Alan Stivell | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alan Cochevelou |
| Born | (1944-01-06)6 January 1944 (age 81) Riom,Auvergne, France |
| Genres | Celtic music,Breton Music,world music |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1960–present |
| Labels | Keltia III |
| Website | alanstivell |
Alan Stivell (Breton pronunciation:[ˈɑːlãn'sti:vəlː]; bornAlan Cochevelou on 6 January 1944)[1] is aBreton andCeltic musician and singer, songwriter, recording artist, and master of theCeltic harp. From the early 1970s, he revived global interest in the Celtic (specifically Breton) harp andCeltic music as part ofworld music.[1] As abagpiper andbombard player, he modernized traditionalBreton music and singing in theBreton language. A precursor ofCeltic rock, he is inspired by the union of theCeltic cultures and is a keeper of theBreton culture.
Alan Stivell was born in theAuvergnat town ofRiom. His father,Georges (Jord in Breton) Cochevelou, was a civil servant in theFrench Ministry of Finance who achieved his dream of recreating aCeltic orBreton harp in the small town ofGourin,Brittany[2] and his mother Fanny-Julienne Dobroushkess was ofLithuanian-Jewish descent. In 1953, Alan began playing the instrument at the age of nine under the tutelage of his father and Denise Megevand, a concert harpist. Alan also learned Celtic mythology, art, and history, as well as theBreton language, traditional Breton dance, and the Scottishbagpipe and thebombarde, a traditional Breton instrument, from theoboe family. Alan began playing concerts at the age of eleven and studied traditional Breton, English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh folk music, also learning the drum, Irish flute, and tin whistle.[1] He competed in, and won, several Breton traditional music competitions in the Bleimor Pipe band.[3] Alan spent his childhood inParis, with its cosmopolitan influences. But he fell in love withBreton music andCeltic culture, in general, and often went back in his teens to Brittany.[1]
Stivell's first recording came in 1960 ("Musique gaelique"), a single that was followed by the LPTelenn Geltiek in 1964. He already recorded solo harp and harp backing singers in 1959 withBreiz ma bro ("Brittany my country") and aMouez Breiz EP ("Voice of Brittany") with the female singer Andrea Ar Gouilh. His stage name, Stivell, means "fountain" or "spring" in Breton. The name refers both to the Breton renewal and to his surname Cochevelou (an evolution ofkozh stivelloù, "the old fountains").[1]
With a new bardic harp with bronze strings, Stivell began experimenting with modernized styles of music that became known asCeltic rock. In 1966, Alan Stivell began to perform and record as a singer. The following year, he was signed byPhilips Records. This was during the birth of the New Breton and Celtic music movement.
In 1968, after two years of touring and regular appearances at the American Students and Artists Center in Paris, Alan joined theMoody Blues onstage to perform in London's Queen Elizabeth Hall.[4]
In 1970, Stivell released his first hits, the single "Broceliande" and the albumReflets, both on thePhilips record label. He became closely associated with the burgeoning Bretonroots revival, especially after the release of the purely instrumental 1971 albumRenaissance of the Celtic Harp, which won one of the most famous awards in France, the prize of theAcadémie Charles Cros.[3]
The music critic Bruce Elder wrote of the albumRenaissance of the Celtic Harp:
People who hear this record are never the same again.Renaissance of the Celtic Harp, one of the most beautiful and haunting records ever made by anybody, introduced the Celtic harp to many thousands of listeners around the world. To call this music gorgeous and ravishing would be the height of understatement—indeed, there aren't words in the English language to describe this record adequately. The opening work, 'Ys', is a piece inspired by the legend of the fifth century capital of the kingdom ofCornwall, (most versions of the legend place the city in theDouarnenez Bay on the coast ofBrittany), [said to have been] engulfed by a flood as punishment for its sins. (Debussy wrote one of his finest works, "The Engulfed Cathedral," later adapted by the groupRenaissance into "At the Harbour" on the 1973 albumAshes Are Burning, based on the same legend). The reflective "Marv Pontkellec" is every bit as sublimely beautiful, but the highlight of this record is "Gaeltacht," a 19-minute musical journey by Stivell's harp across theGaelic lands ofIreland,Scotland, and theIsle of Man.[5][6]
