Alan Stivell at Lorient

Alan Stivell (born Alan Cochevelou January 6, 1944) is a Breton musician from the town of Gourin. He spent his childhood in Paris, absorbing the music of the city's many different populations from across France, Algeria, Morocco and elsewhere. He became interested in Breton music and culture, 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. Image File history File links Alan_stivell. ... January 6 is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... Traditional coat of arms This article is about the historical kingdom, duchy and French province, as well as one of the Celtic Nations . ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur Tossed by the waves, she does not founder Coordinates : , Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) Administration Subdivisions 20 arrondissements Département Paris (75) Région ÃŽle-de-France Mayor Bertrand Delanoë (PS) City (commune) Characteristics Land Area 86. ... Brittany is a Celtic country rich in its cultural heritage. ...

In 1953, 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 the bagpipe and the bombarde, a kind of Breton oboe. He competed in and won several Breton folk festivals. 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1953 calendar). ... Breton (Breton: Brezhoneg) is a Celtic language spoken by some of the inhabitants of Brittany (Breizh) and Loire-Atlantique (historically part of Brittany) in France. ... A bagpipe performer in Amsterdam. ... Bombardes from Kevrenn an Arvorig The bombarde is a French folk instrument from Brittany. ... Modern Oboe The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. ...

Stivell'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 the Moody Blues in London. In 1970, he released his first hits, the single "Broceliande" and Reflets, both on the Philips record label. He became closely associated with the burgeoning Breton roots revival, especially after the release of the purely instrumental 1971 album Renaissance de la Harpe Celtique. 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 of Breton 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 vocalist Djourha and sitarist Narendra Bataju. 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... The Moody Blues were originally a British rhythm and blues-based band; they later became best known for psychedelic music and early progressive rock. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Royal Philips Electronics N.V.), usually known as Philips, (Euronext: PHIA, NYSE: PHG) is one of the largest electronics companies in the world. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A roots revival (folk revival) is a trend which includes young performers popularizing the traditional musical styles of their ancestors. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... The Berbers (also called Imazighen, free men, singular Amazigh) are an ethnic group indigenous to Northwest Africa, speaking the Berber languages of the Afroasiatic family. ... Premla Shahane playing a sitar, 1927 The sitar is probably the best-known Indian instrument in the West. ...

The folk revival faded somewhat in the 1980s, and though 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 again with Bush, as well as with French singer Laurent Voulzy, Irish traditional performer Shane MacGowan and Senegalese singer Doudou N'Diaye Rose. The album was Again, and it became very popular in France. His records in the late 1990s contained more pronounced rock elements, and he performed at a rock festival called Transmusicales in Rennes. He continued working with a variety of musicians, including Paddy Moloney (of The Chieftains), Jim Kerr (of Simple Minds), Khaled and Youssou N'Dour. Kate Bush (born Catherine Bush on 30 July 1958 in Bexleyheath, Kent, now part of Greater London) is an English singer-songwriter with an expressive four-octave voice. ... See also 1990s, the band The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive, sometimes informally including popular culture from 2000 and 2001. ... Laurent Voulzy (born Lucien Voulzy on December 18, 1948 in Paris, France) is a French singer and composer. ... Shane MacGowan on the cover of the 1994 album The Snake by Shane MacGowan and The Popes. ... Doudou NDiaye Rose (b. ... Look up again in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Les Trasmusicales is a 3-day music festival held annually in Rennes, Brittany. ... Location within France Some medieval houses, such as these, can still be found in the center of Rennes. ... Paddy Moloney (born August 1st, 1938) was one of the founders of the Irish musical group The Chieftains and has played on every one of their albums. ... The Chieftains are an Irish musical group founded in 1962, known for performing and popularizing Irish traditional music. ... Jim Kerr (born in Glasgow, Scotland, 9 July, 1959) is the lead singer and lyricist of Scottish band, now duo, Simple Minds. ... Simple Minds is a Scottish New Wave/rock band which had its greatest worldwide popularity during the mid-1980s. ... Khaled, New York City Concert, February 8, 2002 Khaled [خالد] is an Algerian raï musician from Oran. ... Youssou NDour Youssou NDour (born October 1, 1959 in Dakar) is a Senegalese singer. ...

Stivell's style, as has been seen, is very eclectic. The height of his popularity was reached in the early 70's when he invented and played Celtic rock music, which evenly blends traditional tunes and playing with rock elements. Since the early 80's, he has largely departed from this, playing music that has been increasingly experimental and blended styles and themes from so many cultures and current genres (he's borrowed from about every musical tradition, and played using such manners as R&B, or sung rap style)that his music has reached the point that traditional elements (Breton, Celtic, or from elsewhere) become unrecognizable in the end product. This has alienated his more traditionalist fan base, but drawn on a new audience reservoir, as he doesn't seem to fade into oblivion despite his advancing years; there's also no disputing the virtuoso quality of his playing.

Stivell's most recent albums are 2002's Au-delà des mots-Beyond Words, his twenty first LP, which featured Stivell playing six different harps and Explore , a very innovative electro-rock album just out these days, having already received a unanimous positive answer by the media where it has been distributed. For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Exploration is the act of searching or traveling for the purpose of discovery, e. ...

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" is out in France and other countries distributed thru Harmonia Mundi (as 4 "back-catalogue"). This album demonstrates that Alan is still one of the main artists, exploring new fusions of Celtic music with electro-rock, raga, hip-hop, etc with a unique and personal vocal style and interesting lyrics in Breton, English and French.

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)
• Au-delà des mots/Beyond Words (2002)
• Explore (2006)

External links

• Alan Stivell (English, Breton and French language)
• Alan Stivell's blog
• Album track listings