Monday 17 March 2014

St Patrick's Day: Alan Stivell - Suite Irlandaise

Since I kicked off this blog I've marked St Patrick's Day as an occasion to celebrate the musical links between France and Ireland.

It's worth remembering that the biggest festival of Celtic music in the world is held annually at Lorient in France.

For a small country, Ireland has inspired generations of musicians from country's far from its shores, and France with its own indigenous Celtic culture has felt this influence more than many.

While Ireland's culture is marked internationally today, France's celtic culture is less well know, but certainly deserving of being celebrated.

Alan Stivell has been since the late 60s one of the foremost ambassadors for France's Celtic music, so a vintage clip of his interpretation of an Irish song seemed appropriate.



Although worth remembering  that even decades after this clip was filmed, the influence of Irish music can still be felt on France's music, with a new generation of artists like Nolwenn Leroy taking it to heart.

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