Traditional styles of music have survived most in remote areas such as the island of Corsica and mountainous Auvergne, as well as the more nationalistic regions of the
Basques and the
Bretons. In many cases, folk traditions were revived in relatively recent years to cater to tourists. These
groupes folkloriques tend to focus on very early 20th-century
melodies and the use of the
piano accordion.
Paris In 1900 in Paris, a new style of waltz emerged, the "Valse musette" an evolution of
Bal-musette also known as "French Waltz". Aimable,
Émile Vacher,
Marcel Azzola,
Yvette Horner,
André Verchuren were famous accordionists who played valse musette. There is also
Yann Tiersen and its
Amélie (soundtrack) of Amélie from Montmartre.
West France The West of France comprises the
Pays de Nantes, the provinces of
Vendée,
Anjou and
Maine, and the
Poitou-Charentes region. Traditions of
ballad-singing, dance-songs and
fiddle-playing have survived, predominantly in Poitou and the Vendée.
Jérôme Bujeaud collected extensively in the area, and his 2-volume work "Chants et chansons populaires des provinces de l'ouest:
Poitou,
Saintonge,
Aunis et
Angoumois" (
Niort, 1866) remains the principal scholarly collection of music and songs. In recent decades John Wright and
Claude Ribouillault (amongst others) have done much to collect, analyse and promote the surviving traditions. The
Marais Breton of Vendée is noted particularly for its tradition of
veuze playing - which has been revived by the
bagpipe-maker and player
Thierry Bertrand - and for traditional singers such as Pierre Burgaud.
Folk dances specific to the West of France include the
courante, or maraichine, and the bal saintongeais.
Bourrées in triple time have been noted in the 19th century by Bujeaud, and more recently, in Angoumois. Circle- or chain-dances accompanied by caller-and-response singing have been noted in the West, and also in other regions such as
Gascony,
Normandy and
Brittany. Notable contemporary folk musicians include
Christian Pacher and
Claude Ribouillault (Poitou) and the group
La Marienne (Vendée.)
Brittany , a
Celtic musician and singer. often uses to reinterpret traditional Breton and Celtic songs. Distinctly
Celtic in character, the folk music of Lower
Brittany has had perhaps the most successful revival of its traditions, partly thanks to the city of
Lorient, which hosts France's most popular music festival:
Festival Interceltique de Lorient. The documented history of Breton music begins with the publication of
Barzaz-Breizh in 1839. A collection of folk songs compiled by
Hersart de la Villemarqué,
Barzaz-Breizh re-branded and promoted Breton traditions and helped ensure their continuity.
Sonneurs couples, consisting of a
bombard and a
biniou (bagpipe), is usually played at festoù-noz (
Fest Noz) celebrations (some are famous, such as ). It is swift
dance music and has an older vocal counterpart called
kan ha diskan. Unaccompanied
call and response singing was interspersed with the
gwerz, a form of
ballad. Probably the most popular form of Breton folk is the
bagad pipe band, which features native instruments such as
biniou and
bombard alongside drums and, in more modern groups,
biniou braz pipes. Modern revivalists include
Kevrenn Alre Bagad and
Bagad Kemper.
Alan Stivell is perhaps the most influential
folk-rock performer of continental Europe. After 1971's
Renaissance of the Celtic Harp, Breton and other Celtic traditional music achieved mainstream success internationally. With
Dan Ar Braz, he then released
Chemins de Terre (1974), which launched Breton folk-rock. This set the stage for stars such as
Malicorne in the ensuing decades. In later years much has been done to collect and popularize the musical traditions of the
Pays Gallo of
Upper Brittany, for which the singer
Bertran Ôbrée, his group
Ôbrée Alie and the association DASTUM must take much credit. The songs of Upper Brittany are either in French or in
Gallo. Modern Breton folk music includes harpists such as
Anne-Marie Jan,
Anne Auffret and
Myrdhin, while singers
Kristen Nikolas,
Andrea Ar Gouilh and
Yann-Fanch Kemener have become mainstream stars. Instrumental bands, however, have been the most successful, including
Gwerz,
Bleizi Ruz,
Strobinell,
Sonerien Du and
Tud.
