Superb album of ancient court music performed on a variety of traditional instruments by an eleven member ensemble. Rare, and beautiful music. Recommended.

Excellent survey of various types of Vietnamese traditional music. These include court music played by a large ensemble, folk songs, solo sets of various flutes, the two chord fiddle dan-nhi, dan tranh (zither) plus a Chinese tune and bizzarely, Mozart played by a Vietnamese symphonic ensemble. 11 tracks. English liner notes and song title translations.


Price:   £12.99

Kim Sinh adopted an almost mythical status after Ry Cooder quoted he had collaborated with him, but then no record ever appeared. It's easy to hear what appealed to Cooder. Sinh is an extraordinary Vietnamese musician playing guitar, steel guitar and the Vietnamese two stringed lute the dan nguyet. His music evokes the blues at times. He is also a Cai Luong performer, a kind of Vietnamese theatre and a popular type of popular song based on traditional music. This exquisite album features both instrumentals and songs, mostly sung by Sinh occasionally in duet with a female vocalist. Brilliant.

Traditional songs and instruments such as a 17 string zither, 1 stinged harp and bamboo flute. Good recording.


Price:   £15.99

Superb album of mostly instrumental traditional music played on dan tranh (zither) and Vietnamese guitars, phim lom, dan kim and dan co. Includes two vocal tracks and one featuring piano. High quality recording of exquisite southern traditional music.

Fantastic CD of solo dan tranh (16 stringed zither). The tranh is similar to the Japanese koto, the Chinse guzheng, or the Korean kayagum, but is an original Vietnamese instrument. The player sits and the right hand plucks the strings while the left hand presses them down. It is often used as an accompaniment to poetry or as part of a larger ensemble. As a solo tranh CD this is as good as it gets. Slow, reflective, graceful, charming, wonderfully played, beautifully recorded. On a par with the best zither players from the rest of Asia.


Price:   £12.99

Tourists to the Mekong Delta are often treated to a performance of so-called 'amateur' music from the south. This fantastic CD is of a live recording of instrumental music from the south, played on a variety of stringed instruments including dan nguyet (moon-shaped lute) dan nhi (two stringed fiddle) dan bao (monochord) and Vietnamese guitar. The songs are introduced in English as well as Vietnamese giving background to the music and information on each song.

Described on the cover as an 'eminently artist' Phuong Bao is from Nam Ha province the daughter of a famous dan bau player. She studied zither (tranh) at music college and for over forty years has been acknowledged as one of Vietnam's most prominent traditional zither players. She has played in countries around the world. Beautiful performances on zither accompanied by Vietnamese percussion other traditional instruments, and occasional violin. An old recording of Vietnamese classical music, that has an experimental edge.


Price:   £12.99

If you want an overview of Vietnamese traditional music and instruments, perhaps this is the CD. It begins with a tune played on the dan trung (bamboo xylophone) before moving onto the dan nhi (2 stringed fiddle) various flutes, dan tranh (zither) dan ty ba (pear shaped lute) dan bao (monochord) and dan nguyet (moon shaped lute) and rarer instruments such as hong phuc, tien vuong, the dan and mai phuong.

Volume 2 is up to the standard of the previous set. This one features more ensemble pieces played on the common traditional instruments as well as many more rare instruments such as klongput (bamboo tubes).


Price:   £12.99

10 tracks featuring 9 different instruments: dan bau (monochord), trung (bamboo xylophone) sao truc (bamboo flute) dan nhi (two-stringed guitar) dan nguyet (moon shaped guitar) klongput (bamboo tubes) dan tranh (sixteen stringed zither) tyba (four stringed guitar). The instruments are featured both solo and as the featured instrument in an ensemble. Excellent album.

Fantastic CD of southern Vietnamese folk and traditional music played on tyba (four stringed guitar) tranh (zither) and some other rare instruments. The music has a raw quality to it, but the performances are nothing less than virtuosic. 14 excellent tracks many with a bluesy quality.


Price:   £12.99