The following is a very short selection of books and articles about Breton music and dance. Not included are a variety of song or tune collections which often include interesting notes. Articles in English have been included when possible, even though these might not be as significant as French language publications. Breton recordings are sometimes accompanied by 50-80 page booklets which also offer extremely rich documentation of particular instruments, regions or genres.
"La Musique
bretonne" Becker,
Roland & Laure Le Gurun.
Spezet: Coop Breizh, 1994. 120 pages
Best single source of background information on Breton music--especially
excellent for piping and instrumental traditions.
"Guide de la musique bretonne"
Dastum. 3rd augmented edition. Rennes: Dastum, 2000. 446 pp.
Exhaustive listing of addresses and indexes for musicians, musical
instrument makers and teachers, groups, organizations, and festivals. Should be
updated via Dastum's web site:
www.dastum.net
"Musiques traditionnelles de Bretagne. 1 - Sonnoux et sonerien"
Defrance, Yves.
Skol Vreizh no. 35, 1996.
"Musiques traditionnelles de Bretagne. 2 - Etude du répertoire à danser"
Skol Vreizh no. 39, 1998.
3 - Kanerien et chantoux; forthcoming.
"Music and identity in Brittany, France" Kuter, Lois. Discourse
in Ethnomusicology, Vol. II.
Bloomington, IN: Ethnomusicology Publications Group, 1981, pages 15-41.
Brief overview of different styles of music and relation of music to social
and political issues.
"Muzik e Breizh - un regard sur 20 ans de musique breton"
Maisonneuve, Arnaude & Loiez Bloñs.
Coop Breizh. 2000.
"Bretagne - Terre de Musiques" Morvan, Daniel and Bernard Galéron.
Collection Bretagne ma Terre. 2001. 142 pages.
Portraits of some 60 movers and shakers on the Breton music scene with
wonderful photographs. Also includes a CD with additional images and sound
bites.
"Musique Bretonne - Histoire des sonneurs de tradition"
Douarnenez: Le Chasse Marée/Ar Men. 1996. 512 pages.
History of instrumental music in Brittany, especially bombarde and
biniou--beautifully documented with photography.
Several magazines published by cultural organizations in Brittany are of particular interest in documenting not only musical events and activities, but also in including well-researched articles, book and record reviews.
Ar Men Abri du Marin, 29171 Douarnenez cedex, France
This is a beautifully produced bi-monthly magazine on all aspects of Breton
culture and history. It often includes excellent articles on Breton musicians
and musical instruments, and has regular record reviews.
Ar Soner 55 impasse de
l'Odet, 29000 Quimper, France
Published by Bodadeg ar Sonerion, an organization for bagpipers and bombarde
players with approximately 3,000 members. This magazine primarily of interest
to these musicians (with contests results and music transcriptions as a major
part of the content), but it also includes occasional articles on Breton music
of more general interest.
Bro Nevez 169 Greenwood Ave., B-4, Jenkintown, PA 19046, U.S.A.
One of the only sources available in English. Includes regular record notes
and reviews, catalogs, festival notes, and short articles on Breton music. the
bulk of this quarterly newsletter produced by the U.S. Branch of the
International Committee for the Defense of the Breton Language focuses on the
Breton language and its situation in Brittany.
Click here to download a full
index of all the reviews since 1981!
Musique bretonne Dastum, 16 rue de la Santé, 35000 Rennes, France
Dastum is an archives of music recordings, transcriptions, song texts,
photography, popular media (newspaper clippings) and other documentation of
Brittany's oral traditions. It's monthly magazine features research articles as
well as short notes on cultural events, book and record reviews. The best
single source of information on Breton music.
"Of Pipers and Wrens - The Fight for Survival of Brittany's Musical
Heritage".
by Film by Gei Zantzinger, based on research of Lois Kuter. Constant Spring
Productions (P.O. Box 2, Devault, PA 19432). 1999. 58'21 minutes. Includes
19-page booklet. Also available in French "De souffle et de roseau" in NTSC,
PAL and SECAM formats.
Introduction to traditional styles of Breton music and their transmission
from one generation to the next through a healthy oral tradition.
