Gwerz (, "

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

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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 something ...

", plural ) is a type of folk song of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. In Breton music, the 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 Breton (, , ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic languages, 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, albei ...

. 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, and Denez Prigent.

Notable gwerzioù

*'' An hini a garan'' *'' 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