From the wooden whispers of bombards to the nasal hum of biniou bagpipes, each note tells tales of sea and soil, preserving ancient legends in melody. Experience the village dance pact of fest-noz in “Dancing the Fest-Noz Night,” where music and dance harmonize in regional ornamentation. Explore the irreverent threads of Breton music borrowing from Scottish kin in “Irreverent Threads in the Tartan,” showcasing a blend of tradition and individuality. Witness the eternal saga of Breton folk music in “As the Bombarde Blows,” where legends live on through dueling melodies and reinvention. Experience the cyclic yet linear narrative told through the everlasting Breton motif, forever evolving and timeless in its essence.

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A Celtic Connection

Breton folk music emerges from the shores of Brittany, boasting deep Celtic roots feted by wooden bombard whispers and the nasal hum of biniou bagpipes. Time signatures twist and turn, asymmetric circles for dancers to weave. Fiddles clash with accordions, creating a Melange of melodies that refuse to lie still. Tales of sea and soil carry through the Breton language, every lyric a leaf in the mythic forest. In as much as the French tongue finds its place, it is the old stories that command loyalty: ancient legends made melody, preserving with every note.

Dancing the Fest-Noz Night

In Brittany’s core, a ritual from yesteryear thrives: fest-noz, a village dance pact that becomes both ball and bacchanal. Once mere voices led the way, but now musicians and amplifiers claim the night. Not exclusive to Breton bazaars, hand-holders sway with festival fervor as gavottes meet hanter dros in metaphysical embraces. The music and dance in perfect rapport, a display of regional ornamentation. Every circle drawn on the soil places another mark on the map of memory—a story retold with footfalls and echoes.

Irreverent Threads in the Tartan

Breton music, in its brashness, borrows the structure of Scottish kin, bagads forming grand epics with highland instruments in camaraderie. Flat bells sat alongside bombards, each breath an echo of history interwoven with pierce of reed. Originality is a badge worn with irony, each note nodding to its lineage while insisting on individuality. In this, melodic exploration refracts through originality, ever nodding to the heart still beating beneath the tradition’s stalwart surface.

Echoes of a Modern Past

A 20th-century resurgence acts as custodian of a language at risk, Breton music awakening anew with a twist. Rock finds companionship in strains of jazz as musicians such as Alan Stivell and Dan Ar Braz spin hybrids. The ancient weaves with contemporary, musique bretonne contemporaine stretching its arms across new horizons. Startijenn pulsates beneath the fingers as echoes of history reverberate within these new soundscapes. They, Breton stalwarts and innovators alike, knead new loaf from ancient grains.

As the Bombarde Blows

Legends remain alive through the rhythm of “Plinn” and significance of each “Gavotte,” singing eastward as Frères Guichen inspire breath anew into traditions. Through modernity flows “Ba Kerchef,” with Les Frères Morvan adding their voices to a collective chorus. In the realm of Breton folk, one finds a play between constancy and evolution. No lesser figure than Louise Ebrel stakes her voice, lending her essence to the intertwined helix of dueling melodies. In this tradition, time is but a backdrop for leave to live, as the eternal Breton motif dances, forever poised for reinvention. A cyclic yet linear saga told not just by music, but through it.

Tracklist :

Louise Ebrel Et Ifig Flatrès Chantent Un Plinn

“Louise Ebrel et Ifig Flatrès chantent un Plinn” captures a live fest-noz moment in Plobannalec on August 24, 2007, showcasing the kan ha diskan duo’s energetic exchange rooted in Breton dance tradition.

Ar Vro Vigoudenn Plinn

“Ar Vro Vigoudenn plinn” is the Plinn dance music performed by the folkloric ensemble Ar Vro Vigoudenn, featured in traditional Breton fest-noz and cultural showcases.

Vonnette Et Yvette Chantent Fisel (1Er Temps)

“Vonnette et Yvette chantent fisel (1er temps)” presents the famed sister duo in a call‑and‑response fisel performance, inviting dancers into the rhythmic pulse of Breton tradition.

Le Bon / Maudire – Gavotte

“Le bon / maudire – gavotte” captures a classic Breton gavotte executed in fest-noz style, likely recorded live (e.g., a performance published by cobra22600 on YouTube) in its simple, rhythmic elegance.

Andro – Dual Voice

“Andro – Dual Voice” is a duo rendition of the Breton An Dro dance tune, featuring hurdy-gurdy experimentation in a medieval style.

Startijenn – ‘Ba Kerchef (Ton Doubl Plinn) – France 3 “Son Da Zont” – 11/2009

“Startijenn – ‘Ba Kerchef’ (ton doubl plinn) – France 3 ‘Son da zont’ – 11/2009” is a ton doubl plinn version from Startijenn’s album Pakit Holl !, broadcast on France 3’s Son da zont in November 2009; that album won the Produit en Bretagne award.

Frères Guichen Plinn

“Frères Guichen – plinn” is a high-energy plinn suite by the Guichen brothers, often featured at fest-noz venues like Mur de Bretagne (Aug 1, 2009) and Cachan—full of accordion-driven traditional dance.

Loened Fall – Pach Pi

“Loened Fall – pach pi” refers to this Breton group’s pach‑pi dance track; Loened Fall—active since 1996—include it in their repertoire (e.g. Fest Noz Carnoët, Aug 14, 2012).

Red Cardell Avec Les Frères Morvan (Joli Coucou) Live

“Red Cardell avec les Frères Morvan (‘Joli coucou’) live” is a lively collaboration celebrating the Frères Morvan’s 60th stage anniversary. Performed in October 2013 at Guidel, Yvon and Henri Morvan (then in their eighties) join Red Cardell in this spirited, ethno‑rock take on the classic polka “Joli coucou”

Plinn Ton-Doubl

“Plinn Ton‑doubl” refers to the traditional Breton dance style “ton doubl” in a plinn suite, representing the third and final round of the dañs plinn dance form. It’s the heightened reprise of the plinn, matching the same step but doubling the musical phrase length