Renaissance de la Harpe Celtique

Alan Stivell (Breton for ‘gushing spring’), born January 6, 1944, is a French singer songwriter and musician. He campaigns for the recognition of the Breton people with their language, culture, and territory. He is, above all, a multi-instrumentalist: mainly Celtic harp, but also piano and keyboards, Irish flute, bombard, Scottish bagpipes and even percussion. Since the 1950s, thanks to his father’s work, Alan Stivell has been helping to revive the Celtic harp in Brittany.

His musical work is linked to a struggle for the recognition of Breton and Celtic cultures. From the outset, this spirit of openness led to cultural cross-fertilization and musical fusion, making him one of the precursors of world music, which he clearly defined on his first album, ‘Reflets’, in 1970.

His second LP, Renaissance de la Harpe Celtique, was released at the end of 1971 to great acclaim from the French and English press and won the Prix de l’Académie Charles-Cros. He wanted to experiment with all the possibilities, starting with the idea of fusing traditional Celtic music with all forms of rock.