Renaissance de la Harpe Celtique or Renaissance of the Celtic Harp is a 1971 record album by the Breton

Breton people

The Bretons are an ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brythonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain in waves from the 3rd to 6th century into the Armorican peninsula, subsequently named Brittany after them.The...

 master of the celtic harp 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...

 that revolutionised the connection between traditional 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....

, modern rock music

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 and world music

World music

World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...

.

Significance

The release of this album with its fusion of classical, traditional folk and rock music, its mixture of instruments (cello, harp, electric guitar, traditional and modern drums) and its evocation of a utopian atmosphere and vision of humans in harmony with nature

Nature

Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...

, immediately set it as a benchmark in the celtic music revival of the 1970s.

The music critic Bruce Elder wrote of the album Renaissance de la Harpe Celtique:

People who hear this record are never the same again. Renaissance of the Celtic Harp, one of the most beautiful and haunting records ever made by anybody, introduced the Celtic harp to many thousands of listeners around the world. To call this music gorgeous and ravishing would be the height of understatement—indeed, there aren't words in the English language to describe this record adequately. The opening work, Ys

Ys

Ys , also spelled Is or Kêr-Is in Breton, and Ker-Ys in French , is a mythical city that was built on the coast of Brittany and later swallowed by the ocean...

, is a piece inspired by the legend of the fifth century capital of the kingdom of Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

, [most versions of the legend place the city in the Douarnenez Bay on the coast of 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...

] which was engulfed by a flood as punishment for its sins. (Debussy wrote one of his finest works, "The Engulfed Cathedral," later adapted by the group Renaissance into "The Harbor" on Ashes Are Burning, based on the same legend). The reflective "Marv Pontkellec" is every bit as sublimely beautiful, but the highlight of this record is "Gaeltacht," a 19 minute musical journey by Stivell's harp across the Gaelic

Gaels

The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....

 lands of Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, and the Isle of Man

Isle of Man

The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

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Personnel

Bass [Bass Guitar] - Gérard Levavsseur, Gérard Salkowsky

Bombarde - Alan kloatr , Mig Ar Biz

Cello - Henri Delagarde, Jean Huchot, Manuel Recasens

Double Bass - Jean-Marc Dollez

Drums - Guy Cascales

Drums [Scottish] - Yann-Fanch Ar Merdy

Electric Guitar - Dan Ar Bras

Organ - Gilles Tinayjre

Percussion, Tabla - Michel Delaporte

Producer - Franck Giboni

Viola - Gabriel Beauvais, Paul Hadjaje, Pierre Cheval, Stéphane Weiner

Track listing

Side A

A1 Ys

Ys

Ys , also spelled Is or Kêr-Is in Breton, and Ker-Ys in French , is a mythical city that was built on the coast of Brittany and later swallowed by the ocean...

Arranged By - Stivell

A2 Marv Pointkalleg Arranged By - Denise Megevand Extracts From Welsh Manuscripts

A3a Ap Huw Arranged By - Arnold Dolmetsch

A3b Penllyn

Penllyn

Penllyn is a former civil parish in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. The parish was created in 1894 from the part of Criccieth parish that lay outside the ancient borough. It was abolished in 1934, and divided between Llanystumdwy and Criccieth....

Arranged By - Arnold Dolmetsch

A4 Eliz Iza Arranged By - Stivell- Traditional Gaeltacht

Side B


B1a Caitlin Triall Arranged By - Stivell. Irish Melody - Traditional

B1b Port Ui Mhuirgheasa Arranged By - Stivell. Irish Jig - Traditional

B1c Airde Cuan Arranged By - J. Cochevelou. Irish Melody - Traditional

B1d Na Reubairean Arranged By - D. Megevand. Scottish Melody - Traditional

B1e Manx Melody Arranged By - Alan Stivell

B1f Heman Dubh Hebridean Work Song - Traditional

B1g Gaelic Waltz Scottish - Traditional

B1h Struan Robertson (Strathspey) Arranged By - Stivell

B1i The Little Cascade Arranged By - Stivell. Scottish Reel - Traditional

B1j Braigh Loch Lall Arranged By - Stivell. Scottish Melody - Traditional

B1k Port An Deorai Arranged By - Stivell. Irish Jig - Traditional

Discography

Fontana 6325 302 [original French release]

Philips 6414 406 [British release (w/ translated title) of 1973]

Rounder 3067 [American release of 1982]

Philips 51 [British cassette/vinyl of 1983, re-released in 1990]

Philips 818007-2 [British CD release of 1990]