Music of Brittany
Encyclopedia
Since the early 1970s, Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

 has experienced a tremendous revival of its folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

. Along with flourishing traditional forms such as the bombard
Bombard (music)
The bombard, also known as talabard or ar vombard in the Breton language or bombarde in French, is a contemporary conical bore double reed instrument widely used to play traditional Breton music. The bombard is a woodwind instrument; the reed is held between the lips. The bombard is a member of the...

-binou pair and fest-noz ensembles incorporating other additional instruments, it has also branched out into numerous sub-genres. A great event to sample some traditional Breton music as well as some of the more modern variations like 'Rock Celtique' is to Visit Lorient in the first 10 days of August every year for the Interceltique Music Festival.Interceltic Music Festival - Lorient

Traditional Breton music

Traditional Breton folk music includes a variety of vocal and instrumental styles. Purely traditional musicians became the heroes of the roots revival in the second half of the 20th century, notably the Goadec sisters (Maryvonne, Thasie, and Eugenie). At the end of the 19th century, the vicomte Theodore Hersart de la Villemarqué's collection of largely nationalistic Breton songs, Barzaz Breiz
Barzaz Breiz
Barzaz Breiz is a collection of Breton popular songs collected by Théodore Hersart de la Villemarqué and published in 1839. It was compiled from oral tradition and preserves traditional folk tales, legends and music...

, was also influential, and was partially responsible for preserving Breton traditions.

Vocal music

Kan ha diskan
Kan ha diskan
Kan ha diskan is likely the most common type of traditional music of Brittany. It is a vocal tradition . The style is the most commonly used to accompany dances...

 (roughly translated as call and response
Call and response (music)
In music, a call and response is a succession of two distinct phrases usually played by different musicians, where the second phrase is heard as a direct commentary on or response to the first...

 singing) is probably the most common type of Breton vocal music, and is the most typical style to accompany dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...

. It has become perhaps the most integral part of the Breton roots revival
Roots revival
A roots revival is a trend which includes young performers popularizing the traditional musical styles of their ancestors. Often, roots revivals include an addition of newly-composed songs with socially and politically aware lyrics, as well as a general modernization of the folk sound.After an...

, and was the first genre of Breton music to gain some mainstream success, both in Brittany and abroad.

The lead singer is the kaner, and the second singer is the diskaner. The kaner sings a phrase, and the diskaner sings the last few lines with the kaner, then repeats it alone until the same last few lines, when the kaner again joins in. The phrase's repetition is changed slightly in each execution. Kan ha diskan can be songs about any subject, but must meet one of a number of a meters used in folk dances, mostly line
Line dance
A line dance is a choreographed dance with a repeated sequence of steps in which a group of people dance in one or more lines or rows without regard for the gender of the individuals, all facing the same direction, and executing the steps at the same time. Line dancers are not in physical contact...

 or round
Round dance
There are two distinct dance categories called round dance. The specific dances belonging to the first of these categories are often considered to be ethnic, folk or country dances...

. Vocable
Vocable
In speech, a vocable is an utterance, term, or word that is capable of being spoken and recognized. A non-lexical vocable is used without semantic role or meaning, while structure of vocables is often considered apart from any meaning...

s, or nonsense syllables (typically tra la la la leh no), are sometimes used to drag out lines. Usually a kan ha diskan lasts from 5 to 20 minutes.

In addition to the Goadecs, the singer Loeiz Ropars was largely responsible for maintaining kan ha diskans vitality in the middle of the 20th century, and the 1960s and 1970s revivalists drew largely on his work. They also venerated performers like Ar breudeur Morvan and Les soeurs Goadec/Ar c'hoarezed Goadeg. During the folk revival, aspiring musicians sought out elder teachers from whom to learn kan ha diskan, generally being viewed as successful when the student can act as diskaner to their mentor. Teachers of this era included Marcel Guilloux and Yann-Fanch Kemener
Yann-Fañch Kemener
Yann-Fañch Kemener is a traditional singer from Britanny, born in Sainte-Tréphine , France.He took part in reviving Kan ha diskan in the 1970s and 1980s, especially with Erik Marchand...

.

It was, however, Ropars who adapted the fest-noz, a "night party" in rural communities, for a new type of fest-noz (amplification for the singers), and set the stage for the folk revival.

Kantikoù (hymns)

Kantik ("canticle") is a type of religious hymn that is vocal but includes accompaniment from a variety of instruments, commonly including the harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...

, pipes and organ. Modern performers include Anne Auffret and the choir Ensemble Choral du Bout du Monde.

