Significance

This live concert was divided into two parts: the first acoustic folk, the second part being electric folk in a style then known as Celtic rock. The evening is a musical tour around the Celtic fringe, from Brittany northwards. It was broadcast live on one of the three radio stations in France (seven million listeners live on Radio Europe 1)^[1] Alan Stivell was accompanied by Dan Ar Braz on guitar, Michel Santangelli (the future drummer for Jacques Higelin) on percussion, Gabriel Yacoub, René Werneer, Pascal Stive, Gérard Levasseur, Serj Parayre and Michaël Klec’h.

Stivell à l'Olympia sold a staggering 1,500,000 copies in just over a year (more than 2 million thereafter) and put both Stivell and Breton music on the cultural map once and for all^[2]

Context and impact

1972, the year of its release, was one of radical ferment at home and abroad. The widespread revolt of May 1968 had generated a "back to the earth" movement amongst French students and intelligentsia. The entry of Britain and Ireland into the EEC was seen by radicals in Brittany as the long-awaited opportunity to bring the Celtic nations together and make the ancient dream of Celtic unity a reality. Alan Stivell was closely identified with these trends, even at times hailed as a champion of one or the other cause, but he was himself, as he often later claimed, uneasy about taking on the role of a musical freedom fighter. His deep fascination with cutting edge technology, fuelled by his early love of science fiction put him at odds with any "back to the earth" idealism. Despite the hopes he shared with many of his fellow Breton for a Celtic cultural revival and unity, he always sought to avoid being straight-jacketed by a narrow traditionalist outlook.

The electric ambience of Alan Stivell and his musicians quickly spread like wildfire in France: Stivell had just launched the first "Breton wave". Music from Brittany also became extremely popular and the song Tri Martolod, which is still playing on the radio and in our memories, became the battle flag for an entire generation.^[3]

Musicians

• Alan Stivell – lead vocal, Celtic harp, tin whistle (Irish flute), bombard
• Gabriel Yacoub – guitars, dulcimer, banjo, backing vocals
• René Werneer – fiddle
• Pascal Stive – organ
• Gérard Levasseur – bass
• Henry Delagarde – cello, flute, bombard
• Dan Ar Braz – electric guitar
• Michel Santangeli (29 August 1945–30 September 2014) – drums
• Serj Parayre – percussions
• Mikael Klec'h – flute, bombard

Recording

• Producer – Frank Giboni for Fontana Records
• Engineer – Paul Houdebine
• Engineer Assistant – Henri Lousteau

Sources

• Jonathyne Briggs, Sounds French: Globalization, Cultural Communities, and Pop Music in France, 1958–1980, Oxford University Press, 2015, Chapter 4 "Sounds Regional: The World in Breton Folk Music" ISBN 9780199377091