Denez Prigent
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Denez Prigent (; born 17 February 1966 in Santec, Finistère) is a
Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...
singer-songwriter of the '' gwerz'' and '' kan ha diskan'' styles of
Breton music Since the early 1970s, Brittany has experienced a tremendous revival of its folk music. Along with flourishing traditional forms such as the bombard- biniou pair and fest-noz ensembles incorporating other additional instruments, it has also branc ...
. From his debut at the age of 16, he was known for singing traditional songs ''
a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...
'', and has moved on to singing his own songs with
techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...
music accompaniments. He has performed in France as well as internationally and has recorded seven studio and two live albums.


Biography


Childhood and early career

During his childhood, Prigent lived with his father in Le Relecq-Kerhuon and spent his weekends at his grandmother's, in Santec. His father, a primary teacher, raised him speaking French, although he spoke
Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...
fluently, because he did not see the point in teaching Breton to his son. Denez thus discovered the Breton language at his grandmother's, along with its natural harmony and the tendency of Breton speakers of that time to sing written or improvised songs. While in secondary in Brest he preferred listening to Breton songs on his portable audio player than concentrating on his studies. At age 14, Prigent was taught kan ha diskan by Alain Leclère, himself a former student of Manuel Kerjean, whose other students include Erik Marchand. Two years later, in 1982, he sang with Alain Leclère in festoù-noz. In the
Kan ar Bobl Kan ar Bobl ( Breton for ''Song of the people'') is a Breton music competition created in 1973, that takes place in Lorient as part of the Festival Interceltique de Lorient. It was the brainchild of Polig Montjarret. Presentation At the time of ...
, he won the first prize in kan ha diskan in 1987, the first prize in new singing in 1988 and the first prize in traditional singing in 1990. In 1988, driven by his passion for the Breton language, he became a Breton teacher in
Carhaix Carhaix-Plouguer (; ), commonly known as just Carhaix (), is a commune in the French department of Finistère, region of Brittany, France. The commune was created in 1957 by the merger of the former communes Carhaix and Plouguer.
, during which he was regularly invited in traditional music festivals such as the ' (Nightfalls) and the
Festival Interceltique de Lorient __NOTOC__ The (French), Emvod Ar Gelted An Oriant (Breton) or Inter-Celtic Festival of Lorient in English, is an annual Celts (modern), Celtic festival, located in the city of Lorient, Brittany, France. It was founded in 1971 by . This annual ...
. In 1991, the city of
Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...
invited him to participate in the " Voice of Asia" festival due to take place in its newly twinned city of Alma Ata, Kazakhstan. Surprised by this invitation, Prigent wrote a satirical song, "Son Alma Ata" (later included on ''Sarac'h'') about the incongruity for a Breton singer to be sent to perform in
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
. This first concert abroad gave him an opportunity to discover the Kazakh people, then integrated into the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, and compare its situation to that of the Breton people, integrated into France. Interview with Denez Prigent
in the radio program ''An divskouarn o nijal'', aired on Arvorig FM and Radio Kerne, published online by An Tour Tan in December 2003.
In 1991, Prigent resigned from his teaching position in order to pursue his artistic career. While collecting the lyrics of traditional songs, he met Eugénie Ebrel born Goadec, one of the three Goadec Sisters who revived Breton a cappella singing in the 1960s. She provided him with the lyrics of "Ti Eliz Iza", and her daughter, Annie Ebrel, decided to join him on stage. In 1992, Prigent sang a cappella during the
Transmusicales Les Rencontres Trans Musicales (generally referred to as ''Les Transmusicales de Rennes'') is a music festival that lasts for 3 or 4 days. It is held annually in December. The festival takes place in Rennes, Brittany, France. Since the festival's ...
, in front of an audience unused to this style. He subsequently left the band Daouarn with which he had sung in festoù-noz. He performed in the
Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annu ...
, the Francofolies, the Midem, the
Printemps de Bourges Le Printemps de Bourges is an annual music festival that is held in Bourges, France, over the course of five days. It is now a major event in France and Europe. History The festival was created in 1977 (by , , and ). With its span of 35 years, ...
, the Coup de Cœur francophone in
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, the Mitte Europa festival, the ''Celtic Connection'' festival in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, Expo '98 in Lisbonne, and the Eisteddfod festival in
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
.


