Le Cornouaille

Day 1 - Gangbé Style

For this leg of the trip I travelled with my daughter, Madeleine and we arrived in Quimper in mid afternoon. The festival was still very much in warm-up mode and there was not yet a whole lot going on. But there were still one or two bagads (Breton pipe bands typically featuring bagpipes, bombardes and drums) bringing some atmosphere to the city.

The heart of the festival is in Place St Corentin, a medium sized square adjacent to Quimper's magnificent Gothic cathedral. Throughout there is never a dull moment at St Co. and it is all free. Maddy jumped straight in and joined one of the circles dancing to the music of a 3 piece band, C'Harr Nij.

But the highlight of the day for me was Gangbé Brass Band from Benin, first playing on their own and later on as Gangbé Breizh Band with the participation of Bagad De Plomodierne. An African brass band playing together with a Breton pipe band under the watchful eye of St Corentin - it was quite a mélange, the quintessential definition of world music if you like.

Day 2 - The City Comes Alive!

The festival is on and so the summer must stop. Down came the rains to dampen the streets but not resolve of the participants. But some improvisation was required here and there. During the breaks in the rain, out came the bagads to lift the spirits.

Maddy and I decided to take the free dancing classes on offer at St Corentin and learnt the basics of the much loved gavotte. These classes were designed to get everyone "ready" for the Fest Noz later in the week. Rather than show you our feeble attempts at getting the basic steps right it is better that I show you a proper example.

When the rain persisted some improvisation was required and the cercles were taken indoors. I captured this video in Les Halles while I was shopping for provisions for our evening meal. Look at the way each couple looks deeply into their partner's eyes - how you could not fall in love with she/he who looks at you so compellingly for 3 minutes. You know what they say about dancing!  

Day 3 - Carlos!

I made a day trip to Concarneau but the highlight for today was our evening concert at le Pavillon. The venue, being 3km uphill out of town was not great for the international festival goer who relies upon public transport (which does not exist after the concert).  But I quibble.

The first set was played by the very sound Bodénès - Hamon Quintet, a group built around the talents of piper, Sylvain Hamon and Steve Bodénès who plays the bombarde and is a very handy singer. To fill out the soundscape they were joined by singer, Rozenn Talec (who later autographed my CD), guitarist Thibault Niobé and bass player, Julien Le Mentec. Technically sound, good musicians and they really got the crowd dancing with their finale gavotte.

But Carlos Nuñez and band were in a different dimension entirely. Apart from being an outstanding bagpipe and flute player, Carlos is a musical entrepreneur who has assembled  a band with extraordinary talent (and one or two extraordinary egos!). This was a concert par excellence.

Carlos is one of those rare pipers who almost does not need to blow in the bag - he is just so relaxed about it. Most of his peers look like they're desperately trying to keep up by emptying each lungful of breath into the bag at every opportunity. Not Carlos - just a wee puff every now and then.  And his playing - fast, accurate, playful and so easy to listen to!

We treated to one or two of his favourite pieces and a remarkable version of Ravel's Bolero played on the pipes. But this was a concert for Brittany: some invited local guest artists including Nolwenn Arzel with whom he was happy to share the limelight. There was a musical tribute to Brittany, and some other music with Brazilian and Renaissance Italian influences.  He capped it off with his own party piece, and then Dan Ar Braz's The Piper's Glade with Bagad Kemper as a great finale. We were left totally satisfied - a true legend.

 Day 4 - A Reunion

A house on the riverside

I took it relatively easy today after the very late night before. I decided to check out the Odet River, downstream from the city, walking along the Chemin du Halage through the Locmaria district. It was an interesting historical walk through the old port area towards the new port further down towards the estuary of the river.

At Jean Jacques new apartment

In the evening we caught up with my homestay host from my previous visit to Kemper, Jean Jacques. We shared a couple of glasses of Viognier at Le Vins Dans Les Voiles (for those who know French this is a wonderful pun) not far from Jean Jacques old home near the Steir. With our mutual mix of French and English we managed to catch up on some of the changes in our lives during the past 2 years. Jean Jacques is a talented photographer who works almost exclusively with black and white film. Sadly, his studio/gallery at Locronan is now closed but his work can still be seen at 1 or 2 local museums and of course at his apartment just outside the city.

By the time we had reached the bar, we were all but drenched from the pouring wine and neither Maddy nor I had much enthusiasm for our next concert at le Pavillon. We were lucky to get a lift up the hill from Jean Jacques, otherwise I doubt we would have gone at all. All we knew was that we were to see France's latest chanteuse sensation, preceded by a Breton singer. Simply, neither of us were in the mood for a pop concert and we resolved to leave early enough to catch the last bus home.

How wrong we were, and again how late we were. The support act, Aziliz Manrow was competent but this was not her crowd. She really had difficulty getting the audience involved, and sometimes tried too hard to compensate. Matters were not helped by her guitarist's failure to tune one of his instruments under pressure which seemed to affect his playing for the rest of the set.  

Bring on the Chanteuse - Olivia Ruiz. Well, wow! She is good. Immediate impact with a 5-6 minute performance of her big hit, Mon Corps Mon Amour which launched us into a great concert. Her band were excellent: really tight, thoroughly professional and with some real musical talent among them. Her concert management was also right on the money. As Maddy remarked, she seemed to change the tempo in response to the feedback from the audience.

And you guessed it - we stayed to the end, missing the last bus (to the extent that it existed) and hoofing it back to our digs in the city.  

