This pages aim at being an open door towards the Celtic world, and towards Brittany in particular.
Their content and the links they include are completely free from any commercial agreement with the third companies towards which they can possibly take you. They are the mere result of choices made in view of the quality and of the interest we see in them.
The Celtic Escape pages are essentially built around four main themes :
Celtic music
Photos and graphic arts
The sea and its universe
Celtic heritage and legends
Celtic Music
"Music and whisky gang together !
Take off your dram !"
Celebrated Scottish poet Robert Burns concluded a long poem written in 1786 and adressed to the House of Commons, in which he pleaded in favour of less restricting regulations for whisky, by :
"Freedom and whisky gang together !
Take off your dram !"
In the same manner, music and whisky go so well together that we could not resist in adapting this famous maxim into :
"Music and whisky gang together !"
Truly, whatever its character, a good whisky always seems to be better when tasted in an appropriated musical context. The resources of the various components of Celtic music are virtually endless. We propose a (too) short selection of artists whom we appreciate particularly, including a few musical extracts to download directly, as well as a few links leading towards other sites.
The extracts which we propose you to download directly from our own pages are MP3 files for some and RealAudio files for the others. The latest require Real Player of which you can download a free version on the site of RealAudio.
Brian Mc Combe
The musical "Celtique Connexion" !
Brian Mc Combe is an Irishman who migrated to Brittany.
He arrived in January 2002 with a camping car, a set of bigpipes, a voice and... "five euros in his pocket".
A tribute to Ireland and to Scotland, even if they are far away, they are always in his heart and above all in his music.
THE VOICE OF THE BLOOD
Norma Munro
Discover the concealed treasure from Islay !
The album A Song in the Air from Norma Munro, the singer from Islay, reassembles sixteen songs which are as many jewels to discover without waiting further.
To access the page dedicated to this album and listen to several online audio extracts, click on the cover of A Song in the Air.
A SONG IN THE AIR
Loar Gann
Music to dance from Brittany
A group originating from the Trégor area in Brittany and whose five musicians are from nearby towns such as Tréguier or Lannion, or from the side of the Jaudy and Trieux rivers ... in other words who are from where we are ourselves. Loar Gann is definitely a group which is not short of talent or of liveliness.
To be discovered without fail thanks to the exclusive musical extracts which we propose you to listen to on the page which is dedicated to the group, and which you can access by clicking the picture.
Didier Squiban
A native of Finistère in Brittany, Didier Squiban is an artist of exception who did not hesitate to transport his piano onto the island of Molène to record the album bearing the same name. On this little remote island off the coasts of Finistère, magic did operate. "Molène" is a jewel of the purest type which one is never tired of listening to it, with magnificent melodies and arrangements played with an extreme sensitivity.
In the same way as in the ever changing sky of Molène, shadows alternate with blurs of light in Didier squiban's music, emotions are rich and joys are intense. An album which is merely indispensable.
On top of that "Molène" has the nice idea to come with a little album of 32 pages illustrated with beautiful photos which will put you under the spell of this island.
Three extracts of "Molène" (With kind permission from L'Oz Production) :
Suite de gavottes des montagnes
Ledenez
An Skoliater
To learn more about Didier Squiban and its other albums, browse the site of L'Oz Production.
Kornog
Born in 1980, KORNOG ("West" in Breton) rapidly gained fame in Brittany, bringing a characteristic sound : dynamic flute and fiddle unisons, totally unprecedented in Breton music, backed by an impressive web of harmony and rhythm spun by the bouzouki and the guitar.
After many tours in France, Europe and the USA, the group finally breaks up, before reforming in 1999 after incessant requests by the band's American agent.
KORNOG IV
"Kornog IV", recorded in 1987 and remixed in July 2000, conveys all the freshness and mystery of Kornog's musical lyricism : a music which is at once noble and modest, scintillating and majestic like the relentlessly rising and descending sea around the coasts of Brittany.
Three extracts of "Kornog IV" (With kind permission from An Naer Produksion) :
Air du Mene/Ronde de Loudéac
Suite des Montagnes
Ton ar Marc'h Houarn Kaer
To learn more about Kornog or to obtain "Kornog IV", contact An Naer Produksion, Toull al Lann, 22740 Lézardrieux, France.
Denez Prigent
A really outstanding voice. A native from the "Pays de Léon" in North Finistère, Denez Prigent writes his own compositions which he sings in Breton language. On his latest album "Irvi", listen to Melezourioù-glav - Miroirs de pluie, or Gortoz a ran - J'attends or A-drenv va zi - Derrière chez moi.
Link to musical extracts from Irvi
Loreena MacKennitt
From Canadian origin, Loreena McKennitt justifiably enjoys a well established awareness. It is not easy to make a choice among its albums in which many treasures are to be found. Yet, a few suggestions to guide you among all the extracts to be discovered on her site :
Album "Parallel Dreams" :
"Huron 'Beltane' Fire Dance", "Breaking the Silence"
Album "The Mask and Mirror" :
"The Bonny Swans", "Full Circle", "Cé Hé Mise Le Ulaingt? The Two Trees"
Album "The Book of Secrets" :
"The Highwayman", "Night Ride Across the Caucasus"
Loreena McKennitt official site
Direct access to musical extracts
Others
"Celtic Voices" gathers four talented women singers in an album which lead to dreams and escapes. All in it is harmony, the beautiful melodies are helped by sumptuous arrangements and voices with a charm to which it is difficult to resist.
Link to Celtic Voices
Two compilations of quality from Narada Sampler for discovering various aspects of celtic music : "Celtic Legacy" and "Celtic Odyssey" :
Link to Narada samplers
Festival Interceltique de Lorient
If you wish to learn more about this great annual gathering which represents the major event of the community of Celtic musical worlds, and take place every year at the beginning of August.
Link to the site of the Festival Interceltique de Lorient