''Ar gouriz koar'' (1993)

In 1993, Prigent released his first album ''Ar gouriz koar'' (translated ''The Wax Belt'') on Auvidis/Silex. Although the album was, at first, intended for promoting Prigent's songs to festival organizers rather than for being sold to the general audience, its sales approached copies. Most of the songs are traditional Breton folk songs sung
a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...
. However, former Storlok members Denez Abernot and Bernez Tangi wrote "Plac'h Landelo" and "Gwerz ar vezhinerien", respectively, while Prigent himself wrote "Gwerz an aksidan". Like all of his subsequent recordings, ''Ar gouriz koar'' is sung in the kan ha diskan and gwerz styles. When Prigent failed to receive compensation from Auvidis/Silex for sales of the album, he sued the label and signed with
Barclay Records Barclay is a French Universal Music Group record label, originally owned by Eddie Barclay in 1953. Barclay previously established Riviera-LM Records in 1951. Eddie was a bandleader, pianist, producer and nightclub owner. With his wife and voc ...
for his subsequent releases. Further sales of ''Ar gouriz koar'' were blocked but Auvidis kept the original records, and in 1996 Prigent released a new recording of ''Ar gouriz koar'' with Barclay. For this and all subsequent recordings, Prigent uses the Peurunvan unified
Breton orthography Breton (, , ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language group spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albeit as a member of ...
.


Introduction to electronic music and ''Me 'zalcʼh ennon ur fulenn aour'' (1993–1999)

