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| Trần Tùng Anh is one of the rare male singers in Việt Nam possessing a castrato voice. Photo courtesy of the artist |
HÀ NỘI Trần Tùng Anh has released his debut album Núi Hát (Singing Mountain).
Produced by renowned music directors Đồng Quang Vinh and Lưu Quang Minh along with many other famous musicians, the album is expected to mark a turning point in the singer’s career after six years pursuing the musical path.
He is one of the rare male singers in Việt Nam possessing a castrato voice
Núi Hát consists of nine music videos (MVs), including classic Vietnamese revolutionary, folk-inspired and traditional quan họ (love duet) songs, like Nàng Thơ Xứ Huế (The Muse of Huế), Hồ Trên Núi (The Lake on the Mountain), and Tình Ca Tây Bắc (Love Song of the Northwest).
MV Đẹp Mãi Tình Ta (Our Love Remains Beautiful), the song that opens the album, was composed by Anh himself as a praise for his parents’ love.
Anh’s parents both served in the military and met each other in the central region. They shared a love for singing and often took him to the veteran’s cultural performances and rehearsals. This upbringing instilled a deep passion for singing in the 27-year-old singer and inspired him to release Singing Mountain as a gift for his father who passed away a year ago.
On the album, he chooses to sing both his androgynous voice and his natural male voice to fully convey the meaning of the story he wishes to tell, accompanied by a grand symphony and ethnic music ensemble.
Explaining the title of the album, Núi Hát, the countertenor said it originated from his childhood dream – introducing the beauty of his homeland.
“I was born in the northern province of Bắc Giang, surrounded by mountains as far as the eye can see,” he said.
“The path I’m pursuing is the same – to reach the summit, there are many challenges. People often ask who my supporter is, and it is my family, particularly my elder sister.”
According to Anh, the nine songs featured in the album encapsulate the footsteps of his father’s military service and the journey of love of his parents. When listening to the album, the audience will be able to imagine the story of a passionate young man who dedicated himself to his country and wholeheartedly embraced love and family.
Music director Đồng Quang Vinh said: “Normally, I don’t have much time to arrange and orchestrate for singers and solo artists because I want to reserve my time for truly special projects. When I received the invitation from Anh, I studied the compositions and his unique voice and decided to arrange and orchestrate three songs for his album”
Meanwhile, composer Lưu Quang Minh revealed that he would breathe new life into the classical songs of Núi Hát, which have become familiar to generations of Vietnamese audiences, “adapting them to fit Anh’s voice.”
Talking about the unique voice of the countertenor, Phúc Tiệp, Anh’s teacher at the National Academy of Music in Việt Nam, said: “Training artists like Anh is a special case because he possesses a castrato voice. It is a difficult and even painful process to develop such a voice.
“In Việt Nam, Anh is the first male singer to confidently step onto the stage with a voice that I consider a soprano female voice.”
The nine MVs from the album Núi Hát are released online on social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. One music video will be released each week starting September 24.
Anh embarked on his singing career in 2017 when he participated in The Voice. Although he only made it to the top 13 of the competition, he was still recognised as a rare “phenomenon” in Vietnamese music for possessing the remarkable ability to sing in a soaring female soprano range.
The singer later participated in many music game shows and released several small-scale projects, some of which have garnered millions of views. VNS
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