Gwerzioù and sonioù (laments and ballads)

Gwerzioù and sonioù are the two primary classifications of Breton unaccompanied folk song. Vocals for both types are usually by a soloist. A gwerz
Gwerz
Gwerz is a type of folk song of Brittany, a Celtic region in France.In Breton music, the gwerz tells a story which can be epic, historical, or mythological. The stories are usually of a tragic nature. The gwerz is characterised by an often monotonous melody and many couplets, all in the Breton...

 is a lament characterized by a gloomy tone and subject matter. A Gwerz typically describes tragic events such as murders, deaths, wars, forced emigration or lost love.

Performers in this field include Jean Le Meut from Vannes
Vannes
Vannes is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2000 years ago.-Geography:Vannes is located on the Gulf of Morbihan at the mouth of two rivers, the Marle and the Vincin. It is around 100 km northwest of Nantes and 450 km south west...

, whose songs are mostly of the sonioù variety, and are typically pastoral songs concerning love and marriage. More contemporary singers include Ifig Troadeg, who focuses on lyrically shocking gwerzioù, Patrick Marie, Marthe Vassalo, Klervi Rivière, Mathieu Hamon, Annie Ebrel, Erik Marchand
Erik Marchand
Erik Marchand is a French Breton traditional singer and player of the treujenn-gaol . Although born in Paris, his family was of Breton origin, hailing from Quelneuc, Brittany....

 and Denez Prigent.

Chants de marins

The chants de marins, are shanties
Shanty
Shanty may refer to:* Ice shanty, a portable shed placed on a frozen lake* Sea shanty, shipboard working songs* Shanty Hogan , Major League Baseball catcher* Shanty town, unit of irregular, low-cost dwellings...

 (sailor songs), ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...

s about shipwrecks, sailing and loss of life, often accompanied by instruments such as the fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...

 and accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....

.

Although it is not exclusively Breton, the large number of sailors in this region have given this form of musical expression a high profile.

The best known modern performers are Djiboudjep and Cabestan, along with numerous but less known bands as Tonnerre de Brest, L'Echo
L'Echo
L'Echo is a Belgian newspaper, published by Mediafin and mainly distributed in Wallonia and Brussels. It is the French counterpart of the Flemish daily De Tijd....

, Les Boucaniers or Taillevent
Taillevent
Guillaume Tirel, alias Taillevent was cook to the Court of France at the time of the first Valois kings and the Hundred Years War. His first position was enfent de cuisine to Queen Jeanne d'Évreux. From 1326 he was queux, head chef, to Philip VI...

. There are new composers too : Michel Tonnerre is a well-known modern composer of Chants de marins ; some of his compositions are as famous as ancient songs (Quinze marins, Satanicles, Vire au cabestan, Mon petit garçon).

There is an annual Chants de marins contest in the small town of Paimpol, in north Brittany, where the most famous shantymen of the world meet, such as the influential English singer Stan Hugill
Stan Hugill
Stan Hugill was a folk music performer, artist and sea music historian, known as the "Last Working Shantyman" and described as the "20th Century guardian of the tradition".-Biography:...

. At any harbour festival in Brittany Chants de marins can usually be heard.

Instrumental music

Since the Breton folk music revival, Scottish bagpipes and Irish harps have been added to the Breton repertoire, though Brittany retains its own unbroken piping traditions as well as mainstay instruments such as the bombard.

Celtic Harp

Though the harp had been common in Brittany in the Middle Ages, the instrument had disappeared by the 18th century, at least in its specific repertoire and making. Early in the 20th century, a Breton harpist Paul Diverres living in Wales came several times to play in Brittany . Just before and after the second World war, Gildas Jaffrenou  built a harp from the 14th century plans for the Brian Boru
Brian Boru
Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig, , , was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill. Building on the achievements of his father, Cennétig mac Lorcain, and especially his elder brother, Mathgamain, Brian first made himself King of Munster, then subjugated...

 model . But this was not enough for a revival.

In 1952-1953, Jord Cochevelou, built a first Breton new-Celtic harp. Since then and during the 50s, the Celtic harp or Breton harp has taken its place back into Breton music thanks to Jord and his son Alan Cochevelou; Alan was the first person to play it in public and became world famous under his stage name Alan Stivell
Alan Stivell
Alan Stivell is a Breton musician and singer, recording artist and master of the celtic harp who from the early 1970s revived global interest in the Celtic harp and Celtic music as part of world music.- Background: learning Breton music and culture :Alan was born in the Auvergnat town of Riom...

.

Modern Breton performers include Myrdhin, An Triskell, Kristen Nogues and Dominig Bouchaud.

Violon

The violon (which can mean either fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...

 or violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

) is an instrument played across France. Perhaps due to this wide-ranging appeal and lack of regional uniqueness, the instrument was somewhat ignored during the Breton folk revival in the mid-20th century. However, the instrument remains a common part of Breton folk bands today.