At his wife's request, Prigent attended the first
rave party A rave (from the verb: ''wikt:rave#English, to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by Disc jockeys, DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated ...
held in Rennes, in 1993, in spite of his negative prejudice. There, he discovered a music that, like Breton music, is primarily meant to support dancing. Noticing that
electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
and Breton music are based on similar rhythms and notes closed to one another, he contemplated using it to accompany his songs. In 1995, Prigent appeared in ''Dao Dezi''. The goal of this project of
Éric Mouquet Éric Mouquet (born 19 March 1960) is the co-founder of the band Deep Forest. He won a Grammy Award in 1995, and a World Award for best world music album. The other half of Deep Forest was Michel Sanchez until 2005, when the latter parted ways ...
, a member of
Deep Forest Deep Forest is a French music project that originally began as a duo consisting of Michel Sanchez (musician), Michel Sanchez and Éric Mouquet. They compose a style of world music, sometimes called ethnic electronica, mixing ethnic with electro ...
, and Guilain Joncheray is to treat Breton music in the same way that Deep Forest treated African music, with traditional lyrics and electronic accompaniments. Michel Sanchez, the other member of Deep Forest, also worked on the album, recorded and mixed by Erwin Autrique. Breton singers Arnaud Maisonneuve and Manu Lann Huel also appear on the album, as well as Tri Yann. It is Prigent's first experience combining Breton lyrics and electronic music. Prigent released his second album, ''Me 'zalc'h ennon ur fulenn aour'' (I keep in myself a golden spark), in 1997. He wrote all the lyrics except for the traditional song ''
Ar rannoù "Ar rannoù" ("The Series", published as "The Series, or the Druid and the Child"), also known as "Gousperoù ar raned" ("The Frogs' Vespers"), is a traditional Breton folksong, composed in twelve parts or " series". Origin and significance of ...
'' that appears in the Barzaz Breiz, and most of the musics, using both traditional instruments and electronic sounds. The subjects of the lyrics are the classical topics of gwerz : injustice, disease, death. ''E trouz ar gêr'', about the artificial aspects of living in a city, and ''An hentoù adkavet'', about the revival of the
Tro Breizh Tro Breizh ( Breton for "Tour of Brittany") is a Catholic pilgrimage that links the towns of the seven founding saints of Brittany. These seven saints were Celtic monks from Britain from around the 5th or 6th century who brought Christianity to ...
, are his first songs devoted to Brittany, its culture and its relation to
nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...
. To select electronic samples, Prigent contacted Arnaud Rebotini, who granted him access to his collection of discs. Prigent mostly chose
jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaá¹…gala'' ...
sounds, finding that their rhythm, at around 160–170 bpm, was well adapted to Breton singing. In most cases, Prigent's voice was recorded first and electronic sounds were added afterwards. This combination of ancient singing and modern music is illustrated by ''Ar rannoù'', one of the oldest known Breton texts, for which Prigent recomposed the traditional tune using electronic sounds. He compared this treatment of singing and music to that of
Alan Stivell Alan Stivell (; born Alan Cochevelou on 6 January 1944) is a Breton people, Breton and Celtic musician and singer, songwriter, recording artist, and master of the Celtic harp. From the early 1970s, he revived global interest in the Celtic (specif ...
: Although the extreme difference between his a cappella songs and his new tracks using electronic samples received mixed reviews, Prigent considered that he remained faithful to the arrhythmic, unmeasured aspect of Breton music. Particularly in gwerz, the singer must ensure that the intensity of the event being recounted comes first, and for this purpose, not sing in rhythm, but rather make pauses when appropriate. According to Prigent, a measured gwerz loses the identity of Breton singing, while an electronic accompaniment faithful to the arrhythmic song is perfectly natural. Similarly, he attaches a great importance to the traditional pronunciation of Breton, including the ''dibril'', an
alveolar trill The voiced alveolar trill is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental consonant, dental, alveolar consonant, alveolar, and postalveolar consonant, postalve ...
used in sung Breton only. It is also essential for him to remain faithful to the writing rules of gwerz, with very long lyrics of which only a part is recorded, and its eternal topics that prevent this genre dating back to the 5th century from going out of fashion. Fidelity to tradition is absolutely not a way of imprisoning himself in his own culture; on the contrary, for Prigent, developing the Breton culture by adapting it to modern technology is a way of opening up to other cultures. With this album, Prigent also affirms his writing style. His verses are mostly
octosyllable The octosyllable or octosyllabic verse is a Meter (poetry), line of verse with eight syllables. It is equivalent to tetrameter verse in trochees in languages with a stress accent. Its first occurrence is in a 10th-century Old French saint's legend, ...
s with, generally, a median
caesura 300px, An example of a caesura in modern western music notation A caesura (, . caesuras or caesurae; Latin for "cutting"), also written cæsura and cesura, is a metrical pause or break in a verse where one phrase ends and another phrase beg ...
. This type of verse is very frequent in Breton, since short words are common, and thus long verses unneeded. He only writes in Breton, a language that, according to Prigent, kept its sacred aspect, contrarily to French. As a consequence, some lyrics remain untranslatable, even for their bilingual author. In 1998, he took part in Alan Simon's ''Excalibur, la légende des Celtes'', with
Roger Hodgson Charles Roger Pomfret Hodgson (born 21 March 1950) is an English singer, musician and songwriter, best known as the former co-frontman and founding member of the progressive rock band Supertramp. Hodgson composed and sang the majority of the ba ...
(the singer of
Supertramp Supertramp were a British rock band formed in London in 1970. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), the group were distinguished for blending p ...
),
Angelo Branduardi Angelo Branduardi (born 12 February 1950) is an Italian folk music, folk/folk rock singer-songwriter and composer who scored relative success in Italy and European countries such as France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Greece. Early and ...
and
Didier Lockwood Didier Lockwood (11 February 1956 – 18 February 2018) was a French violinist. He played in the French rock band Magma in the 1970s, and was known for his use of electric amplification and his experimentation with different sounds on the electri ...
.


''Irvi'' (2000–2002)

