Gwerz (, "

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

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lament A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about somethi ...

", plural ''gwerzioù'') is a type of folk song of

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...

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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 ...

, the ''gwerz'' tells a story which can be epic, historical, or mythological. The stories are usually of a tragic nature. The gwerz is characterised by an often monotonous melody and many couplets, all in the Breton language. Though historically sung unaccompanied, some modern musicians use limited instrumentation with the gwerz. Some of the most famous performers in current gwerzioù are Erik Marchand,

Yann-Fañch Kemener Yann-Fañch Loeiz Kemener (April 7, 1957 – March 16, 2019) was a traditional singer and ethnomusicologist from Brittany, born in Sainte-Tréphine, Côtes-d'Armor The Côtes-d'Armor (, ; ; br, Aodoù-an-Arvor, ), formerly known as Côtes-du ...

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Denez Prigent Denez Prigent (; born 17 February 1966 in Santec, Finistère) is a Breton folk singer-songwriter of the ''gwerz'' and ''kan ha diskan'' styles of Breton music. From his debut at the age of 16, he was known for singing traditional songs ''a capp ...

Notable gwerzioù

*'' Gwerz Skolan'' *'' Gwerz Santes Enori'' *Gwerz Ker is *'' Gwerz Fañchig kemper *Gwerz ar vezhinerien *Ar Roue Gralon ha Kear Is

References

Breton music {{music-genre-stub