The violon has been played in Brittany since at least the 17th century, and was possibly the most widespread instrument in the land by the early 20th century. It was only a few decades later, however, that the accordion nearly wiped the violon out, and most fiddlers joined Irish bands, moved into jazz or otherwise left the instrument. The violon survived, however. Alan Stivell
Alan Stivell
Alan Stivell is a Breton musician and singer, recording artist and master of the celtic harp who from the early 1970s revived global interest in the Celtic harp and Celtic music as part of world music.- Background: learning Breton music and culture :Alan was born in the Auvergnat town of Riom...

 has used the fiddle and electric violin in his arrangements and compositions since his first album in 1970, inviting different fiddlers for his tours and records. It opened the way for a new generation of performers including Christian Lemaitre
Christian Lemaitre
Christian Lemaitre is a French musician specialised in Breton traditional fiddle. He learned the instrument in his teens in Paris and later moved to Brittany. He joined Kornog in 1981 and later formed a Breton dance-band.-External links:*...

, Jackie Molard
Jackie Molard
Jacky Molard is Breton musician and a well-known figure in traditional Breton music. He plays fiddle, guitar and bass. He is/has been a member of Gwerz, Pennou Skoulm, the Jacky Molard Acoustic Quartet, and has also played in various groups with Erik Marchand such as Taraf de Caransebes. He is...

 and the six-violin band Archétype.

Clarinet (Treujenn-Gaol)

The clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...

 was invented in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 in the 18th century. It evolved from earlier single reed instruments such as the renaissance chalumeaux, or shalmei. Clarinets were quickly incorporated into orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

s, from where they moved into marching band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...

s and the amateur musicians in them. By the 19th century, the clarinet had entered a number of folk traditions and spread to many parts of the world. In Brittany the instrument is called a treujenn-gaol (Breton
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...

), which translates as cabbage stalk.

The traditional Breton clarinet usually has only 13 keys (though sometimes as few as six), in contrast to the more common 'Boehm' instrument used in jazz, classical music and other fields. This is because classical musicians discarded the clarinets with fewer keys in favor of more complex and state-of-the-art pieces.

After a decline in use in traditional music, the instrument came back, notably in the music of the bagad
Bagad
A bagad is a Breton band, composed of bagpipes , bombards and drums . The pipe band tradition in Brittany was inspired by the Scottish example and has developed since the mid-20th century...

 and paired with the accordion.

In Breton music, two clarinetists typically play together, though they also play in ensembles with accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....

s and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

s. The clarinet is a common part of Breton jazz bands, along with saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

s and drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...

s, playing both jazz and traditional songs.

The best-known Breton clarinetists are probably Erik Marchand
Erik Marchand
Erik Marchand is a French Breton traditional singer and player of the treujenn-gaol . Although born in Paris, his family was of Breton origin, hailing from Quelneuc, Brittany....

, a former member of both Quintet Clarinettes and Gwerz
Gwerz
Gwerz is a type of folk song of Brittany, a Celtic region in France.In Breton music, the gwerz tells a story which can be epic, historical, or mythological. The stories are usually of a tragic nature. The gwerz is characterised by an often monotonous melody and many couplets, all in the Breton...

, Gallo musician Yves LeBlanc, and Christian Duro, who plays in the group Termajik. The bands Darhaou, Tonnerre de Brest, L'Echo
L'Echo
L'Echo is a Belgian newspaper, published by Mediafin and mainly distributed in Wallonia and Brussels. It is the French counterpart of the Flemish daily De Tijd....

, Cabestan and Strobinell have also used clarinets.

Guitar

Perhaps the earliest popularizer of Breton guitar was Dan Ar Braz, who continues to be an influential figure in a somewhat jazzy, easy-listening vein. In the traditional music world, Soïg Siberil emerged as the pre-eminent master of 'open tuning' in bands such as Gwerz and Kornog, developing a complex accompaniment and solo technique easily comparable to artists such as John Renbourn
John Renbourn
John Renbourn is an English guitarist and songwriter. He is possibly best known for his collaboration with guitarist Bert Jansch as well as his work with the folk group Pentangle, although he maintained a solo career before, during and after that band's existence .While most commonly labelled a...

 or Pierre Bensusan
Pierre Bensusan
Pierre Bensusan is a French-Algerian guitarist. As a sephardic Jew, his family came from Spain, Spanish Morocco and French Algeria. The genre of his acoustic guitar music is often characterized as Celtic, Folk, World music, New Age, or Chamber jazz. He has also published three books of music and...

. Another guitarist of note is Gilles Le Bigot, who performed with Kornog as well and has been a mainstay of the Breton super-group Skolvan for more than 20 years. Other notable Breton guitarists include Jacques Pellen, Fabrice Carre, Roland Conq, Nicolas Quemener, and Arnaud Royer, who has developed a unique and complex self-accompaniment technique based on sampling and then playing along with loops of his own work.

