Last year, the first German Christmas Market attracted about 30,000 visitors. (Photo: vntravellive.com)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The GermanChristmas Market will be held for the second time at Cua Bac Church in Hanoi,offering handicraft gifts and musical performances to local people fromDecember 13-15.
Local residents will have a chance to enjoy afestive atmosphere and get into the Christmas spirit through the market, animportant folk tradition set up in the traditional German fashion.
"We are honoured to host the secondChristmas market and Christmas concert," said Reverend Alphonsus Pham Hung,Chancellor and Chaplain of the International Catholics in Hanoi. "It is abig event to provide an opportunity for everyone to gather happily and welcomethe Christmas season. It also expresses the cultural relationship between Vietnamand Germany."
The three-day event will feature not only Germanspecialties such as Christmas beer, hot wine and traditional cakes, but willalso sell typical German handicraft Christmas gifts. These gifts are made bythe German community and other organisations.
Music performances will feature the unique bandBamboo Ensemble, amateur musicians and German students from the Hanoi GoetheInstitute and Hanoi University. The Bamboo Ensemble will perform at 6pm allthree days of the festival under the baton of conductor Dong Quang Vinh.
A Christmas concert will be held on December 19.The concert will begin at 8pm and will include popular pieces by musicians fromthe Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra (VNSO).
Mozart’s Tantum Ergo will openthe concert, followed by two special pieces of the Baroque period by Handel andBach.
"The Concerto in D-minor byBach is a special choice for the atmospheric evening," said conductorTetsuji Honna. "Bach left space for freedom of interpretation in hiscomposition. That gives each concert and each new setting of his pieces acertain uniqueness and particularity."
A highlight of the concert will be CoronationMass by Mozart. The piece will be performed by soloists from the VietnamNational Opera and Ballet including soprano Dao To Loan, alto Phuong Thao,tenor Dinh Chuc and baritone Manh Dung and the Catholic Youth Choir.
The concert will begin at 8pm with a request fordonations. The market will open on December 13 and 14 from 2pm to 9pm and onDecember 15 from 10am to 9pm at Cua Bac Church, 56 Phan Dinh Phung Street.
Originally named the Church of Martyrs, Cua BacChurch was designed by Frenchman Ernest Hebrard and built in 1932. It is one ofthe popular tourism sites in Hanoi and is one of three major churches in thecity along with Ham Long and Saint Joseph Cathedral.
Last year, the German Christmas Market attractedabout 30,000 visitors, six times the organisation’s expected participation.-VNS/VNA
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