{"id":758,"date":"2015-10-19T19:00:08","date_gmt":"2015-10-19T18:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/?p=758"},"modified":"2015-11-21T13:41:04","modified_gmt":"2015-11-21T13:41:04","slug":"breton-quartet-blaze-in-at-llantrisant-folk-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/?p=758","title":{"rendered":"Fest-noz quartet serve up a tantalising taste of Brittany"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"AnTriDipop1\"<\/a>

An Tri DipoP: from left to right, Tristan le Breton, Brian Ruellan, A\u00f1jela Lorho-Pasco and Dylan James<\/p><\/div>\n

AN TRI DIPOP<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Llantrisant Folk Club, Pontyclun Institute Athletic Club: October 21, 2015<\/h6>\n

The spectacular Breton quartet An Tri Dipop performed an entrancing debut in Llantrisant Folk Club’s plush and welcoming home, Pontyclun Institute Athletic Club – and it seems as if the venue was transported 400 miles away to a Breton bar, where you could ask the patron<\/em> to bring you a petit blanc<\/em>, muscadet<\/em> or, if you were feeling bold, a glass of \u00a0chouchenn<\/em>. The four young musicians were just fresh from playing a brilliant fest-noz<\/em> in the well-known and well-loved Lowender Peran festival, which had moved to Newquay from its base in Perranporth; now they were all keyed up for their only appearance in Wales, grand kas ar barhs<\/em>, fiery pile menus<\/em>\u00a0 and strutting ronds de Loudeac<\/em> which they executed finely. And in the wee small hours, they were off again; they were up at 4am to catch a ferry to Caen, ready to drive to Brittany to play in a fest-noz that night. Life gets hectic – especially when An Tri Dipop are busily gigging, with a new CD to promote (Mari-Louise<\/em>, which FolkWales Online Magazine will review soon.)<\/p>\n

The central figure is strong-voiced A\u00f1jela Lorho-Pasco, who has been singing traditional fest-noz material since she was knee-high to a grasshopper. She sang with her sisters, her mother and her neighbours, and now she performs on the main stages of the folk and world music scene. Guitarist Tristan le Breton is A\u00f1jela’s accompanist, with double-bass player Dylan James filling out the low notes and jazz trumpeter Brian Ruellan providing a plethora of heady sounds, the same way as a bombarde<\/em> and biniou-koz<\/em> do when they “answer” A\u00f1jela’s narrative.<\/p>\n

And what compelling stories they are – imagine a traditional Breton fest-noz<\/em> where hordes of dancers move in time to plinns<\/em>, hanter-dros<\/em>, larid\u00e9s<\/em> or many of the 300-plus chain-dances that are dotted around the map of Brittany, all sung to traditional complaintes<\/em> and gwerziou<\/em> in Breton, French or Gallo, the little-known ancient romance language that still exists in parts of Brittany’s hinterland. A\u00f1jela takes on the role of a singing storyteller, and she successfully storms it with Tristan, Brian and Dylan’s subtle syncopated arrangements carrying her through.<\/p>\n

However, An Tri Dipop’s exploring experimentation in the first concert half brought them dangerously close to the edge a couple of times; there was one particular scary second when A\u00f1jela, Brian, Tristan and Dylan lost their way and sang and played completely out of tune. But they soon recovered, and the second half was an absolute delight with An Tri Dipop immersing themselves in the age-old fest-noz<\/em> scene. This debut mini-tour was a success, with the Breton band’s reputation blossoming out from Cornwall to South Wales. Who knows – An Tri Dipop could just be the headlining guests at some future Welsh festival?<\/p>\n

You can see a video of An Tri Dipop’s performance\u00a0below –\u00a0note the fest-noz dancers, with Mike Gulston leading!<\/p>\n

Mick Tems<\/p>\n

\nhttp:\/\/folk.wales\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/AnTriDipop.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AN TRI DIPOP Llantrisant Folk Club, Pontyclun Institute Athletic Club: October 21, 2015 The spectacular Breton quartet An Tri Dipop performed an entrancing debut in Llantrisant Folk Club’s plush and welcoming home, Pontyclun Institute Athletic Club – and it seems as if the venue was transported 400 miles away to a Breton bar, where you…<\/p>\n

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