Central France '' by
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Central France includes the regions of
Auvergne,
Limousin,
Morvan,
Nivernais,
Bourbonnais and
Berry. The lands are the home to a significant
bagpipe tradition, as well as the iconic
hurdy-gurdy and the dance
bourrée. There are deep differences between the regions of Central France, with the Auvergne and Limousin retained the most vibrant folk traditions of the area. As an example of the area's diversity, the bourrée can come in either duple or triple meter; the latter is found in the south of the region, and is usually improvised with
bagpipes and hurdy-gurdy, while the former is found in the north and includes virtuoso players.
Bagpipe and Hurdy-gurdy The hurdy-gurdy, or
vielle-à-roue, is essentially a mechanical violin, with keys or buttons instead of a fingerboard. It is made up of a curved, oval body, a set of keys and a curved handle, which is turned and connected to a wheel which bows the strings that are stopped by the keys. There is a moveable bridge, a variable number of drones and optional
sympathetic strings. Other forms of the hurdy-gurdy are found all over Europe. The bagpipe is found in a wide array of forms in France. The
cabrette and
grande cornemuse from
Auvergne and
Berry are best known. These forms are found at least as far back as the 17th century. Prominent bagpipers include
Bernard Blanc,
Frédéric Paris and
Philippe Prieur, as well as bandleader
Jean Blanchard of
La Grande Bande de Cornemuses and
Quintette de Cornemuses. Frédéric Paris is also known as a member of the
Duo Chabenat-Paris, who use elements such as mixed polyphonic ensembles and melodies based on the bourrée. Bernard Blanc and Jean Blanchard, along with
Éric Montbel from Lyon, were among the musicians who formed the basis of
La Bamboche and
Le Grand Rouge. It was these two bands who did more than anyone to revitalize the traditions of Central France during the 1970s
folk revival. The festival of
St. Chartier, a
music festival held annually near
Châteauroux, has been a focal point for the music of Auvergne and Limousin. The regions of
Morvan and
Nivernais have produced some traditional stars, including
Faubourg de Boignard and
Les Ménétriers du Morvan, respectively. The Nivernais collector
Achille Millien was also notable in the early part of the 20th century.
South France Basque Country in a publicity photograph in
Billboard, promoting the American release of her music via
Kapp, 1965. The music of the
French Basque Country (east of the
Basque Country) should be considered against a Pyrenean cultural background. Up to recent times and still
ttun-ttun and
xirula should be highlighted in traditional folk music (especially in the province of
Soule) as a tabor and pipe like pair. Mixel Etxekopar or Jean Mixel Bedaxagar have played a major role in Basque traditional music as xirula players as well as traditional singers. Other popular performers such as
Benat Achiary take on a more experimental approach. These performers refer to a former tradition collected and restored by figures such as Etxahun Iruri (1908–1979) where singing improviser poets (
bertsolaris) played an important role in popular culture. This
bertsolari tradition relies almost exclusively on younger generations, and efforts are being made now to restore it along the lines of the "southern" tradition, i.e. of the
Spanish Basque Country. Music from the
Basque Country nowadays caters to almost all the tastes of music, with a wide range of music being played in Basque, from choral music (
Oldarra in
Biarritz) to elaborate music bands (e.g. Bidaia) to ska or hardcore trends, while it is much praised lately for the fine bare voices that have arisen with the likes of Maddi Oihenart, Maialen Errotabehere or Amaren Alabak, to mention but a few.
Corsica Corsican polyphonic singing is perhaps the most unusual of the French regional music varieties. Sung by male trios, it is strongly harmonic and occasionally dissonant. Works can be either spiritual or secular. Modern groups include
Canta u Populu Corsu,
I Muvrini,
Tavagna and
Chjami Aghjalesi; some groups have been associated with Corsican
nationalism. Corsican
musical instruments include the
caramusa (
cornemuse bagpipe),
cetera (16-stringed
lute),
mandulina (
mandolin),
pifana (a type of
gemshorn) and
urganettu (diatonic
accordion). ==Popular music==