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A programmatic composition built on a highly structured and coherent symbolism, Me Viet Nam comprises four parts: Mother's Earth, Mother's Mountains, Mother's Rivers and Mother's Sea. In the composer's own words, "in her youth [Part I], Mother Vietnam embodies the fertile Earth, loving and passionate, the foundation of family, ricefields, villages and country. In middle age [Part II], she becomes the Mountain, patient, persevering, sacrificing, protecting the soldier son. Then her heart is broken at the sight of her divided children the Rivers [Part III], some of whom have gone astray, betraying mother and fighting each other for glory and dominance. In old age [Part IV], Mother becomes the great Sea, generous and forgiving, calling for her children to return..."

The work starts with OUR MOTHER, a solemn hymn, economical - even spartan - in both music and words, as befits the homespun cloth of the subject matter. BEAUTIFUL MOTHER (No.2) is a masterly allegory, the geographical image of Viet Nam lying by the Pacific merging imperceptibly into that of a youthful, sensual woman waiting for love. MOTHER'S WAIT (No. 3) refers to the legend of the goddess Nu Oa, who had a contest with her husband to see who could raise the tallest pillar; Nu Oa won but in the process the sky collapsed, and she had to carry stones to mend it. It is worth noting Pham Duy's comfortable attitude towards the Chinese cultural heritage, in contrast to the strident nationalistic attitude often heard today.

MOTHER'S RICE (No. 4) is, together with Mother Ocean (No.16), perhaps the most accessible piece, celebrating young love and Mother Earth's rice crop. In SHE WELCOMES FATHER (No.5) the important role of the Vietnamese woman in the family and the nation is highlighted. The song alludes to several legends. At her husband's instigation, Chau Long went to live with his friend and benefactor Luu Binh who had fallen in bad times, encouraging him to persevere and overcome his troubles, and all the time remaining faithful to her husband. Kinh Tam was a woman wrongfully accused of trying to murder her husband; to escape opprobrium, she disguised herself as a man and took on a monk's robes, only to be accused by a village coquette of fathering her baby. Out of kindness, she remained silent and raised the child to manhood. Finally the "warrior with velvety eyes" could be any of several national heroines of ancient Vietnam, the most famous being the Trung sisters and Lady Trieu.

The sky suddenly darkens as we enters Part II (Mountains). In MOTHER'S QUESTION (no.6) the shadow of war descends. The theme is elaborated in the melancholic THE FESTIVAL IS OVER (No.7), set to the tune of Hat Ly, a southern lullaby. The drums shaking the moonlight on the Great Wall is an image from Doan Thi Diem's Chinh Phu Ngam (Song Of The Soldier's Wife). In the second section, the legend of the Nam Xuong woman is introduced for the first time. While her husband Truong was at war, she amused her child by pointing to her shadow on the wall and calling it his father. When the soldier returned, the child told him, in the mother's absence, that he could not be his real father who came only at night. Truong thereafter angrily accused her of being unfaithful, whereupon she threw herself in the river. Here Pham Duy has adapted the legend and the shadow is cast by the setting sun on the dyke.

MOTHER IN THE TRAVELLER'S HEART (No.8) is a march, but an unusual one with a lingering feeling of compassion and a longing for peace. Lam Son (Blue Mountain) was the base from which Le Loi liberated Vietnam from the Chinese invaders in the 15th century, while Hoanh Son, a buttress of the Annamitic Range, was foretold by the great Vietnamese astrologer Nguyen Binh Khiem to give "protection for ten thousand generations". MOTHER'S ANSWER (No.9) gives a delayed reply to No.6, yet the tone is just as mournful.

In MOTHER TURNS INTO STONE (No.10), the shadow of the Nam Xuong soldier has come and gone for the four thousand years of Vietnam's history. Mother's milk has dried after witnessing all the hardships. At the sight of suffering in all directions, she turns into stone. Again this is an adaptation of a well known legend, Hon Vong Phu (The Rock of Expectation), in which a soldier's wife carrying her child waited for her husband day after day on a mountain top, until she herself turned into a rock (reputedly still a landmark in Vietnam). With this comes the end of Part II.

