LES IRLANDAIS DE BRETAGNE

But there was another wave of migrants, whose history is still little known in our region. In the 17th and 18th centuries, tens of thousands of Irish people, fleeing British colonisation and its abuses as well as poverty, came to settle in Brittany. Curiously, this wave of migration has long been forgotten.

During a chance encounter with the Irish owner of a pub in Rostrenen, Véronique Bourjot, Brewen Favrau, Soazig Hamelin and Kevin Le Pennec discovered a little-known part of Breton history. Thanks to three historians who had researched the subject, the four Breton musicians found answers to their questions. They quickly developed an artistic project inspired by the uprooting of these Irish people to a country unknown to them, Brittany.
They set about building a project based on this history, composing melodies and writing original lyrics, as Breton and Irish musicians of the time might have done. Twelve tracks follow one another here, instrumentals and songs, combining the four languages of these two peoples : Breton, Irish, French and English.
Singer Véronique Bourjot, uilleann piper, flutist and biniou player Brewen Favrau, violinist Soazig Hamelin and harpist Kevin Le Pennec have pooled their talents to offer us a musical universe that has its origins in both countries. But as this is an original project, the colour and timbre of the various instruments, and above all the arrangements, create a fresh and innovative sound.
Throughout the tracks, we follow the journey of these migrants, from their eviction (The Moving On Song), the crossing (Crossing the Sea), their arrival (Ar Basion), their encounter with the Breton people (The May Morning Dew), their integration (Mem Bro, La Jument de Rostrenen), their poverty (Iliz Henbont), their trades (Kemenerig), their exchanges (Rileanna) and their memories (Dublin).
And since this talented quartet doesn't do things by halves, they have chosen to publish their album in a magnificent book, which, in addition to recounting the genesis of this project and presenting each track with an introduction and the lyrics, also features superb illustrations, paintings and charcoal drawings by the artist Esteban Richard.
 A truly high-quality work that allows readers to discover a piece of Brittany's history.

Autoproduit  - https://lesirlandaisdebretagne.wordpress.com/

With the support and guidance of the Collectif ARP.