Day 5 - Total Cultural Immersion

The whole week of le Cornouaille is devoted to Breton culture but this was the day when we chose to become most immersed. This is not just a musical festival; it also gives plenty of scope to immerse oneself in Breton cuisine, produce, traditional costume and embroidery, dance and dancing culture. These are superimposed on the tradition of the festival which is based around the Feast of the Queens (la Fête des Reines) starting in 1922. Over time it has been in the vanguard of the great Breton cultural revival as it drew in the whole of Brittany. There is even scope given to Breton political ideas where its identity as part of France is openly questioned and concessions made in the past (eg the old Breton capital of Nantes is now administratively outside Brittany) are challenged.

But the music is at its heart. Today, le Cornouaille remains in the vanguard of the great musical innovation that blends the traditional Breton instruments, the Scottish bagpipes and the bombarde with modern musical forms in rock music, blues and even a little bit of rap. This whole revolution remains all but invisible to the rest of the (non Celtic) world.

Championnat Des Bagadou

Throughout the year the various bagads from all the major cities and towns compete in the national band championships. Incorporated within le Cornouaille is one division of the Championnat National des Bagadou, where almost 100 bands compete for a league title (there is even promotion and relegation as in football leagues!).  This is serious stuff, folks.  

Today, Quimper hosted the 3rd Division in front of a full paying audience at Place de la Résistance. The contest involves each band playing for 10 minutes in front of a judging panel to win the important prize of best in festival. So I took some time out to take in this spectacle.

Celtic Circles (cercles celtiques) were formed before the second world war to promote Breton culture: literature, theatre, songs, dance and music and the Breton language (which was banned by the French for a time). Out of these circles has grown War'l Leur, a confederation of Breton dance groups.

Unlike the pipe bands, the various dance groups do not compete s formally. Rather, they co-operate to assist each other in developing and promoting the Breton culture. But there is an element of competition through regular viewings and recognition of the best exponents of the Breton dance form (in all its aspects including costume, staging, choreography and music). And it appears that they now run annual championships to formally acknowledge the best exponents of their art.

For our evening concert we attended Kement Tu which is an exposition of the leading 8 troupes from the region. It is a wonderful mélange of colour, sound and movement based on traditional dance steps and social themes. All done with live music which for some groups comprised a relatively small ensemble, and for others a full pipe band with guitars, drums and other instruments.

Kement Tu 

Kement Tu

And of course my description of Saturday would not be complete without a mention of the Fest Noz.  A Fest Noz is essentially a recreation of a traditional peasant dance festival where a small group of musicians play a series of gavottes and other tunes so that the assembled mass of people can dance in impromptu small and large circles.  There are circles within circles and some more resemble strings. The whole point is that it does not really matter - people are just there to dance, perhaps to drink a little, and have a great time. Once again, Maddy jumped in and was lost in the swirling mass of humanity on the floor. When we left, it was 1.30am and the dance was still going on strong.

Day 6 - Le Finale

This is the day when the locals really celebrate. The day begins with mass at St Corentin cathedral which is followed shortly afterwards by the Défilé en Fête - a parade of the pipe bands and dance cercles in traditional costume through the streets of the city. Once again we were treated to a cavalcade of colour, sound and dance.

The bagads keep rolling by

Some of the candidates for Reine de la Cornouaille march past

The cathedral forms a great backdrop to the parade

Some added colours

Unfortunately the weather was not kind and there was steady drizzling rain during much of the parade. I found a shelter under one of the overhanging timber buildings in Rue Kereon, which was a good a vantage point as any. While I watched the défilé file past I was lucky to strike up a conversation with Jean-Claude. He and his family were waiting for his son and grandson to come through with Bagad Ergué Armel.  

Jean-Claude used to play the bombarde with Bagad Glazik ("glazik" = blue) as a young man before he moved to Paris with his work. He is now retired and lives in the small village of Kerandraon, near Plogoff. I learnt more about the traditions with the bands and some more of their history. Overall, 43 groups were scheduled to file past but there was the odd mixing up of, or omission from, the order probably due to the rain. It cannot be easy walking several slow km holding an umbrella aloft and the line of black umbrellas does detract from the colours on display.

Children lead the way - Bagad Ergué Armel

Jean-Claude et moi

As we held our Breton flags I asked Jean-Claude whether he felt more Breton or French.  His response was simply wonderful.  "I am Breton and French AND European". The world needs many more Jean-Claudes.

Announcing the new Reine de Cornouaille on the balcony of the old Bishop's Palace

At 6.00 pm the link with the origins of the festival was made complete with the announcement of the new Reine de Cornouaille before a large assembled crowd at the old Bishop's Palace, now the site of the Musée Départemental Breton.

The Triomphe Des Sonneurs is another great spectacle where all the pipe bands march together as single band followed more than 1,000 dancers from all the cercles together.  We were in our 4th Floor apartment as this filed past and had a great view across the river as the joyful sound filled the room.

And if that wasn't enough I attended a free concert by Bagad Kemper at Place de la Résistance while Maddy went for some more dancing at the Sunday evening Fest Noz.  The Bagad Kemper concert was anything but traditional: it was an interesting fusion of the old and new with a bit of humour thrown in. 

A final drink at St Corentin

Le Cornouaille - there is no better festival in the world for its richness, variety, depth, colour, sound and passion.  It shows how a small tribe and culture can survive and thrive in our modern global society.  Moreover, it shows how that culture can bring new dimensions to that we enjoy in other parts of the world that are more influenced by the Anglo American hegemony.

Forza Bretagne!