BRITTANY, LAND OF MUSICIANS Interview with PATRICK MOLARD on the latest developments in the Breton music scene There's a region of France where thousands of people, of all ages and social classes, frequently gather to listen to a concert or spend an entire night dancing at a fest-noz. We're talking about Brittany, the northwest region; those who know it know how music sets a daily rhythm in its towns and cities, how common it is to encounter a pair of bombarde and binioux players in the streets or hear the sound of an accordion filtering through the door of a bistro. In this context, it's easy to imagine the creativity and prolific nature of a music scene that, in Italy, perhaps only barely exists. Indeed, after Alan Stivell, who ushered in the folk revival era in the 1970s and achieved success throughout Europe, artists and their musical output have arrived in our country in dribs and drabs. Yet record companies like Coop Breizh, Keltia Musique, and L’Oz Production have experienced a veritable recording boom in the last decade, of which only a few echoes remain. To understand the richness of Breton music at the beginning of the new millennium, we interviewed one of its most prestigious exponents: Patrick Molard. Patrick, along with his brothers Jacky and Dominique, has created numerous groups over the years (Ogham, Gwerz, Pennou Skoulm, Archétype, up to the very recent Bal Tribal) and has authored highly original works, including "Deliou," a CD released in 2001 and winner of numerous awards. It should be emphasized that Patrick's music, like that of other great performers, is eclectic, open-minded, and finds common ground with diverse traditions and styles, from Galicia to Eastern Europe. Far from the facile fads of Celticism, the art of traditional music today transcends regional boundaries and is no longer an expression of closed, localized cultures; Creativity is born through dialogue and exchange. In this sense, it's worth highlighting the work of Erik Marchand, who has found common ground with the jazz of Italian Paolo Fresu (listen to the beautiful CD "Condaghes") and the Romanian music of Taraf di Caransebes. With Marchand, Patrick and Jacky Molard founded the group Gwerz in 1982, which was a key reference point in the 1980s. Jacky is a talented violinist with extraordinary sensitivity; he is responsible for the arrangements of "Deliou" and the search for the most innovative sounds. From this latest album, we'd like to highlight, in addition to the splendid voice of singer Kalinka Vulcheva (former soloist of the "Voci Bulgare"), one song in particular: "Flame of Wrath for Squinting Park," a cry of both anger and love that evokes the deepest emotions in listeners. Then there's the "Celtic Procession" of Jacques Pellen, a guitarist as brilliant as he is musically unclassifiable, with whom the Molard brothers have actively collaborated. But there are undoubtedly many other references and numerous artists to mention. Overall, how do you assess the current Breton music landscape? What are the most visible lines of development in your opinion? Which new groups offer the most original compositions and arrangements? Personally, I think Breton music has taken a step back from the media hype of the 1990s. The 1980s were extremely rich in terms of research, creation, and deep roots in Breton music, but this work was unfortunately undermined by the phenomena of "spectacularization" and "commercialization" that occurred in the 1990s. Many artists abandoned their research to devote themselves to their personal careers, hoping to share and get their share of the pie. Even worse, some musicians who were previously completely uninterested in Breton music have taken advantage of this to jump on the bandwagon, torturing audiences with a pseudo-evolving Breton music, useful only for filling their pockets. Fortunately, the work continues, the teaching is developing, but we'll have to wait for the fog to clear to see the true state of Breton music. Generally speaking, the music of the Fest-noz remains the most visible line, but there are no longer any concert groups like Barzaz or Gwerz. Your CD "Deliou," which won the "Choc per la musique" award and the "Grand Prix du Discque Produit en Bretagne" award, undoubtedly represents an important moment for your career but also for Breton folk music in general. How did such a vast project, which also led you to collaborate with singer Kalinka Vulcheva, come about? "First of all, Deliou is not an album of Breton music, but a collection of songs that reflect my personal journey over the last thirty years. First of all, there's Scotland, with a "pibroch" (Editor's note: the correct spelling is "piobaireachd," a classic tune for Scottish bagpipes), which is my favorite music and the one I know best. Then there's Galicia, where I have many friends, and for which I'm currently suffering because of the scandalous pollution affecting its beaches and devastating its economy. Of course, there's also Brittany, with compositions little-known to the general public, like "Anne Cloarec," written by Herri Léon, or "Bloavezh Mad" by Perig Herbert. Finally, there's Bulgaria, with the eponymous song "Deliou," the result of a magical encounter with Kalinka Vulcheva in 1992, at a festival in Germany. We initially recorded the song "Deliou," and then everything developed around the emotion this song exuded. What lines of continuity exist between "Deliou" and the new creation "Bal Tribal"? How was the audience's reception for this latter production during its Swiss tour in the summer of 2002? "Bal Tribal is a show that extends the album "Deliou," with excerpts from the same album and previously unreleased compositions by my brother Jacky. Thirteen musicians take center stage, undoubtedly with the three Molard brothers at the center. Kalinka Vulcheva is the special guest, Jacques Pellen on guitar, a string quartet, Miche Aumont on clarinet, Yves Berthou on bombarde, and Dominique Le Bozec on drums. The group has already performed a dozen times in Brittany, but also in Spain, Portugal, and recently at the Swiss National Exhibition in Yverdon, where the Swiss audience gave the group a real triumph. A live album was recorded in February 2002 at the Glenmor Hall in Carhaix and will be released soon throughout Europe." In the early 1980s, the group Gwerz was formed, and their album "Au-delà" achieved critical and commercial success in Europe. Today, the group continues to perform at a very high level. Do you think this could pave the way for the release of a new album with original compositions? How do you envision the group's future? "Gwerz ceased production in 2001. This group was a beacon of inspiration in the 1980s and resurfaced several times in the 1990s ("Gwerz Live" dates back to 1992), but some of its members preferred to focus on their careers; this explains the discreet end of the group, which will remain a major achievement in the history of Breton music." Many years after founding the group Ogham in 1976, you have now resumed an active and ongoing collaboration with your brothers Jacky and Dominique. What does their presence mean to you today? "Music is indeed a family affair in the Molard household. I was the first to start in 1965 at the "bagad" in St-Malo, followed by my brother Dominique, and a few years later we created Ogham, joined by our two brothers Claude and Jacky. It is certainly with great emotion that we play together, and all our fondest thoughts go to Claude, who left us on a tragic day in March 1996." Compared to the cultural openness that brings your music and that of many other artists to meet different experiences across regional borders, there is a trend in Italy and Europe for "Celticism," whose musical manifestations present themselves as "closed-minded" and as a symbol of local political demands. How do you view this phenomenon? "As I said in answer to the first question, Celticism is first and foremost a purely commercial product and doesn't mean much to me. Once basketball stops selling, believe me, people will talk about it much less." What's important to me is to stay true to ourselves and not get absorbed and digested by the uniformity that surrounds us, notoriously due to new technologies that are shrinking the planet. Many people in Brittany who sincerely think they're advancing Breton music don't realize that they're actually serving the same soup, vaguely spiced with Celtic ingredients, that the media sells us every day. Opening up to the world, yes, but be careful not to leave too wide a door open! What are your plans for 2003? Is there a chance you'll appear on the Italian scene? "For 2003, I've decided to return to my first loves: playing the bagpipes solo, especially the pibroch. There are about three hundred of them, and I know about a hundred. I'm planning another CD of pibroch, the follow-up to the one released in 1993 on the Gwerz Pladenn label. A second project is to publish a collection of my best scores (compositions and arrangements), and at the same time I'm preparing a work on Breton music with the uillean pipe, certainly with an organist. As for Italy, I don't have any dates planned yet, but I would certainly be very happy to be invited!