GUIDE TO MUSIC IN BRITTANY by Dr. Lois Kuter Updated April 2002 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................... 3 SOME BASICS ABOUT BRITTANY ............................................................................................................. 4 Where am I??................................................................................................................................... 4 BRETON MUSIC - A BASIC BIBLIOGRAPHY ...........................................................................................7 Magazines ........................................................................................................................................ 7 Video ................................................................................................................................................ 8 FINDING BRETON BOOKS & RECORDINGS OF BRETON MUSIC.......................................................... 9 DANCES OF BRITTANY............................................................................................................................. 11 Reading .......................................................................................................................................... 11 TRADITIONAL SONG IN BRITTANY ......................................................................................................... 13 Reading .......................................................................................................................................... 13 Recordings ..................................................................................................................................... 14 TRADITIONAL SONG OF BRITTANY: Feuilles Volantes .......................................................................... 17 Reading .......................................................................................................................................... 17 TRADITIONAL SONG IN BRITTANY: 19th Century Text Collections....................................................... 18 Reading .......................................................................................................................................... 19 Recordings ..................................................................................................................................... 19 DASTUM - BRETON TRADITIONS FOR THE FUTURE ........................................................................... 21 Collection of Music ......................................................................................................................... 21 Cahiers de musique traditionnelle.................................................................................................. 21 Chanteurs et musiciens de Bretagne .............................................................................................22 Tradition Vivante de Bretagne........................................................................................................ 23 Other publications and recordings ................................................................................................. 24 MARITIME MUSIC OF BRITTANY ............................................................................................................. 25 Recordings ..................................................................................................................................... 25 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF BRITTANY: Biniou & Bombarde ............................................................... 27 Reading .......................................................................................................................................... 27 Recordings ..................................................................................................................................... 28 Bombarde & Organ ........................................................................................................................ 29 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF BRITTANY: Biniou Bras & The Bagad..................................................... 30 Reading .......................................................................................................................................... 30 Recordings ..................................................................................................................................... 31 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF BRITTANY: The Veuze............................................................................ 33 Reading .......................................................................................................................................... 33 Recordings ..................................................................................................................................... 33 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF BRITTANY: The Clarinet........................................................................... 34 Reading .......................................................................................................................................... 34 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF BRITTANY: The Accordion ....................................................................... 35 Reading .......................................................................................................................................... 35 Recordings ..................................................................................................................................... 35 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF BRITTANY: The Violon & The Vielle à Roue............................................ 37 Reading .......................................................................................................................................... 37 Recordings ..................................................................................................................................... 37 Vielle à Roue (Hurdy-Gurdy).......................................................................................................... 38 Other Strings .................................................................................................................................. 38 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF BRITTANY: The Celtic Harp ..................................................................... 39 Reading .......................................................................................................................................... 39 Recordings ..................................................................................................................................... 39 “CLASSICAL” & CHORAL MUSIC .............................................................................................................. 41 Reading .......................................................................................................................................... 41 Recordings ..................................................................................................................................... 41 NEW ARRANGEMENTS OF BRETON MUSIC.......................................................................................... 44 Samplers ........................................................................................................................................ 44 Instrumental Groups and Singers .................................................................................................. 45 WHERE TO FIND LIVE MUSIC IN BRITTANY...........................................................................................51 Fest Noz or Fest Deiz..................................................................................................................... 51 Concerts ......................................................................................................................................... 51 Cafes/Bars...................................................................................................................................... 51 Contests and Festivals................................................................................................................... 51 How to find a fest noz, concert, or festival? ... ...............................................................................51 BRETON INTERNET SITES....................................................................................................................... 52 International Committee for the Defense of the Breton Language Guide to Music in Brittany INTRODUCTION Music has often been the means by which Americans discover Brittany--a recording on the radio or live performances by Breton musicians on tour such as Alan Stivell, Kornog, Dan ar Bras, Bleizi Ruz, Pennou Skoulm or bagads such as the Kevrenn Alre or Bagad St. Nazaire. Brittany has one of the richest musical heritages in Europe today--expressed both in traditional styles and less traditional electric arrangements and compositions. Despite strong pressures from Paris for cultural standardization, Bretons have never abandoned their rich oral tradition while adapting all the tools of modern technology--tape recorders, compact discs, CD-Roms, and computers--to support this tradition. If Breton music was ever in danger of disappearing, it was in the years between World War I and World War II after more than a century of brainwashing had convinced many Bretons that their culture was