In 2000, Denez Prigent released his third album, ''Irvi''. This title is the plural of the word ', i.e. a ''foam path'', meaning a path, only usable at low tide, that links a
tidal island A tidal island is a raised area of land within a waterbody, which is connected to the larger mainland by a natural isthmus or man-made causeway that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide, causing the land to switch between being ...
to the
continent A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as ...
or to another island. The song ''Hent-eon'' (foam path) describes the wish of a man from Lesconil to be buried in such a path so that he will be watched over by nature. This idea of a link between two worlds, between life and death, also appears in ''Daouzek huñvre'', where seven lost spirits clothed in flesh walk in line on a foam path. Like in ''Me 'zalc'h ennon ur fulenn aour'', Denez Prigent wrote all the lyrics, except those of the traditional song ''E ti Eliz Iza'', on the bonus CD, and most of the musics, again using both traditional instruments and electronic sounds. The latter are more discreet than on the previous album; ''Irvi'' thus sounds less ''jungle'' and more
new age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
. The main invited musicians are the jazzman Louis Sclavis, the viellist Valentin Clastrier, and the uilleann piper
Davy Spillane Davy Spillane (born 1959 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish musician, songwriter and a player of uilleann pipes and low whistle. Biography Irish music At the age of 12, Spillane started playing the uilleann pipes. His father encouraged him ...
. For the first time, French lyrics appear on one of Prigent's albums. They are told by
Bertrand Cantat Bertrand Lucien Bruno Cantat (, ; born 5 March 1964) is a French singer, songwriter, and murderer. Known for being the former frontman of the rock band Noir Désir, in 2003, he was proven guilty without a doubt and convicted of the murder ("murde ...
on ''Daouzek huñvre'', whose structure is reminiscent of the twelve series of ''Ar rannoù''. The other voice that can be heard on this album is that of
Lisa Gerrard Lisa Germaine Gerrard ( ; born 12 April 1961) is an Australian musician, singer and composer and member of the group Dead Can Dance with music partner Brendan Perry. She is known for her unique singing style technique (glossolalia). She has a ...
, the singer of
Dead Can Dance Dead Can Dance are a British-Australian band founded in Melbourne in 1981 by Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard, before relocating to London the following year. The Australian music historian Ian McFarlane described Dead Can Dance's style as "const ...
, on ''Gortoz a ran'' (I await). This song, the first one in the album, is part of the soundtrack of '' Black Hawk Down'', a film directed by
Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...
. ''Gortoz a ran'' has garnered recent attention (2016) after being featured in the American
adult An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social an ...
animated sitcom An animated sitcom is a subgenre of a television sitcom that is animation, animated instead of being filmed live-action, and is generally made or created for adult animation, adult audiences in most cases. ''The Simpsons'', ''SpongeBob SquarePan ...
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...
during the second episode of season 20: 'Skank Hunt.' Another guest, the Bagad Kemper, performs with Denez Prigent on ''E trouz ar gêr'' and ''Ar sonerien du'', a gwerz about the legend of the dark sonneurs, a couple of sonneurs ( biniou and bombard) which the
gendarmes A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (). In France and som ...
arrested, mistaking them for thieves for whom they were looking. Both were hanged and buried in
Pont-l'Abbé Pont-l'Abbé (; , "Abbot's bridge") is a Communes of France, commune in the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in north-western France. The self-styled capital of Pays Bigouden (roughly th ...
before their innocence was established. Their graves are, to this day, a location of pilgrimage. In Denez Prigent's version of the legend, the gendarmes kill and hang the musicians in order not to admit to having let the real thieves escape, also insisting on the reputation of debauchery which the conformists gave, at the time, to festive music. This album was nominated for the Victoires de la Musique in 2001. After a series of concerts, Prigent recorded a live album, ''Live Holl a-gevret !'', during the Festival interceltique de Lorient in August 2001, guest-starring the bagad Roñsed-Mor of Locoal-Mendon.


''Sarac'h'' (2003)