Wooden Flute

The wooden transverse flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

 entered Brittany only relatively recently, popularized by Jean Michel Veillon. Veillon has been a member of a number of prominent bands, including Pennoù Skoulm, Barzaz, Den and Kornog
Kornog
Kornog is a Breton folk music band formed in the 1980s. They are notable in that they have been perhaps the only Breton band to have had a serious touring presence in the United States, so for many in North America, Kornog defines Breton music. The word ‘kornog’ means “west” in the Breton language...

, as well as producing some influential solo albums. Other performers include Youenn Le Cam of Pevar Den, Jean Luc Thomas of Kej, Yannig Alory of Carré Manchot, Yann Herri Ar Gwicher of Strobinell and Hervé Guillo of Storvan, and also Gilles Lehart, who is one of Brittany's most respected wooden flute makers.

Accordion

The accordion only arrived in large numbers in the country in about 1875, but its popularity grew quickly. Among the reasons for this were the instrument's cheapness and durability, and could be played solo, and was easier to learn. Perhaps the most important reason, though, was the instrument's association with 'kof ha kof' couples dancing like waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...

es and mazurka
Mazurka
The mazurka is a Polish folk dance in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, and with accent on the third or second beat.-History:The folk origins of the mazurek are two other Polish musical forms—the slow machine...

s, which stood in stark contrast to the line and round dances familiar in Breton folk; the perceived sexuality of the instrument's common dances may have made it more attractive. By the 1920s, the instrument was more popular than any other. In the 1930s, chromatic accordions arrived in Brittany and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

-influenced bands with saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

s, drum kit
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

s and banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...

s were formed.

Contemporary accordionists include Cocktail Diatonique, Regis Huiban, Bruno Le Tron, Patrick Lefebvre, Yann Dour, Yann-Fañch Perroches and Alain Pennec.

Bagpipes

There are two types of bagpipes indigenous to Brittany. The veuze
Veuze
The veuze is a Breton bagpipe found traditionally in southeastern Brittany and in the northern part of the Vendée, particularly around Nantes, the Guérande peninsula, and Basse-Vilaine. The veuze has been mentioned in writings dating to the 16th century, and is thought to be the oldest of the...

 is very similar to other western European bagpipes such as the Gaita from Galicia and Asturies, while the biniou
Biniou
Binioù means bagpipe in the Breton language.There are two bagpipes called binioù in Brittany: the traditional binioù kozh and the binioù bras , which was brought into Brittany from Scotland in the late 19th century...

 kozh (old biniou in Breton) is much smaller and is used to accompany the bombarde. The biniou, which plays exactly one octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...

 above the bombarde, and bombarde duo (soner ar couple) are an integral and common part of Breton folk music, and was used historically for dance music. The two performers play alternate lines that intersect at the end, in a similar manner to the Kan ha Diskan style of singing; the bombarde does not usually play every line of the tune, however, usually instead playing every other line, or three out of four lines in a dance tune. The Highland bagpipe, which was imported in the late 19th century, is often called binioù braz , sometimes pib-veur (the large biniou, the large pipe). The image to the right shows the binioù braz, or highland bagpipes, with bombardes in the hands of the men in the background.
Veuze

The veuze has a chanter of conical bore fitted with a double reed
Double reed
A double reed is a type of reed used to produce sound in various wind instruments. The term double reed comes from the fact that there are two pieces of cane vibrating against each other. A single reed consists of one piece of cane which vibrates against a mouthpiece made of metal, hardened...

 and a drone fitted with one reed, both attached to a mouth-inflated bag. Its sound and design is similar to Flemish pipes and Galician gaita
Galician gaita
The gaita or gaita de foles is a traditional bagpipe of Galicia, Asturias and northern Portugal.The name gaita is used in Galician and Spanishlanguages as a generic term for "bagpipe"...

. In the 20th century, the term veuze came to be applied to the diatonic accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....

, which had been recently imported, and the use of the bagpipes declined. Though still not common, it has rebounded since the Breton folk revival.
Binioù bras

The binioù bras (literally the "big binioù"), or Highlands bagpipe, was imported in the late 19th century, and became popular in the 1930s. It is now used in solo performances, along with a bombarde in a duo, and as part of the bagad
Bagad
A bagad is a Breton band, composed of bagpipes , bombards and drums . The pipe band tradition in Brittany was inspired by the Scottish example and has developed since the mid-20th century...

, a kind of pipe band
Pipe band
A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term used by military pipe bands, pipes and drums, is also common....

.

