Introduction
Văn Cao, whose real name was Nguyễn Văn Cao, was born on November 15, 1923 in Hải Phòng into a family of civil servants. He is known as a musician with many contributions to Vietnamese music and arts, particularly as the composer of "Tiến quân ca" (The Marching Song), the national anthem of Vietnam.
Career and Activities
In his youth, he studied and worked in Hải Phòng. From 1943, he participated in Việt Minh activities, in the anti-spy team. During this period, he composed many patriotic songs, notably "Đống Đa", "Thăng Long hành khúc ca", "Tiếng rừng"... He also worked as a journalist, wrote poetry, and painted.
He joined the Hội Văn hoá Cứu quốc (Cultural Association for National Salvation), wrote for the newspaper Độc Lập, and participated in the Hội Văn Nghệ Việt Nam (Vietnam Arts Association) and the Hội nhạc sĩ Việt Nam (Vietnam Musicians' Association).
The Birth of "Tiến quân ca"
According to the author's account in 1976 about the circumstances of the national anthem's creation, it was during the winter days of 1944, when the nation's revolutionary struggle was surging. Văn Cao met Vũ Quý, a Việt Minh cadre who had been following Văn Cao's artistic activities. Vũ Quý suggested that Văn Cao leave his current life to engage in revolutionary activities and assigned him his first task: to compose a song for the revolutionary army.
At that time, Văn Cao had not yet known the resistance base, only knew the streets of Phố Ga, Hàng Bông, Bờ Hồ (Hà Nội) from his habitual walks, and had not met the revolutionary soldiers of the first military training course or knew how they sang. The author was thinking of how to write a song simple enough for them to sing. He pondered and searched for sounds and images during afternoon walks along the streets of Hà Nội and wrote the first musical notes of "Tiến quân ca". He revised and completed the song over many days at the attic at 45 Nguyễn Thượng Hiền, Hà Nội, during gloomy, hungry, cold, and harsh winter days.
When the song was finished, Vũ Quý was very pleased. "Tiến quân ca" is a revolutionary song, with a heroic, urging tone, encouraging the spirit, enthusiasm, and patriotism of the soldiers and people of Vietnam to rise up in the struggle for national independence.
On August 17, 1945, "Tiến quân ca" resounded in the sky of Hà Nội with thousands of voices singing along in lively passages. On August 19, 1945, a large rally was held at the Nhà hát Lớn square, where the choir of the Thiếu niên Tiền phong sang "Tiến quân ca" in salute to the red flag with a yellow star.
National Anthem of Vietnam
After the success of the August Revolution, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was established. In 1946, the First National Assembly officially decided to choose "Tiến quân ca" as the National Anthem of Vietnam. In the first Constitution of Vietnam in 1946, Article 3 clearly stated: The National Anthem is "Tiến quân ca".
"Tiến quân ca" was evaluated not only as a good piece of music compared to many national anthems of other countries but also as having full representative value, as it has bonded emotionally with successive generations through many arduous and glorious stages of Vietnam's national history.
Honors and Later Life
For his contributions to artistic activities, especially in composing "Tiến quân ca", according to Decree No. 32-SL dated April 25, 1949, he was honored with the First Class Resistance Order and the First Class Independence Order.
He passed away on July 10, 1995 in Hà Nội.