Since the early 1970s, Brittany has experienced a tremendous revival of its folk music. Along with flourishing traditional forms such as the bombard-biniou pair and fest-noz ensembles incorporating other additional instruments, it has also branched out into numerous subgenres.
A bagad is a Breton band, composed of bagpipes, bombards and drums. The pipe band tradition in Brittany was inspired by the Scottish example and has developed since the mid-20th century. A bagad plays mainly Breton music, but a bagad's music is evolutionary: new forms and musical ideas are experimented with at each annual national competition.
The flag of Brittany, a region in the northwest of France, is called the Gwenn-ha-du, which means white and black, in Breton. The flag was designed in 1923 by Morvan Marchal. It is also unofficially used in the department of Loire-Atlantique, although this now belongs to the Pays de la Loire and not to the region of Brittany, as the territory of Loire-Atlantique is historically part of the province of Brittany. Nantes, its prefecture, was once one of the two capital cities of Brittany.
Cornouaille is a historical region on the west coast of Brittany in West France. The name is cognate with Cornwall in neighbouring Great Britain. This can be explained by the settlement of Cornouaille by migrant princes from Cornwall who created an independent principality founded by Rivelen Mor Marthou, and the founding of the Bishopric of Cornouaille by ancient saints from Cornwall. Celtic Britons and the settlers in Brittany spoke a common language, which later evolved into Breton, Welsh and Cornish.
Dan Ar Braz (Breton pronunciation:[ˈdãːnːarˈbrɑːs]; Daniel Le Bras was born on January 15, 1949, in Quimper France. He is a Breton guitarist-singer-composer and the founder of L'Héritage des Celtes, a 50-piece Pan-Celt band. As a leading guitarist in Celtic music band, he recorded as a soloist and with Celtic harp player Alan Stivell. He also represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996.
The culture of Brittany is the patterns of human activity and symbolism associated with the historical region of Brittany in northwestern France and the Breton people. Breton culture has been influenced by various local and nearby traditions over the centuries, including the Celtic culture of the Britons and Gauls and French culture to a lesser extent, particularly in Upper Brittany.
The Bretons are an ethnic group native to Brittany, north-western France. They trace their heritage to groups of Brittonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwall and Devon, mostly during the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. They migrated in waves from the 3rd to 9th century into Armorica, which was subsequently named Brittany after them.
Ortigueira, a seaport and borough in County Ferrolterra in Galicia, celebrates its patron saint day -Saint Martha of Ortigueira's Day- on 29 July.
Nolwenn Korbell, is a French Breton singer-songwriter. Best known for her songs in Breton, with her musicians or in a duet with guitarist Soïg Sibéril, she released four albums, regularly performs in concerts, and also keeps acting in plays and films.
Les Ramoneurs de menhirs are a Breton Celtic punk group formed in 2006. Its members include Éric Gorce on the bombardon, Richard Bévillon on the bagpipes, the traditional vannetais singer Gwenaël Kere and Loran, guitarist from the group Bérurier Noir. They play concerts at fest noz as well as normal rock concerts. Most of their songs are sung in the Breton language.
The Bleuniadur Ensemble is a Breton ballet of music and dance, founded in Saint-Pol-de-Léon in 1978. Bleuniadur means "blossom" in the Breton language. The word exactly describes the dynamic movement of the flower when it opens ("flowering").
Annie Ebrel is a traditional Breton singer of traditional Kan ha diskan and Gwerz (ballads).
Dónal O'Connor is an Irish multi-instrumentalist, producer and television presenter from Ravensdale, County Louth, Ireland. He is a member of Belfast-based Irish traditional groups Ulaid & At First Light.
Poher is an ancient principality that emerged in the Early Middle Ages in Cornouaille in west-central Brittany. Its capital was the Gallo-Roman city of Vorgium, capital of the Osismii, which became Carhaix after the fall of the Roman Empire. Archaeological excavations scheduled since 1999 show that, even if the city lost its function as capital after the 4th century, it was nonetheless a stronghold and major strategic crossroads.
Bagad Kemper is one of the oldest bagad, Breton pipe bands. Formed in 1949, its first president was none other than Loeïz Ropars, renovator of the Fest Noz and kan ha diskan singer. This ensemble holds the record for the most national Championship title wins.
The Festival de Cornouaille is an annual festival taking place in Quimper, a city in the south-west of Brittany, a western region of France. The festival begins on the third Sunday of July and lasts for one week. It has been held since 1923 and is one of the biggest cultural events in Brittany.
Kevrenn Alre is a group of music and dance of Breton traditional inspiration, created in 1951, by railroad employees of the marshalling yard of Auray.
The Bagad de Lann-Bihoué is a bagad, a Breton pipe band. It is the bagad of the French Navy. It represents the French Navy and France in multiple national and international events. It has performed regularly in front of Heads of State. It is a source of cultural influence in Brittany, as in the rest of France.
New Celeste are a folk rock band from Scotland, originally formed in 1975, releasing seven albums over five decades, the most recent in 2016.
Andrée Le Gouil, known by her stage name Andrea Ar Gouilh, is a French singer.