The idea of bagad comes from the World War 2
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

: Breton soldiers saw pipe bands in Scotland, and brought the idea and instrument back with them to Brittany. There, they added bombardes and drums and called the ensemble bagad (which means "company" in Breton). Those ensembles gained in popularity in the 1950s, just before the folk revival began and remain very popular to this day.
Binioù kozh

The binioù kozh is more traditional and predates the introduction of the highland bagpipes to Brittany. It was originally designed from the veuze in order to play in a higher register. Its pitch is higher and its chanter smaller than any other European bagpipe. Originally, it was common in the Breton-speaking area. It is often played as part of a duo with the bombarde, for dance accompaniment.

Bombard

The bombard
Bombard (music)
The bombard, also known as talabard or ar vombard in the Breton language or bombarde in French, is a contemporary conical bore double reed instrument widely used to play traditional Breton music. The bombard is a woodwind instrument; the reed is held between the lips. The bombard is a member of the...

 (Breton, Fr. bombarde) is a conical-bore double-reed instrument similar to the oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...

, and like an oboe uses reeds made of cane.

In its most primitive form the bombard has six open holes and possibly a seventh that is often closed with a key. It has a range of just over an octave. Bombards come in a number of keys, based on region or intended use. B-flat is a popular choice for those playing in a Bagad alongside the binioù braz (Scottish Highland pipes). In the contemporary setting bombards may also have complex simple system key-work enabling significant chromatic possibilities. In Breton, the bombard is also known as the talabard, and a bombard player as a talabarder.

The bombard has been in use since the 15th century, and has traditionally been played as part of a duo with the binioù kozh since the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

. Later, in the 19th century, the binioù braz (highland bagpipe) was introduced to Brittany.

Biniou and bombarde duos include Jean Baron and Christian Anneix, Youenn Le Bihan and Patrick Molard, and Pierre Crépillon and Laurent Bigot.

In recent years the bombard has been paired and recorded with other instruments not traditionally associated with Breton folk music, such as the organ. Sacred music is well served by the clear, strong sound of the bombard, in combination with the traditional organ. The late Jegat and Yhuel are renowned for this use of the bombard.

Piston

Breton musician, teacher, and luthier Youenn Le Bihan invented the piston
Piston (music)
The piston is a type of oboe invented by Breton musician, teacher, and luthier Youenn Le Bihan in 1983. The piston is a contemporary development of the hautboy, classical and/or baroque oboe, influenced by the bombard or talabard, the traditional double reed instrument of Brittany...

 in 1983. The piston is a contemporary development of the hautboy or baroque oboe, influenced by the bombard. It is typically rooted in the key of D and features simple system key-work to expand its range. The tone of the piston stands in a warm and rich middle ground between the trumpet-like tone of the bombard and that of the baroque oboe.

Breton Pop music

Undoubtedly the most famous name in modern Breton music is Alan Stivell
Alan Stivell
Alan Stivell is a Breton musician and singer, recording artist and master of the celtic harp who from the early 1970s revived global interest in the Celtic harp and Celtic music as part of world music.- Background: learning Breton music and culture :Alan was born in the Auvergnat town of Riom...

, who popularized the Celtic harp first in the fifties and sixties and on a wider level since the 1970s, with a series of albums including most famously Renaissance de la Harpe Celtique (1971) . His first harps were built by his father ; the Celtic harp was long forgotten in Brittany before.

He began playing the bombarde in 1955, a double-reeded shawm
Shawm
The shawm was a medieval and Renaissance musical instrument of the woodwind family made in Europe from the 12th century until the 17th century. It was developed from the oriental zurna and is the predecessor of the modern oboe. The body of the shawm was usually turned from a single piece of wood,...

 (or oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...

) and later the Scottish bagpipe and became pipe-major.

Alan Stivell began (in the mid 60s) recording Breton folk, Celtic harp and other Celtic music, mixing influences from American
American rock
American rock is rock music from the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and country music, and also drew on folk music, jazz and classical music. The creation of American rock music was highly influenced by the British Invasion of the American pop...

 rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 and the main musical genres.

Stivell's most important contribution to the Breton music scene, however, has probably been his importation of rock and other American styles, as well as the formation of the idea of a Breton band. From the album Reflets
Reflets
-Track listing:# La Première Fois # Step Back # Tout Est Dit # Faut Recommencer # Garde Tout # Ma Peur...

 to the new one Explore, without forget Chemins de Terre
Chemins De Terre
Chemins de Terre was a folk rock album by Alan Stivell, originally released in 1973. It was produced by Franck Giboni. It was retitled From Celtic Roots... in England and Celtic Rock in Germany.- Track listing :...

