Jef Le Penven (3 November 1919 - 30 April 1967) was a French composer, born in Pontivy, Morbihan, Brittany.
Le Penven was the twelfth child of a family of cabinet makers. He was brought up in an atmosphere of traditional vernacular music, learning to play the bombard (Breton oboe) as a child. He studied at the Schola Cantorum in Paris, working with Marcel Dupré. [1]
In 1940, he became the conductor for the Orchestre de Bretagne.
Le Penven's music expresses his attachment to Brittany and Celtic culture. He attempts to integrate traditional and symphonic music. His major works use conventional symphonic and choral forms but typically include bagpipe music.
Le Penven was also well known for his organ improvisations, of which he was a virtuoso. [1]
His setting of the poem Me zo ganet e kreiz ar mor by Yann-Ber Kalloc'h has been interpreted by a number of Breton musicians including Gilles Servat and Alan Stivell.
Brittany is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period of Roman occupation. It became an independent kingdom and then a duchy before being united with the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province governed as a separate nation under the crown.
Brittany is the westernmost region of Metropolitan France. It covers about four fifths of the territory of the historic province of Brittany. It is one of two regions in Metropolitan France that do not contain any landlocked departments, the other being Corsica.
The Morbihan is a department in the administrative region of Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan, the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastline. It had a population of 759,684 in 2019. It is noted for its Carnac stones, which predate and are more extensive than the Stonehenge monument in Wiltshire, England.
The Gulf of Morbihan is a natural harbour on the coast of the department of Morbihan in southern Brittany, France. Its English name is taken from the French version, le golfe du Morbihan, though it would be more precisely called 'the Morbihan' as its Breton name 'Ar Mor Bihan' means 'the little sea'., as opposed to the Atlantic Ocean outside,. Legend says that there are as many islands in the Gulf as there are days of the year. In fact the gulf has about 40, depending on the tides. Many islands are private property, except the largest two, Île-aux-Moines and Île-d'Arz.
Auray is a commune in the Morbihan department, administrative region of Brittany, northwestern France.
Ploërmel is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany, in north-western France. On 1 January 2019, the former commune Monterrein was merged into Ploërmel.
Baud is a commune in the Morbihan département in Brittany in northwestern France.
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.
Le Faouët is a commune in the Morbihan department of the region of Brittany in north-western France.
Les Fougerêts is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France. Inhabitants of Les Fougerêts are called in French Fougerêtais.
Langonnet is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France.
Pénestin is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France.
Priziac is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France.
Rochefort-en-Terre is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France.
Le Tour-du-Parc is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France. Inhabitants of Le Tour-du-Parc are called in French Parcais.
Paul Émile Ladmirault was a French composer and music critic whose music expressed his devotion to Brittany. Claude Debussy wrote that his work possessed a "fine dreamy musicality", commenting on its characteristically hesitant character by suggesting that it sounded as if it was "afraid of expressing itself too much". Florent Schmitt said of him: "Of all the musicians of his generation, he was perhaps the most talented, most original, but also the most modest". Peter Warlock dedicated his Capriol Suite to him and Swan Hennessy his Trio, Op. 54.
Mikael Bodlore-Penlaez is a Breton author and cartographer. He co-edited, with Divi Kervella, the first bilingual Atlas of Brittany who has received several awards, including the "Brittany's Prize of the Book".
A galette-saucisse is a type of French street food item consisting of a hot sausage, traditionally grilled, wrapped in a buckwheat crepe called galette de sarrasin or Breton galette. The French region known as Upper Brittany is the traditional homeland of galette-saucisse, especially the department of Ille-et-Vilaine and some parts of its bordering departments like Côtes-d'Armor, Morbihan, Loire-Atlantique, Mayenne and Manche.
Andrée Le Gouil, known by her stage name Andrea Ar Gouilh, is a French singer.
"Me zo ganet e kreiz ar mor" is an autobiographical poem by the Breton-language writer Yann-Ber Kalloc'h which celebrates the island of Groix, where he was born, and describes his parents' struggles and his own. In a setting by Jef Le Penven it has become one of the most popular Breton-language songs, performed by Alan Stivell, Yann-Fañch Kemener, Julie Fowlis and others. The title has several variants, including Me zo ganet e kreiz er mor and Me zo gañnet é kreiz er mor.