Vietnamese Court Music

Vietnamese court music, nhã nhạc ('elegant music'), is the ceremonial art of Vietnam's imperial courts: large ensembles of drums, gongs, oboes, flutes, lutes and fiddles performing codified suites for coronations, state rituals, royal anniversaries and funerals. Systematised under the Lê dynasty and brought to its peak at the Nguyễn court in Huế (1802-1945), it sets Sino-Vietnamese texts and wordless ceremonial pieces in slow, weighted tempos, with the drum directing every change of section. Proclaimed by UNESCO in 2003, it survives through the court's former musicians and the resident ensembles of Huế.