On 28 February 1972, Stivell performed a concert in theOlympia theater, a famous music hall in Paris, where Alan and his band played music combining traditional Celtic music with modern sounds (electric guitar, drums, etc.). This concert made Stivell and his music well known throughout France.[2] At this time, Stivell's eclectic approach to music was very new and was considered risky, but it soon became popular. Over 1,500,000 records of that concert (À l'Olympia) were sold. Alan Stivell's newfound fame propelled him to tour across France, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. He continued recording, and published a collection ofBreton poetry in 1976.[2] With his 1980Symphonie Celtique, he mixed for the first time elements of rock, a symphonic orchestra, Celtic instruments and such non-European ethnic elements asBerber vocalistDjourha andsitaristNarendra Bataju.[3]
The folk music revival faded somewhat in the 1980s. Though Alan Stivell still maintained a popular following, he did not reach the heights of popularity that he had in the 1970s. He continued touring in many parts of the world and recording for a loyal fanbase. He also worked with the English musicianKate Bush.[3]
In the 1990s, Stivell recorded with the French singerLaurent Voulzy, Irish traditional performerShane MacGowan and Senegalese singerDoudou N'Diaye Rose. The album wasAgain, and it became very popular in France, initiating the beginning of a Celtic new wave.[7] Stivell's 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 international1 Douar /1 Earth album.[3]
The 1998 French-language hit "La Tribu de Dana" by rap trioManau, one of the best-selling French singles of all time, featured a very similar musical arrangement to Stivell's "Tri Martolod". Although Stivell sued Manau for the unauthorised sampling, the group claimed that they had modified the original sufficiently, through the addition of lyrics and other changes, to avoid any charges ofplagiarism. Stivell is now credited for a part of "La Tribu de Dana"'s arrangements.[citation needed]
Stivell's CD albumAgain in 1993 was the base for a new wave of his popularity, especially in France and Brittany. Other albums received good critical reviews, such asBrian Boru or1 Douar ("1 Earth").In 2002 Stivell releasedAu-delà des mots ("Beyond Words"), his twenty-first LP. The album featured him playing six different harps, specially dedicated to the Celtic Harp Revival's 50th anniversary.[citation needed]
In 2004, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Celtic harp revival in Brittany, he wrote a book in collaboration with Jean-Noël Verdier:Telenn, la harpe bretonne ("Telenn, the Breton harp").[8] The same year, the DVDParcours was published by Fox-Pathé.
In 2006, a new CD album calledExplore came out in France and other countries, distributed throughHarmonia Mundi. The album explored fusions of Celtic music with electro-rock, raga and hip-hop with a unique and personal vocal style and an original mix of lyrics in Breton, English and French.[9]
In 2009, the title of his albumEmerald celebrated hisemerald anniversary with his fans (i.e. forty years together) and paid homage to the sea and the Celtic lands (color blue-green,Glaz in Breton language). In 2013, a new CD album and DVD calledOlympia 40th Anniversary came out in France (Universal) as a result of the concert performed at theOlympia mythical music hall on 16 February 2012.[citation needed]
On 2 October 2015, Stivell released a new CD album calledAMzer: Seasons throughWorldVillage in France (and other countries), his first one of the 2010s, coinciding with his career's 50th anniversary. The album is also available as a "Leclerc limited edition" including 3 bonus tracks (2 alternative mixes and a brand new instrumental) and a 60-page booklet.[citation needed]
Music critic Bruce Eder has stated: "[Alan Stivell's] harp recordings, with their enveloping lyricism and tightly interwoven patterns of variations, can appeal to more serious listeners of new age music. Stivell's main audience, however, lies with fans of Celtic music and culture, and English folk music. Embracing ancient and modern elements, but (apart from his folk-rock work) making no compromises to modern melodic sensibilities, his music captures the mystery and strangeness of Breton, Irish, Welsh, and Scottish landscapes that are both ageless and timeless. It is haunting, mysterious, and beautiful, with no equivalent in modern popular music and few peers in the realm of commercial folk music."[1]
An English translation of Stivell's interview forLe Peuple Breton by Peter Barry was published in theScottish political, current affairs and arts review,Calgacus in 1975.[10]
In the 1978 bookRacines interdites ("Forbidden Roots"), a series of interviews with Stivell covers questions about the Breton language, history and geography, as well as hisutopian vision of a world living inmeditative harmony with nature. Lyrics for 17 of Stivell's songs are reprinted at the back of the book.[11]
Alan Stivell has influenced multiple contemporary artists, most notablyfolk metal bandEluveitie. Their biggest hit 'Inis Mona' shares a melody with the traditional Tri Martolod. Where it is played onbagpipes,tin whistle andhurdy-gurdy with the addition of harsh vocals,electric guitar,bass guitar anddrums.
A l'Olympia andIn Dublin were recorded live, but featured only new, previously unreleased tracks.
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