The next album, ''Sarac'h'' (rustle), was released in 2003. Lisa Gerrard is again invited, as is Yanka Rupkina, the soloist of the Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir,
Karen Matheson Karen Matheson OBE (born 11 February 1963) is a Scottish folk singer who frequently sings in Gaelic. She is the lead singer of the group Capercaillie and was a member of Dan Ar Braz's group L'Héritage des Celtes, with whom she often sang l ...
of
Capercaillie ''Tetrao'' is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily known as capercaillies. They are some of the largest living grouse. Feathers from the bird were used to create the characteristic hat of the bersaglieri, an Italian ace infantry formation. ...
, and the
Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ne ...
singer
Mari Boine Mari Boine (born Mari Brit Randi Boine; 8 November 1956) is a Norwegian Sámi singer. She combined a form of Sámi joik singing with rock. In 2008, she became a professor of musicology at Nesna University College. Biography Mari Boine was bo ...
. Also appearing are the
Dónal Lunny Dónal Lunny (born 10 March 1947) is an Irish folk musician and producer. He plays guitar and bouzouki, as well as keyboards and bodhrán. As a founding member of popular bands Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Coolfin, Mozaik, LAPD ...
on the
bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', , from Greek , from Turkish ) is a musical instrument popular in West Asia (Syria, Iraq), Europe and Balkans (Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey). It is a member of the long-necked lute fam ...
, Nabil Khalidi on the oud, and Farhad Bouallagi on the violin. Although this album uses electronic sounds, the music is mostly performed on traditional instruments. The album begins with two traditional songs : ''An hini a garan'', with Lisa Gerrard, and ''E garnison !'', with Louise Ebrel, who had already toured with Prigent. Two previously unreleased songs written in the beginning of Prigent's career are part of the album, ''Son Alma Ata'' and ''Ar gwez-sapin''. Contrarily to the previous albums, ''Sarac'h'' contains very personal lyrics, in which the author writes about himself. ''N'eus forzh…'' is about the importance of singing, thanks to which Prigent never loses hope ("" : my fire always burns). He also resumes a verse already used in E trouz ar gêr sums up his way of life: "n'eus ket un deiz na ganfen ket" (there is not a single day during which I would not sing). In ''Dispi'', he expresses his very pessimistic point of view on the Breton language, an essential topic for Prigent, who only sings in Breton and taught this language. He describes his despair about this situation, writing that those who dreamt of a return to harmony between generations linked by the Breton language and culture were crazy. The eponymous song alone sums up Prigent's main convictions. It relates his own return to nature, when, used to the never-ending noise of the cars on the highway next to which he lived in Rennes, he decided to buy a house in Lanvellec ( Côtes d'Armor). He then rediscovered the silence of nature, with the rustle of the wind in the trees in the background. He drew from that the impression, from which he writes the song, that modernisation cuts people from nature and encourages them to stay alone behind their screens. ''Sarac'h'' received the best album award of the Breton newspaper, ''Le Télégramme de Brest''. Gilles Servat, who gave him the award, expressed his admiration for Denez Prigent, who he described as "an artist emblematic of the renewal in Breton expression and in the search for new musicalities". Since then, Prigent sang on such stages as the big stage of the
Vieilles Charrues Festival The Vieilles Charrues Festival (, ; , ; literally: Old Ploughs Festival) is held every year in mid-July in the city of Carhaix, France. History 1990s The first edition takes place in 1992. In 1994, 3,000 festival-goers attended the concerts ...
, Rencontres Trans Musicales in
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
, the Paléo Festival
Nyon Nyon (; historically German language, German: or and Italian language, Italian: , ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in Nyon District in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometer ...
(
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
), the Rozrywki Theater in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, the Stimmen Festival (Germany), the antique Roman Theater in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
and the theater of
Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...
(
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
). In
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, he performed at the
Stade de France Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the List of football stadiums in France, largest stadium i ...
for
Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chris ...
, in Bercy Arena, the Bataclan, the
Casino de Paris The Casino de Paris, located at 16, rue de Clichy, in the 9th arrondissement, is one of the well known music halls of Paris, with a history dating back to the 18th century. Contrary to what the name might suggest, it is a performance venue, not ...
and the
Théâtre de la Ville (; "City Theatre") is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century by Baron Haussmann at Place du Châtelet, Paris, the other being the Théâtre du Châtelet. It is located at 2, place du Châtelet in the 4th arrondissement. Included a ...
with guest singers
Mari Boine Mari Boine (born Mari Brit Randi Boine; 8 November 1956) is a Norwegian Sámi singer. She combined a form of Sámi joik singing with rock. In 2008, she became a professor of musicology at Nesna University College. Biography Mari Boine was bo ...
and
Karen Matheson Karen Matheson OBE (born 11 February 1963) is a Scottish folk singer who frequently sings in Gaelic. She is the lead singer of the group Capercaillie and was a member of Dan Ar Braz's group L'Héritage des Celtes, with whom she often sang l ...
as well as Donald Shaw.


''An enchanting garden'' (2012–present)

