Kan ha diskan

The kan ha diskan , which one can translate by “song and counter-melody”, “song and Re-song”, or “song with answer”, is, in Brittany, a technique of song to dance has cappella traditional and tile in Breton practiced to two or more.

The leader (“ kaner ”) or the driving one (“ will kanerez ”) sings the verse which is taken again then by the other (S) singer (S) (“ diskaner (IEN) ”). It is a song has cappella and rate/rhythm, very much used in the festoù-noz to make dance the people present.

A song generally breaks up into four parts:

  • the call
  • the your simpl or your kentañ
  • the ball
  • the your diwezhañ ( your doubl or your tripl )

The call

In certain pieces (only in the accompaniments of gavottes), once the singers agreed, a text of introduction is sung slowly. Then the song suddenly takes its rate/rhythm of cruising, the rate/rhythm of the dance. Sometimes, the singers are satisfied to make last their accordement (generally on lalalelo) in order to leave time to the dancers to set up itself. In the gavottes, the call is often composed of the not sung melody, in the form of tralalaléno.

In the same way, the song does not stop brutally at the end, the singers repeating the melody in the form of a lalala while going down gradually.

In the case of a continuation, the call takes place only for the first part, the tone simpl. The other parts (ball and your doubl or your tripl) are connected directly, without pauses.

The call has two functions:

  • to electrify the assistance and to attract the dancers in the round on the surface to dance
  • to allow the singers to overheat their voice, to agree on the air and to negotiate the height (obviously in the case of a couple man-woman, it is normal that the height is not the same one for both).

At the end of the call, the rate/rhythm and the height of the air are fixed.

Your simpl, ball and your doubl or your tripl

In the dances in continuation, like the gavottes or the dañs Fisel , made up of a your simpl and a your doubl separated by a ball ( tamm diskuizh or tamm kreiz ), the musical sentence is often redoubled in the last part ( your diwezhañ ), from where the name of your doubl . Generally, one introduces the air in the form a length lalaleno in the middle of the second towards each verse. That does not change anything for the dancers who practice the same step and the same tempo as during the your simpl , if it is not that the musical sentence will cover several executions of the step of dance.

There exists a few rare tone tripl, but the technical difficulty explains their scarcity.

During the ball ( tamm diskuizh : literally “part of rest” or tamm kreiz , “piece of the medium”), a refrain intervenes, sung more “vigorously” during which the dancers carry out a figure (which depends on the dance in progress): ball itself after a walk ( Dañs Plinn , Dañs Fisel , Continuation Treger ,…) or simple figure (gavottes,…).

Topics and history

The songs exclusively into Breton are is traditional and their origin can be very old, is lately invented. Generally they treat stories of impossible love, problems daily or exceptional occurrences. They comprise sometimes tens of verses.

The kan ha diskan car its popularity of its adequacy to the dance for which it is conceived. Moreover, for certain dancers, it can prove easier to follow phrased song than the musical sentence to fix its step.

Traditionally, the dances were accompanied either by a couple by bell ringers (for example Biniou - bombards) or by a couple by singers by kan-ha-diskan . In certain areas of the Cornwall and Vannetais, the two types of accompaniment were practiced.

Since the Years 1950 and the end of traditional low-Breton country civilization (modernization of agriculture, linguistic swing of the Breton into French), the two types of accompaniment are practiced everywhere; just as all the dances are practiced everywhere in the festoù-noz whereas formerly, only a dance was generally known dancers, according to their area.

The tuilage

The singers use the technique of the “Tuilage”: the last syllables of a verse are systematically sung by all the singers, as a kind of “witness” whom they do without one verse to the other, which makes it possible never to have of pause during all the duration of the song. To ensure the behavior of the rate/rhythm, the singers are held sometimes by the size or the shoulder; it is frequent that they stress the rate/rhythm with the feet. The tuilage is used so that there are no cuts of sound in the accompaniment of the dancers. It is the characteristic of the kan-ha-diskan which one does not find in the song to answer in High Brittany.

Styles of song

The kan-ha-diskan generally accompanies the gavottes, the dañs Fisel, the dañs plinn which are generally sung and danced in continuations (your simpl, ball, your doubl) but it can on the occasion accompany a waltz, a scottish,…

There exist three principal styles of kan ha diskan, according to the dance:

  • the style gavotte (gavotte, jobidi, pach pi, jilgodenn),
  • the style fisel (fisel, kost rear it hoad),
  • the style plinn.

For example, to accompany a gavotte (which is a dance which progresses horizontally if the vertical suspension is excluded), it is necessary to give an impression of fluidity. On the other hand, to accompany a fisel (which as the plinn is a rather vertical dance progressing little but with lighter supports and marked an enough vertical suspension), it is necessary to give an impression of scintillations, a style plus rate/rhythm, more nervous, more rebounded. Elocution thus is marked, to see stressed.

The style gavotte is historically most widespread. Indeed, its territory is very vast and corresponds almost to the surface of kan ha diskan (Cornwall/Center-Brittany and Trégor) while the Terroir S fisel and plinn are very reduced. So it is the richest style and of manners of dancing and of singing like in airs and texts.

The repertory vannetais (Ridée S, An dro, To haunt-dro,…) is not accompanied by the kan-ha-diskan.

Airs

The airs of kan ha diskan are rather particular because historically the Breton music, contrary to the Classical music post rebirth is not moderate. The Gamme is not divided into Demi-ton S but can vary by quarter tones. Moreover, because of the characteristics of the Breton dances (for example the subdivision or small steps of some gavottes) made that the good singers sometimes will make last a time a little more. It is thus difficult to note the airs according to the notation of the classical music (it acts more than one memorandum that of an exact transcription).

See too

Bond interns

  • Loose leaf

Singers of known kan ha diskan

  • Ar it hoarezed Goadeg
  • Albert Boloré
  • Emmanuel Kerjean
  • Lommig Donniou
  • Eugene Grenel
  • Loeiz Roparz
  • Marcel Guilloux
  • Ar vreudor Morvan
  • Bastien Gwern
  • Denez Prigent
  • Yann-Fañch Kemener
  • Commercial Erik
  • Annie Ebrel
  • Jean-Yves the Russet-red
  • Christophe Menn
  • Eric Menneteau
  • Alan Stivell
  • Iffig Troadec and Nanda Troadec
  • Christian Rivoalen and Sylvie Azéline Rivoalen
  • Ronan Gueblez and Marthe Vassallo
  • Louise Ebrel and Ifig Flatrès
  • Jean-Pierre Quéré and Guy Quéré
  • Brigitte Corre and Marie-Laurence Fustec
  • Nolùen Buhe
  • Pierre Jean Motreff

Modern group of kan ha diskan

Examples of songs of kan-ha-diskan

  • Ar verjelenn plinn
  • Year anduilhenn your Basle
  • Your rear wiski of the plinn

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