Description
A concert of sacred and folk songs, in French or Breton, performed as solos or duets.
A journey spanning 10 centuries through the Celtic and Breton oral folk tradition, featuring ancient laments and contemporary poetic songs.
Vocals
Axel Perret: a singer born into a family of musicians, he trained at the Quimper Conservatoire (Finistère) and with traditional Breton singers.
Karen Tréguier: the granddaughter of a traditional singer from Haute-Cornouaille (Finistère), she has been performing Breton songs for listening and dancing for over 20 years.
The new songs in the concert were written by the Breton poet Jonas Dagorn (1968–2024).
The Breton gwerz: a song form unique in the world
This programme introduces you to the gwerz (Breton lament), a form of dramatic song, imbued with the sacred and the fantastical, truly unique in the world, which some compare to the blues or fado. In these traditional and new songs, fish possess marvellous powers, seals witness miracles and birds carry news to the front line.
You will hear tales of wondrous events on the island of Ouessant, of Breton sailors who make lace, and of the legend of a sunken city.
But also hymns and sacred songs about the communion of saints, the redemption of a criminal, or Celtic monks who hunted dragons.
And finally, ancient folk songs drawn from peasant culture that evoke filial love or the promise of marriage.
Some of the lyrics are taken from the *Barzhaz Breizh* – the ‘bible’ of Breton song, published 200 years ago – others from the oral tradition, and a few have been written recently in the spirit of this thousand-year-old tradition. All the songs in the concert are performed to traditional Breton and Celtic melodies.