In summer 2010, he announced to write for a next album. A Best-of album is published in 2011 (
Barclay Records Barclay is a French Universal Music Group record label, originally owned by Eddie Barclay in 1953. Barclay previously established Riviera-LM Records in 1951. Eddie was a bandleader, pianist, producer and nightclub owner. With his wife and voc ...
). In July, 2011, the Het Lindeboom festival gives to him a blank in front of an audience of 25,000: it has the occasion for him to invite the Hungarian singer Szilvia Bognar, one of the great voices of the Eastern countries, as well as the famous Welsh choir Flint Male Voice Choir. In 2012, he presented a new show, ''Beajet 'm eus'' (" I travelled "). On 7 April 2015, Denez published a new studio album, "An enchanting garden - Ul liorzh vurzhudus". This album, comprising 12 original songs written by the singer, including one in English, is the result of several years of writing (a hundred gwerzioù of 80 verses), trips and experiments on stage. The Breton and Celtic themes, unstructured, are interwoven with Slavonic and
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...
("An tri seblant"),
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
("Krediñ 'raen"), Andalusian ("Ar binioù skornet"), Bossa nova ("An tri amourouz"),
Gypsy {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...
or
Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
("Beajet'm eus"), African ("An trucher hag an Ankoù") for an entirely acoustic music. In songs in Breton, the artist invites to discover the corners of his inner garden and the plurality of his influences. Denez's vocal, "enigmatic and inspiring" (accompanied by the hang on "Before dawn"), is like a link between the real and the invisible, supported by the writing of timeless stories, sometimes tragic, satirical or burlesque, such as "Peñse Nedeleg", a Fisel dance describing the shipwreck of a freighter that makes the happiness of the inhabitants for Christmas or "An tri amourouz" whose
black humor Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...
recalls that of
Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...
. "An Old Story", in English, couples with "Gwechall gozh", in breton, two
complaint In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties (the plaintiff(s)) believes are sufficient to support a claim against the party ...
s sharing the same story: an innocent woman burnt like witch for having too many companions. In November 2015, beatmaker James Digger remixed 4 tracks for an EP. It appealed to rapper
Masta Ace Duval Clear (born December 4, 1966), better known by his stage name Masta Ace, is an American rapper and record producer from New York City. A lead member of Mr. Magic's hip hop collective Juice Crew, he is best known for his guest appearance alo ...
, emblematic figure of Hip Hop, one of the references of
Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...
. In exchange, Denez participated in May 2016 to his album " The Falling Season", under "Story of Me". His song "Gortoz a Ran" is used for two minutes in the episode " Skank Hunt" of the animated series ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...
'' which first aired on
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
in the United States on 21 September 2016. In November 2016, the live album "A-unvan gant ar stered - In unison with the stars" released, recorded during the tour 2015–2016. On 19 November, after 20 years of absence on fest noz stages, the singer animated the Yaouank Festival in Rennes.


Lyrical influences


Brittany and nature

To Denez Prigent, preserving nature in Brittany is as important as preserving traditions. In ''An hentoù adkavet'', he pays tribute to those who walk around Brittany, singing. At the same time, he regrets the fact that roads, nowadays, are mostly used by cars, leaving little space to walk. Booklet of ''Me 'zalc'h ennon ur fulenn aour'' Similarly, in ''Ar gwez-sapin'', a song about
land consolidation Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land surface ...
, he criticises the replacement of
deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
trees, traditionally seen in Brittany, with
conifers Conifers () are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All e ...
, because of which landscapes lose their specificity, and draws the same link again: "He who is made to forget his culture forgets one day his nature". The sadness that Denez Prigent feels when he lives in a city is the topic of ''E trouz ar gêr'', which concludes as the world ends, and in ''Melezourioù-glav'', in which he finds a new hope in the last remaining natural element: rain. Booklet of ''Irvi'' Since he cannot find nature around him, Prigent keeps it in his memory (''Kereñvor''). He ends up going back to living in the country, as told in ''Sarac'h''. ''Hent-eon'' is also about harmony with nature, this time in death. The narrator wishes to be buried in a foam path to be eternally cradled by the tide, watched over by his real family: rain, birds, wind, the sea. A variation on this conviction is found in ''Geotenn ar marv'', a song against the use of
genetically modified organism A genetically modified organism (GMO) is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. The exact definition of a genetically modified organism and what constitutes genetic engineering varies, with ...
s in agriculture. To him, there is no meaning in singing in Breton on a land that has lost its nature due to this "herb of death" sown by "those who shamelessly changed that which could not be changed".


