát khắp folk songs, xòe dance, and bamboo pole dance. The tính tẩu is a typical musical instrument of Thái people. The tính tẩu is used to accompany the ritual singing, especially in the Then ceremony of the ethnic minorities like the Thái, Tày, and Nùng. In addition, the tính tẩu is also used to accompany love-exchange songs and the xòe dance of Thái people. The tính tẩu is a plucked stringed instrument made up of a head, neck, resonator, surface, bridge, and strings. The neck and the head are made of a piece of wood with a total length of about eighty to ninety centimeters. There are two tuning pegs. The round and thick resonator is made from the cover of an old gourd. The instrument surface is covered with bamboo. The bridge is a piece of bamboo with grooves for the strings to fall into. The tính tẩu has between two and three strings depending on each region and on musical functions.

Ngư tiều canh mục cách song describes the farmer’s work, such as fishing, collecting firewood, farming, and tending cattle.

This song belongs to the first stage in a hát Xoan performance. The lyrics are a song prayer inviting the king and gods to descend to and the earth grant blessings. The music of Thơ nhang is slow and solemn.

Đóng đám, a long song consisting of many sections, ends stage one.

The đinh tác ta is an aerophonic instrument made of a hornless bamboo section put through a dry gourd. At the hornless bamboo part inside the gourd, there is a bamboo reed. The rest of the bamboo part has three pressing holes. When playing, the instrumentalist holds the knob of the gourd in his mouth while his left thumb covers or opens the other end. His right thumb, forefinger, and middle finger press the three holes on the section. Đinh tác ta’s timbre is loud and clear. Only men play this instrument in the fields or on the roads; it is rarely performed in the village.

Expressing lovesickness and the wish of living together.

This is an excerpt of a Tuồng play, called “Trảm Trịnh Ân” (Trịnh Ân was beheaded), which can be called “Tống Thái Tổ Túy Sát Trịnh Ân” or “Đào Tam Xuân loạn trào”), one of the classical Tuồng works. This excerpt is a conversation between Trịnh Ân and his son while walking to Trịnh Ân to an execution ground. Being unjustly convicted, Trịnh Ân had to endure that conviction. Because he did not want his son to witness his execution, he advised his son to go home. However, his son was grief stricken and did not want to leave his father. The melodies in this excerpt include Nam bình, Nói lối đạp Ai qua nói lối Ai, Hát khách, Nam ai, and Nói lối thường.