 (1973), Alan Stivell
Alan Stivell
Alan Stivell is a Breton musician and singer, recording artist and master of the celtic harp who from the early 1970s revived global interest in the Celtic harp and Celtic music as part of world music.- Background: learning Breton music and culture :Alan was born in the Auvergnat town of Riom...

 has made 22 albums and toured all over the world, influencing many musicians everywhere, experimenting many different fusions (Rock, Jazz-rock, Blues, Symphonic, Indian, African, Electro, Hip-hop, etc.).

If his work as composer, producer, author has been very important, so has been his work of promotion and communication to the major audiences, in Brittany, France, Europe and the English speaking countries.

Inspired by Alan Stivell
Alan Stivell
Alan Stivell is a Breton musician and singer, recording artist and master of the celtic harp who from the early 1970s revived global interest in the Celtic harp and Celtic music as part of world music.- Background: learning Breton music and culture :Alan was born in the Auvergnat town of Riom...

, a very large Breton scene grew up, especially after his Olympia concert in 1972. It was a true revolution: hundred of bands, thousand of musicians, of Festoù-noz, etc. grew in the year after. Bands like Kornog
Kornog
Kornog is a Breton folk music band formed in the 1980s. They are notable in that they have been perhaps the only Breton band to have had a serious touring presence in the United States, so for many in North America, Kornog defines Breton music. The word ‘kornog’ means “west” in the Breton language...

 and Gwerz
Gwerz
Gwerz is a type of folk song of Brittany, a Celtic region in France.In Breton music, the gwerz tells a story which can be epic, historical, or mythological. The stories are usually of a tragic nature. The gwerz is characterised by an often monotonous melody and many couplets, all in the Breton...

 arose, adapting elements of the Irish and Scottish Celtic music
Celtic music
Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...

 scene.

The most famous group of Breton musicians after Alan Stivell is Tri Yann
Tri Yann
Tri Yann is a French band from Nantes , who play folk rock music drawing on traditional Breton folk ballads.The band was founded in 1970 by Jean Chocun, Jean-Paul Corbineau and Jean-Louis Jossic – all of whom remain members – hence the suggested name of Tri Yann an Naoned , Jean and Yann being...

, from Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....

 (their original name is Tri Yann an Naoned, literally "the Three Johns from Nantes"). They formed in 1972 and still remain very popular, describing themselves as producing progressive rock-folk-celto-medieval music. They have produced some musical gems, now standards, like "Les filles des Forges", "Les prisons de Nantes", "La Jument de Michao", "Pelot d'Hennebont", and new interpretation of Irish music, like "Cad é sin don té sin", "Si mort a mors" (originally An Cailín Rua), "La ville que j'ai tant aimée" (from "The town I loved so well"), "Mrs McDermott" (from the 17th-century Irish harpist Ó Carolan) and "Kalonkadour" (from "Planxty Irwin").

Another famous band is Soldat Louis
Soldat Louis
Soldat Louis are a French rock group originally from Lorient, who mix the traditional music of Brittany with typical rock music instruments - electric and acoustic guitar, drum kit, etc - as well as the traditional bagpipes and bombard...

, from Port Louis
Port-Louis, Morbihan
Port-Louis is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France.-Demographics:Inhabitants of Port-Louis are called in French Port-Louisiens.-References:* * -External links:* * *...

, across the harbour from the city of Lorient
Lorient
Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...

. More rock-oriented, they play modern compositions about Brittany and life on the sea ("Du rhum, des femmes", "Martiniquaise", "Pavillon noir"). Also from the 80s, Ar Re Yaouank played lively driving folk rock songs with pro-Breton themes.

Red Cardell
Red Cardell
Red Cardell are a Breton Rock band formed in 1992. Its members include Jean-Pierre Riou, as singer and guitarist, Jean-Michel Moal on the accordion, Manu Masko on Drums, and since spring 2011, Mathieu Péquériau on Harmonica.-Biography:...

 cross over roots musics from Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

, Ukraina or north Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

 with Rock and French realistic song. Many times they play on stage with guests as Dave Pegg
Dave Pegg
Dave Pegg is an English multi-instrumentalist and record producer, arguably most visible as a bass guitarist. He is the longest-serving member of the pre-eminent electric folk band Fairport Convention and has been bassist with a number of important folk and rock groups including The Ian Campbell...

 (Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...

, Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...

), Jimme O'Neill (The Silencers
The Silencers
The Silencers is the title of a 1962 spy novel by Donald Hamilton, the fourth in a series of books featuring assassin Matt Helm.-Plot summary:...

), Dan Ar Braz
Dan Ar Braz
Dan Ar Braz, born Daniel Le Bras , is a French guitarist and the founder of Héritage des Celtes.- The apprenticeship years :...

, Dr Das (Asian Dub Foundation
Asian Dub Foundation
Asian Dub Foundation are a British electronica band that plays a mix of rapcore, dub, dancehall and ragga, also using rock instruments, acknowledging a punk influence...