Injustice, disease, death

In the tradition of gwerz, Denez Prigent writes about dramatic events about which he hears during a travel, a conversation, or through medias. The subject of ''An droug-red'' is the
Ebola Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after in ...
epidemic in
Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...
. The main character, seeing everyone dying around him, kills an old woman,
allegory As a List of narrative techniques, literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a wikt:narrative, narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political signi ...
of the disease. ''Copsa Mica'' is about the Sometra factory, representing the metallurgic industry in Copşa Mică, Romania. Producing large amounts of
pollutants A pollutant or novel entity is a substance or energy introduced into the environment that has undesired effect, or adversely affects the usefulness of a resource. These can be both naturally forming (i.e. minerals or extracted compounds like oi ...
, this factory was one of the few employers of the city. As a result, young people had, for a living, to operate the
blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being supplied above atmospheric pressure. In a ...
that killed them slowly. ''Gwerz Kiev'' relates the
Holodomor The Holodomor, also known as the Ukrainian Famine, was a mass famine in Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. The Holodomor was part of the wider Soviet famine of 1930–193 ...
, the famine that struck
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
in the 1930s, with casualties estimated to four million. ''Ur fulenn aour'' is the lament of a young girl sold by her parents to become a prostitute in the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. A variation on this topic is forced marriage, of which the narrator of ''A-dreñv va zi'' is a victim. Given before her thirteenth birthday to a man who makes her a
slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
, she sheds her tears on the tree she planted, which bears the best fruit in the world. She hanged her husband, her mother-in-law and her parents on that tree. Denez Prigent also covers some better-known topics in international politics. ''An iliz ruz'' is a very graphical description of the
massacre A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians Glossary of French words and expressions in English#En masse, en masse by an armed ...
of people in a church in Nyarubuyé,
Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...
: "they cut their heads off mercilessly / like one reaps wheat in summer". ''Ar chas ruz'' relates the invasion of
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
by China, where the "red dogs" kill not only men, but also their culture. Two songs are devoted to
infanticide Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose being the prevention of re ...
. ''Ar wezenn-dar'' is more specifically about the case of
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, where the policy of population decrease favoured the murder, particularly, of girls. In ''Ar vamm lazherez'', a woman kills her first twelve daughters before being killed by the thirteenth, who survives by supernatural means to carry out the revenge. Booklet of ''Sarac'h'', pp. 31–33


Discography

*(1992) ''Ha daouarn'' ( cassette) *(1993) ''Ar gouriz koar'' (new version released in 1996) *(1997) ''Me 'zalc'h ennon ur fulenn aour'' *(2000) ''Irvi'' *(2002) ''Live holl a-gevret!'' *(2002) ''Black Hawk Down – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Gortoz a ran)'' *(2003) ''Sarac'h'' *(2011) ''Denez Best of luck chap" *(2015) ''An enchanting garden: Ul liorzh vurzudhus'' *(2016) ''In unison with the stars: A-unvan gant ar stered'' *(2018) ''Mille chemins'' *(2021) ''Sterenez feat. Vellúa''


See also

*
Breton music Since the early 1970s, Brittany has experienced a tremendous revival of its folk music. Along with flourishing traditional forms such as the bombard- biniou pair and fest-noz ensembles incorporating other additional instruments, it has also branc ...
* Kan ha diskan * Gwerz


Notes and references


Further reading

* The ''
Barzaz Breiz ''Barzaz Breiz'' (in modern spelling ''Barzhaz Breizh'', meaning "Ballads of Brittany": ''barzh'' is the equivalent of "bard" and ''Breizh'' means "Brittany") is a collection of Breton popular songs collected by Théodore Hersart de la Villemar ...
'', compilation of popular songs written by
Théodore Hersart de la Villemarqué Théodore is the French version of the masculine given name Theodore. Given name * Théodore Caruelle d'Aligny (1798–1871), French landscape painter and engraver * Théodore Anne (1892–1917), French playwright, librettist, and novelist * Théo ...
, is a source of inspiration for Denez Prigent, particularly for gwerz. The 4th edition (1848) is available online
first tome
an
second tome
* Another reference book on Breton songs. ''Ar bugel koar'', which appears on ''Ar gouriz koar'', is included in this book.


External links

*
Official site


on
MusicBrainz MusicBrainz is a MetaBrainz project that aims to create a collaborative music database that is similar to the freedb project. MusicBrainz was founded in response to the restrictions placed on the CDDB, Compact Disc Database (CDDB), a database for ...
Audio and video documents
An Tour Tan
(the lighthouse, in Breton) is a website that publishes radio and television shows, in Breton or in French, related to Brittany. * Concert excerpts
Vieilles Charrues festival
(2001)
festival de Cornouaille
(2001)
festival interceltique de Lorient
(2003) ; Celtica (2005)
solowith David Pasquetwith Louise Ebrel
*
Video interview
by Anna Louarn during the Vieilles Charrues festival (2001) * Radio sho

in December 2003, for the release of ''Sarac'h'' * Video interviews for SkinwelWeb (An Tour Tan's television) after his performances
Celtica
(2004)
Saint-Patrick in Bercy
(2005)
Celtica
(2005) {{DEFAULTSORT:Prigent, Denez Living people 1966 births Breton musicians French male singers People from Finistère Rennes 2 University alumni