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