Bên Xuân, the song that I chose this week, was written by two of the most notable Vietnamese musical figures of the 20th century, Văn Cao and Phạm Duy. Văn Cao lived from November 15th, 1923 to July 10th, 1995. He composed a lot of music in the time that he was alive, much of which was banned from being played in Vietnam for a long time after the Vietnam War. In 1956, he was forced to stop composing music after a movement for political and cultural freedom. Phạm Duy loved from October 5th, 1921 to January 27th, 2013. His work in composition spanned for more than seven decades and through some of the hardest times in Vietnamese history, such as the Vietnam War. He wrote more than one thousand songs in his time. His works were also banned during the Vietnam War, much like Văn Cao. They stayed banned for more than 30 years before those restrictions were lifted by the government. During the time that Duy was banned in Vietnam, he traveled to the United States and continued to perform the music that he wrote. 

I chose this song because first because of the history behind it with these two very great composers, but also because I really enjoyed the melody of it. It is very sweet sounding especially in the recording that I found. It reminds me of the start of spring and the start of something new.