LONGING TO GO HOME (No.11) is a short, melancholic folk rhyme leading into the frenetic OBSESSED RIVERS (No.12). Mother Vietnam's children, represented by her rivers, are possessed by dreams of glories and begin to forget Mother. The mighty, often destructive Red River and the Bach Dang (White Crested) are mentioned, the later being the site of two famous naval victories, King Ngo Quyen's in the tenth century (which opened Vietnam's independence era) and General Tran Hung Dao's over the Mongols.

RIVERS ENTOMBING MOTHERS (No.13) contains references to three different stories, one real, one semi-mythical and one fictional. In 40 A.D., after her husband was executed by the Chinese overlords, Trung Nu Vuong rallied the people and liberated Vietnam from the Chinese yoke for a short period before being defeated by the Chinese general Ma Vien. She defiantly threw herself into the Hat river rather then submitting. The Nam Xuong lady is again mentioned. The last stanza refers to the wife of You Must Live, a short story by the contemporary writer Khai Hung; when a peasant couple was swept away by the rising flood, she refused her husband's help and gave up her life so that he might live and raise the children.

RIVERS WHICH HAVE LOST THEIR WAY (No.14) is a logical continuation of No.12 and is set to the same theme. The River children are now completely captivated by their ideologies, as represented by the colors red, brown, yellow etc., and having lost their souls begin to fight each other. RIVERS OF DIVISION (No.15) starts with an untranslatable word play on "dividing (or divided) water", since "nuoc" means both country and water. There is a quick reference to the legend of the heavenly princess Chuc Nu, who fell in love with her father's cowherd; as a punishment he was banished to the other side of the Silvery River (Milky Way) and the couple was allowed to be reunited only once every autumn. The Thuong river's murky and clear halves flowing side by side have long been another symbol of separation. The Gianh divided Vietnam during the Trinh Nguyen secession (1600-1786) just as the Ben Hai river divided Vietnam after independence in 1954. At the end, a ray of hope comes with the faint voice of long forgotten Mother calling to her children, leading to Part IV (Sea).

The faint voice turns into a soothing lullaby as MOTHER OCEAN (No.16) brings a hopeful mood, then into persistent sea calls in the evocative WAVES ON THE EASTERN SEA (No.17). Finally the call is heeded in the joyful and rhythmic HOMEWARD SAIL THE BOATS (No.18). This song, and No. 20, end with the familiar "stork" folk strain symbolising a return to Vietnamese values.

LIGHTNING ON THE SEA, RAIN ON THE SPRINGS (No.18) brings a note of mysticism as sadness and joy intertwine. The title is from a folk rhyme, and Pham Duy himself explained: "At her children's return, mother's joyous tears evaporate and rise to the sky to form clouds full-bodied and warm, which float away to cleanse the whole earth, closing the full circle of Me Viet Nam." This cyclic theme is developed further in SILTING SANDS AND SWIRLING CLOUDS (No.20), in which Sea Mother sends back silt and sand to build up the earth from which she came, as "lifeblood circles back to the heart". In the poignant O MOTHER VIETNAM (No.21), the repentant children promise to love each other and cherish Motherland for ever.

The Finale, VIETNAM VIETNAM, has been called the Vietnamese's "unofficial national anthem" and is one of their best loved songs. Its grand vision, built on universal love and humanity, is rare in Vietnamese literature and music. Contemporary history is never far, however - the innocuous "sacred flame" is an allusion to the monk Thich Quang Duc's fiery self-immolation, which contributed to the downfall of Ngo Dinh Diem in 1963.

NOTES:
1. To get the CD "Me. Viet Nam" go to Pha.m Duy homepage
2. The English verses of Me Viet Nam are for singing and therefore aim to convey ideas and moods rather than to be an accurate translation. As far as possible, however, all references to Vietnamese mythology, popular literature and history have been preserved.