The war has ended, with no more shelling, rumbling or roaring. However, the triumphal music of “Ho keo phao ”(Ballad of hauling up the artillery pieces) still lives forever.

Prior to the start of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign there came into being a magnanimous song that could express the majestic and monumental grandeur of the preparations for the triumph that might be seen as a golden landmark of history. It was the “Ho keo phao” (Ballad of hauling up the artillery pieces) by composer Hoang Van.

In the joyful atmosphere when the entire nation was eager to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory (May 7, 2004), I visited composer Hoang Van, at his private home in Hang Thung, a street in the ancient quarter of Hanoi. We had a cordial talk about his song.

Would you please tell us how the song “Ho keo phao” came to life?

Copy of the song "Ho keo phao" presented by Hoang Van as a gift to Vietnam Pictorial's readers.

The great exploits and enormous sacrifices of the units hauling up the artillery pieces stirred up immense inspiration in me. The images of the infantry and artillery units on their march to the front, hauling the anti-aircraft guns up hills and down dales haunted my mind day and night.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;

Such feats as hauling up the artillery pieces were so magnanimous. As it was quite late and very stuffy in the shelter, I could not sleep. So I walked out into the night. The moon was dim and the nocturnal mist, cold and chilly. All of a sudden, a grouse’s crowing was heard next to the entrance of my shelter… The crow, not only heralded the coming dawn, as a time marker, but also symbolized the army men’s earnest aspiration for triumph. It left very profound impressions on me. Returning to the shelter, I laid pen to paper, writing: “The forest grouse was crowing on the terraced fields…” The tune just went on and on. The rhythm 2/4 was in perfect harmony with the rhythm of the labourers and army men hauling the artillery pieces up the slopes of the high peaks of the mountains. There were 60 people in front and 60 others behind the two ends of a powerful rope, who were singing as they hauled the guns up the slopes into their designated entrenchment in the dead of night, amidst the random shelling in the distance by some enemy post. At times, the shells exploded quite close. Once a shell sliver incidentally flew into a fully-stretched rope of a unit that was exerting extreme pressure on an artillery piece of several tonnes. The rope snapped and the gun dashed at full speed down the ravine when To Vinh Dien swooped fast down to stop it with his own body … Re sol la re … All this came rushing into my mind. The lyric verses and the music emerged together at the nib of my pen. Then during the days when we were waiting for the start of the first salvos, I sang the song to my buddies. All commended it. And we learned to sing it together, thus forming a choir during the days waiting to go into battle, for victory.

Later I was sent to China to study musicology and became a composer. I’ve been composing symphonies and concertos, chamber music and operas, like the “Mme. Su” opera, and music for films and dramas.

And they include such well-known songs as “Quang Binh - Our homeland”, “Hanoi – Hue – Saigon” , “The two sisters”, “Song of construction”, “I’m a coal miner”, don’t they?nbsp;nbsp;

Composer Hoang Van: It’s true. I’ve been conferred the Ho Chi Minh Award by the State for those songs. As for the “ Ho keo phao”, it won the First Award at the Army Festival after the liberation and takeover of Hanoi capital. I myself was awarded the Order for Valiant Exploits, Third Class, for my records in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign and the Dien Bien Armyman insignia by General Vo Nguyen Giap.

By Tran Dinhnbsp;