Bagad
Encyclopedia
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
band, composed of bagpipes (Breton
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
: binioù, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
: Cornemuse), bombards
Bombard (music)
The bombard, also known as talabard or ar vombard in the Breton language or bombarde in French, is a contemporary conical bore double reed instrument widely used to play traditional Breton music. The bombard is a woodwind instrument; the reed is held between the lips. The bombard is a member of the...
and drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s (including snare
Snare drum
The snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
, tenor and bass drums). The pipe band
Pipe band
A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term used by military pipe bands, pipes and drums, is also common....
tradition in Brittany was inspired by the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
example and has developed since the mid-20th century. A bagad plays mainly Breton music
Music of Brittany
Since the early 1970s, Brittany has experienced a tremendous revival of its folk music. Along with flourishing traditional forms such as the bombard-binou pair and fest-noz ensembles incorporating other additional instruments, it has also branched out into numerous sub-genres...
, but a bagad's music is evolutionary: new forms and musical ideas are experimented with at each annual national competition.
The plural for bagad is unusual in that many are referred to as bagadoù but for two, three or any other specified number they are simply referred to as bagad (following the rules of Breton grammar).
Every major town and city in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
has at least one bagad and there are over 80 in total. There are also many bagadoù outside Brittany, owing to large-scale Breton emigration throughout France.
For competition purposes the bagadoù are ranked into five categories. Major competitions take place annually in Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
and in Lorient
Lorient
Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
, where the National Championship takes place during the InterCeltic Festival
Festival Interceltique de Lorient
The Festival Interceltique de Lorient or Gouelioù Etrekeltiek An Oriant was founded in Lorient, Brittany in 1971 by Polig Montjarret...
in August.
Premier Category 2008
The most successful bagadoù compete in the 'Premier Category'.- Bagad Brieg, BriecBriecBriec , is a commune in the Finistère department in the region of Brittany in north-western France.-Sights:*Saint-Pierre parish church, 15th century*Chapelle de la Madeleine, 16th century...
- Bagad Brieg - Kevrenn Alre, AurayAurayAuray is a commune located in the Morbihan department of Brittany in France. Inhabitants of Auray are called Alréens.-Geography:The city is surrounded by the communes of Crac'h to the south and west, Brech to the north and Pluneret to the east. It is crossed by the Loch, a small coastal river...
- Kevrenn Alre - Bagad Roñsed-Mor, Locoal-MendonLocoal-MendonLocoal-Mendon is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France.-Breton language:In 2008, there was 17,81% of the children attended the bilingual schools in primary education.-External links:* * * * *...
- Bagad Roñsed-Mor - Bagad Kemper, Quimper - Bagad Kemper
- Bagad Cap Caval, PlomeurPlomeurPlomeur is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.-Breton language:The municipality launched a linguistic plan through Ya d'ar brezhoneg on April 28, 2006....
- Bagad Cap Caval - Kerlenn Pondi, PontivyPontivyPontivy is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It lies at the confluence of the river Blavet and the Canal de Nantes à Brest.-History:...
- Bagad Kerlenn Pondi - Bagad Bro Kemperle, QuimperléQuimperléQuimperlé is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.-Geography:Quimperlé is in the southeast of Finistère, 20 km to the sest of Lorient and 44 km to the east of Quimper...
- Bagad Bro Kemperle - Bagad Quic-en-groigne, Saint-MaloSaint-MaloSaint-Malo is a walled port city in Brittany in northwestern France on the English Channel. It is a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine.-Demographics:The population can increase to up to 200,000 in the summer tourist season...
- Bagad Quic-en-Groigne - Bagad Gwengamp, GuingampGuingampGuingamp is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Guingamp are called guingampais.-Breton language:...
- Bagad Gwengamp - Bagad Sant-Nazer, Saint-NazaireSaint-NazaireSaint-Nazaire , is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.The town has a major harbour, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town is at the south of the second-largest swamp in France, called "la Brière"...
- Bagad Saint-Nazaire - Bagad Er Melinerion, VannesVannesVannes is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2000 years ago.-Geography:Vannes is located on the Gulf of Morbihan at the mouth of two rivers, the Marle and the Vincin. It is around 100 km northwest of Nantes and 450 km south west...
- Bagad er Melinerion - Bagad Beuzeg ar C'hab, Beuzec Cap Sizun
- Bagad Penhars, Quimper - Bagad Penhars
- Bagad Ar Meilhoù-Glaz, Quimper - Bagad Ar Meilhoù-Glaz
- Bagad Sonerien Bro Dreger, Perros-GuirecPerros-GuirecPerros-Guirec is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Perros-Guirec are called perrosiens.-Tourism:...
- Bagad Sonerien Bro Dreger
National Champions
- 2011 Bagad Kemper
- 2010 Bagad Cap Caval
- 2009 Bagad Cap Caval
- 2008 Bagad Cap Caval
- 2007 Bagad Brieg
- 2006 Bagad Kevrenn Alré
- 2005 Bagad Kevrenn Alré
- 2004 Bagad Kemper
- 2003 Bagad Ronsed Mor
- 2002 Bagad Kemper
External links
- Official Bagadou Association: Bodadeg Ar Sonerion
- Bagadou