- Alan Stivell
Alan Stivell (born Alan Cochevelou
January 6 ,1944 ) is a French musician whose father came from the small town ofGourin ,Brittany . His music and songs may be difficult to class in French music, as only a light French cultural influence can be detected on his music. The major influence is Celtic (from Brittany and from the other Celtic countries). He spent his childhood inParis , absorbing the music of the city's many different populations from acrossFrance ,Algeria ,Morocco and elsewhere. He fell in love with Breton music andCelt ic culture in general, however, and returned often to Brittany as a teenager. His stage name, "Stivell", means "fountain" or "spring" in Breton. This name refers both to the Breton renewal and to his name "Cochevelou", evolution of "kozh stivelloù", the old fountains.History
In 1953, Alan Stivell's father, Georges Cochevelou, made a Celtic harp in the ancient Breton style, and Alan began playing the instrument immediately. He also learned the
Breton language and traditional Breton dance, as well as thebagpipe and thebombarde , a kind of Bretonoboe . He competed in and won several Breton folk festivals.Alan's first recording came in 1959, and was a single that was followed by the LP "
Telenn Geltiek " in 1960. With a new bardic harp with bronze strings, Stivell began experimenting with modernized styles of music, eventually performing with theMoody Blues in London. In 1970, he released his first hits, the single "Broceliande" and "Reflets ", both on thePhilips record label . He became closely associated with the burgeoning Bretonroots revival , especially after the release of the purely instrumental 1971 album "Renaissance de la Harpe Celtique ".Alan Stivell's newfound fame gave him reason to travel on tours across France, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. He continued recording, and published a collection ofBreton poetry in 1976. With his 1980, "Symphonie Celtique ", he mixed for the first time elements of rock, a symphonic orchestra, celtic instruments and non-European ethnics elements as Berber vocalistDjourha andsitar istNarendra Bataju .The folk revival faded somewhat in the 1980s, and though Alan Stivell was still very popular, he did not reach the heights he had in the 70s. He continued touring in many parts of the world, and recording for a loyal fanbase, and also worked with the English singer
Kate Bush . In the 1990s, he recorded with Bush, as well as French singerLaurent Voulzy , Irish traditional performerShane MacGowan and Senegalese singerDoudou N'Diaye Rose . The album was "Again ", and it became very popular in France, the beginning of a Celtic new wave. His records in the late 1990s contained more pronounced rock elements, and he performed at a rock festival calledTransmusicales inRennes . He continued working with a variety of musicians, invitingPaddy Moloney (ofThe Chieftains ),Jim Kerr (ofSimple Minds ), Khaled andYoussou N'Dour to be in his very international " 1 Douar / 1 Earth " album .Alan has a very eclectic style. He reached the height of his popularity in the early and mid 70's when he played Celtic folk rock, and was an influence in the
electric folk movement. Since the early 80's, he has largely departed from this, playing music that was increasingly experimental and blended styles from many cultures and genres, including R&B and rock. This alienated his more traditionalist fan base, but also drew a new audience.Alan Stivell's released "
Au-delà des mots-Beyond Words ", his twenty first LP, in 2002, and album that featured him playing six different harps.In 2004, a DVD, "
Parcours " has been published by Fox-Pathé.The same year, he has also written a book with Jean-Noël Verdier, "Telenn, la harpe bretonne " , published by Le Télégramme.In 2006, a new CD called "Explore" came out in France and other countries, distributed through Harmonia Mundi. This album demonstrates that Stivell is still a leading artist, exploring fusions of Celtic music with electro-rock, raga, hip-hop, etc with a unique and personal vocal style and a very interesting and original mix of Breton, English and French lyrics.
Discography
* Telenn Geltiek / Harpe celtique (1964)
* Reflets/Reflections (1970-1)
* Renaissance de la Harpe Celtique (1972)
* A l'Olympia - Live (1972)
* Chemins de terre/From Celtic Roots (1973)
* E Langonned / A Langonnet (1974)
* Grand Succès d'Alan Stivell (c 1975)
* E Dulenn /Live In Dublin / Dublin (1975)
* Celtic Rock (1976)
* Trema'n inis/Vers l'ile (1976)
* Roak Dilestra/Avant d'accoster/Before Landing (1977)
* Un Dewezh barzh gêr/Journée a la maison / A Homecoming (1978)
* "International Tour" / Tro ar Bed (1979)
*"Symphonie Celtique ( Tir na-nOg)" / Celtic Symphony (1979)
* Terre des vivants / Tir an dud bew (1981)
* Alan Stivell (1982)
* Légende / Legend / Mojenn (1983)
* Harpes du Nouvel Âge / Telenn a' Skuih-dour (1985)
* The Mist Of Avalon (1991)
* Again (1993)
* Brian Boru (1995)
* 70/95 Zoom (1997)
* 1 Douar/1 Earth (1998)
* Back To Breizh (1999)
* Au-delà des mots/Beyond Words (2002)
* Explore (2006)External links
* [http://www.alan-stivell.com/ Alan Stivell] (English, Breton and French language)
* [http://www.alan-stivell.com/blog/ Alan Stivell's blog]
* [http://www.kneeling.co.uk/pages/astivell/default.asp Album track listings]
* [http://www.harpographie.fr Harpographie] (French language and Breton language)
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