Volume 10 - Flipbook - Page 10
010
LESSONS
BY XAVIER BODERIOU
Introduction to
Breton Music
S
ince the early 1970s, a region in
France called Brittany has had
new breath into the folk music scene.
Historically, immigrants from Scotland
(also known as insular bretons) moved
to this small peninsula located in the
North West and created a kingdom at
the end of IXth century. This Kingdom
was merged to the French crown in
1532 and now consisted of 5 regions;
Finistère, Morbihan, Cotes d’armor, Ile
et Vilaine and Loire Atlantique. The main
language spoken in Brittany before
French was the Breton language, close
to the Welsh and Cornish language.
Today, there is around 200,000 people
speaking Breton.
A large part of Breton is rooted in the
vibrant culture and music that vibrates
throughout. There are a few styles
including vocal, bagpipes, and bagad
bands. Before learning about Breton
bagpipe music, you must understand
the history and meaning to its people.
If you play Breton music by reading,
you will not capture the spirit of its
melodies.
You can hear breton music in various
places and contexts. There are a lot
of traditional concerts, music festival
(such as Quimper in July and Lorient in
August amongst the biggest) but also
Fest Noz which is the breton version of
Scottish Ceilidhs.
FEST NOZ IN ROSTRENEN
This is Part 10 of a series of lessons that will be discussed in each
Modern Piping volume. To get a full understanding and a deeper
comprehensive overview on composition principles be sure to check
back in Volume 11.
The main vocal tradition is the Kan ha
Diskan (Question and Answer singing).
It’s certainly the most popular kind
of music in Fest Noz, as it’s made to
make the people dance. The melody
begins with a question and ends with
an answer. The gwerziou and soniou
(laments and ballads) are another
singing tradition in Brittany, usually
sung solo. These are repetitive forms
of singing, consisting in 1 or 2 melodic