) or Stéfane Mellino (Les Négresses Vertes
Les Negresses Vertes
Les Négresses Vertes, formed in 1987, is a French music group that is best described as a fusion of world music and some aspects of alternative rock. Their tracks often feature acoustic guitar and accordion, as well as some tracks containing many other 'traditional' instruments such as piano and...

)... Their last album "soleil blanc" have been recorded and mixed by the English producer Clive Martin (Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...

, Sting, David Byrne
David Byrne
David Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...

...) Similarly, EV combined Finnish influences in their Breton folk-rock style, calling it Celto-Finnic rock.

Since then, a new scene of Breton songwriters appeared in Brittany (Gérard Jaffrès
Gerard Jaffrès
Gérard Jaffrès is a French singer, writer and performer, born in 1956 in Saint-Pol-de-Léon .He started playing the guitar at the age of 15, playing mostly folk repertoire and pop music ....

, Nolwenn Korbell
Nolwenn Korbell
Nolwenn Korbell , is a French Breton singer-songwriter and actress.Best known for her songs in Breton, with her musicians or in a duet with guitarist Soïg Sibéril, she released four albums, regularly performs in concerts, and also keeps acting in plays and films.- Biography :Nolwenn Korbell spent...

, Dom Duff).
Les Ramoneurs de menhirs
Les Ramoneurs de menhirs
Les Ramoneurs de menhirs is a Breton celtic punk group formed in 2006. Its members include Éric Gorce on the bombardon, Richard Bévillon on the bagpipes, the traditional vannetais singer Maurice Jouanno and Loran, guitarist from the group Bérurier Noir. They play concerts at fest noz as well as...

 do Celtic punk
Celtic punk
Celtic punk is punk rock mixed with traditional Celtic music. The genre was founded in the 1980s by The Pogues, a band of punk musicians in London who celebrated their Irish heritage. Celtic punk bands often play covers of traditional Irish folk and political songs, as well as original compositions...

, playing original songs, traditional ones and cover versions mostly in Breton
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...

.

Besides folk-rock, recent groups have included, as well as Alan Stivell
Alan Stivell
Alan Stivell is a Breton musician and singer, recording artist and master of the celtic harp who from the early 1970s revived global interest in the Celtic harp and Celtic music as part of world music.- Background: learning Breton music and culture :Alan was born in the Auvergnat town of Riom...

, world music influences into their repertoires - especially younger groups such as Wig-a-Wag. Hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

 with a Celtic flavour has been espoused by groups such as Manau
Manau
Manau French hip hop group formed in 1998, known for their fusing of traditional Celtic melodies with modern hip hop beats. It was initially composed of Martial Tricoche, Cédric Soubiron, and R.V. Lardic until R.V.'s departure and replacement by Gregor Gandon. Although the band is currently based...

 from Paris.

The band Merzhin uses traditional Celtic instruments along with electric guitars and bass. Their melodies and harmonies are inspired by Celtic music as well as by modern rock and roll. http://www.merzhin.net/

In the USA, the group Trouz Bras("Big Noise") is led by Welshman Ray Price. The group is based in Rhode Island and features bombarde and Breton bagpipes. In Seattle, Washington a Fest Noz group called Sonerion features piston, bombard, guitar/bouzouki, accordion, and bass. In Austin, Texas, Poor Man's Fortune http://poormansfortune.com/music is well-known for performing Breton music featuring biniou, bombarde, accordion, subois (similar to the "piston"), violin, flute and biniou braz.

Brittany hosts many annual rock and pop festivals, not related to traditional music. The biggest in Brittany, and one of the most important in France, is the Festival des Vieilles Charrues
Vieilles Charrues Festival
The Vieilles Charrues Festival is held every year in mid-July in the city of Carhaix located in the west of Brittany.This festival is the largest music festival in France, attracting more than 200,000 festival-goers every year . This festival was created in 1992 in Landeleau, a small village in...

 (held in late July in Carhaix, Finistère). See also the Route du Rock (mid-August, Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo is a walled port city in Brittany in northwestern France on the English Channel. It is a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine.-Demographics:The population can increase to up to 200,000 in the summer tourist season...

) and the Transmusicales
Transmusicales
Les Rencontres Trans Musicales is a three-day music festival held annually in December in Rennes, Brittany, France.Since its first years, the festival has been renowned for revealing the "next big thing."...

 of Rennes
Rennes
Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...

, held in early December.

Chanteurs engagés

A chanteur engagé (literally [ideologically] engaged singer) is a singer that is roughly analogous to a singer of protest song
Protest song
A protest song is a song which is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of topical songs . It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre...

s. These songs are usually nationalistic, and are celebrations of Breton culture. This is mostly a modern tradition, though some older songs of this type are known and the tradition stretches into the ancient past of Brittany. Chanteurs engagés are often also singers of more traditional material.

