Music from Brittany

Maybe you don't think of France as a hotbed of Celtic culture. And for the most part, you're right. But Brittany, a region in the west of France, is actually home to an entire Celtic subculture with its own very ancient language and a musical tradition that comes partly from eastern Europe and partly from the same sources as the Gaelic music of Ireland and Scotland. Kornog is a Breton group that was founded by a bouzouki-playing Scots emigre named Jamie McMenemy; the Breton members of the group play fiddle, guitar, and flute. This album is taken from a concert the group played in Minneapolis in 1983, and it's a marvelous recording. Jean-Michel Veillon plays flute and Christian Lemaitre plays fiddle in a style that would fit perfectly in an Irish pub session, but the tunes they play — with names like "Gwerz Ar Marc'Hadourig Bihan" and "Dans Loudieg" — have a rhythmic intricacy and a modal edge that set them apart from the Gaelic traditions of Celtic music. "Dans an Dro" includes some lovely interplay between McMenemy's bouzouki and Soïg Sibéril's guitar; and "Laride/An Dro" incorporates the bombarde, a reed instrument that plays a central role in Breton music.