Recordings of bygone days on the streets of Hanoi, including train
bells, ancient songs and Ca Tru (ceremonial singing) will resound again
for the first time in an event called Hanoi Soundwalk on April 13.
Participants joining the walk will start from the Hanoi Cathedral
and stroll through the old streets of Hang Gai, Hang Vai, and Bat Dan
for 60-90 minutes. With the aid of their smart phones and headphones
they can choose which parts of the city to discover. As walkers move
from one place to the next the sounds they hear will change.
Recordings include people in the past talking about places on the
route, a radio broadcast evoking a bygone era, a creaking rickshaw, a
train passing or the performance of long-forgotten music.
The event is part of the ongoing 2013 Hanoi Sound Stuff Festival, and
Locative Audio project taking place in 11 cities around the world
including Virginia (US), Avignon ( France ) and Oxford (UK).
Tri Minh, founder and coordinator of Sound Stuff Festival, said that
all recordings and images of the walk will be sent to Barcelona,
Spain, the centre of the Locative Audio project.
The sounds once familiar to Hanoians are expected to receive much
attention from people, especially the youth, therefore boosting the
preservation of cultural values, Minh added.-VNA