Voices of Brittany come to Newcastle
As part of the CETL World Musics project (link to project page) four superb and internationally well known singers representing the best of the Breton vocal tradition in both the Breton and French languages visited Newcastle to run workshops for students and give public performances in the Kings Hall at Newcastle University and at The Sage Gateshead.
Their repertoire ranges from songs specifically for dancing, (kan ha diskan and chants à répondre), to epic narrative ballads known as ‘Gwerz’ (Breton) and Complaintes (French).
The project was created by Traditional Musician and Senior Lecturer Dr Desmond Wilkinson www.ncl.ac.uk/sacs/staff/profile/d.wilkinson.
This great opportunity to work with four of Brittany's finest traditional singers was taken up very enthusiastically by the student body. Not only was the programme of events of great musical interest but the cultural contact aspect of the visit was of immeasurable significance. I sincerely hope that we can replicate this type of pedagogic / performance project again in the future.'