The first chanteur engagé to be quoted is the maverick Glenmor
Glenmor
Glenmor was the stage name of Emile Le Scanf , a Breton protest singer who sought to preserve the Breton language and adapt local traditions of folk singing to the radical culture of the 1960s and 70s. He is also known by the Breton name Milig Ar Skañv.-Early career:Emile Le Scanf was born in 1931...

 (1931–1996), or to give him his real name, Emile Le Scanf (or Milig Ar Scañv in Breton). He had some influence, mainly in the Breton movement and around, and on some new-comers as the best known, Gilles Servat
Gilles Servat
Gilles Servat is a French singer, born in Tarbes in southern France in 1945, into a family whose roots lay in the Nantes region of Brittany.He spent his early childhood around Nantes and Cholet. His music evoques the Isle of Groix, off the coast of Morbihan.His music was originally inspired by the...

, whose "La Blanche Hermine" has been a popular Breton anthem since the 1970s.

Gallo

Though the Breton folk revival focused on songs in Breton
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...

, the Pays Gallo area of eastern Brittany has seen a more limited revival in repertoire in Gallo
Gallo language
Gallo is a regional language of France. Gallo is a Romance language, one of the Oïl languages. It is the historic language of the region of Upper Brittany and some neighboring portions of Normandy, but today is spoken by only a small minority of the population, having been largely superseded by...

 and produces singers and groups including Hamon-Martin Quintet, Ôbrée Alie, Yann Dour, while various bands, such as Tri Yann
Tri Yann
Tri Yann is a French band from Nantes , who play folk rock music drawing on traditional Breton folk ballads.The band was founded in 1970 by Jean Chocun, Jean-Paul Corbineau and Jean-Louis Jossic – all of whom remain members – hence the suggested name of Tri Yann an Naoned , Jean and Yann being...

, perform a selection of Gallo songs.

Breton musicians

  • Jean-Michel Alhaits
  • Dan Ar Braz
    Dan Ar Braz
    Dan Ar Braz, born Daniel Le Bras , is a French guitarist and the founder of Héritage des Celtes.- The apprenticeship years :...

  • Andrea Ar Gouilh
  • Anne Auffret
  • Bagad Bleimor
  • Bagad Kemper
    Kemper
    Kemper may refer to:* Booz Allen Classic , was a regular golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1968 to 2006...

  • Bagad Kevrenn Alre
  • Bagad Saint-Nazaire
  • Jorj Botuha
  • Denez Prigent
  • Diwall
  • Dom DufF
  • Forzh Penaos
  • Gwenfol Orchestra
  • Yann-Fañch Kemener
    Yann-Fañch Kemener
    Yann-Fañch Kemener is a traditional singer from Britanny, born in Sainte-Tréphine , France.He took part in reviving Kan ha diskan in the 1970s and 1980s, especially with Erik Marchand...

  • Pascal Lamour
  • Gilles Lehart
  • Gildas Moal and Rene Chaplain
  • Jacky Molard
  • Penn Gollo
  • Yann-Fañch Perroches
  • Les Ramoneurs de menhirs
    Les Ramoneurs de menhirs
    Les Ramoneurs de menhirs is a Breton celtic punk group formed in 2006. Its members include Éric Gorce on the bombardon, Richard Bévillon on the bagpipes, the traditional vannetais singer Maurice Jouanno and Loran, guitarist from the group Bérurier Noir. They play concerts at fest noz as well as...

  • Red Cardell
    Red Cardell
    Red Cardell are a Breton Rock band formed in 1992. Its members include Jean-Pierre Riou, as singer and guitarist, Jean-Michel Moal on the accordion, Manu Masko on Drums, and since spring 2011, Mathieu Péquériau on Harmonica.-Biography:...

  • Soig Siberil
  • Skeduz
  • Skolvan
  • Sonerien Du
  • Alan Stivell
    Alan Stivell
    Alan Stivell is a Breton musician and singer, recording artist and master of the celtic harp who from the early 1970s revived global interest in the Celtic harp and Celtic music as part of world music.- Background: learning Breton music and culture :Alan was born in the Auvergnat town of Riom...

  • Yann Tiersen
    Yann Tiersen
    Yann Tiersen is a musician from France. His musical career is split between studio albums, collaborations and film soundtracks with a distinctive sound that is always involved...

  • Jean Michel Veillon

Films

  • Of Pipers and Wrens (1997). Produced and directed by Gei Zantzinger, in collaboration with Dastum. Lois V. Kuter, ethnomusicological consultant. Devault, Pennsylvania: Constant Spring Productions.
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