Breton inspiration in nineteenthcentury French music
A key date in what has come to be known as the Breton Renaissance was the publication in 1839 of Barzaz Breiz (literally ‘Breton bardic poetry’, officially Chants populaires de la Bretagne) by the young Quimper folklorist Théodore Hersart de La Villemarqué. This extensive anthology – ninety-one pieces in the definitive edition – is divided into ‘Mythological, Heroic and Historical Songs’; ‘Domestic Songs and Love Songs’; and ‘Legends and Religious Songs’. The texts are given in Breton with facing French translation, each preceded by an individual introduction and followed by an explanatory note, with nearly fifty musical transcriptions printed at the end of the volume, with or without piano accompaniment. Reissued many times, and translated into English as early as 1865 (with illustrations by artists including Millais, Tissot and Tenniel), Barzaz Breiz had a considerable influence, reminiscent of that of the works of ‘Ossian’ in the previous century and – also like the Ossian poems – little tarnished by the doubts that soon arose as to the historical or philological authenticity of its content. What is not in doubt is that the book helped to popularise a Breton folklore that had been very little known until then.
CD-Book Édouard Lalo. Le Roi d’Ys (2025). Translation: Charles Johnston.
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publication date : 06/05/25