“Stivell”, the stage name he chose for himself, means “gushing spring”. A perfect pseudonym for this artist who knew how to reintroduce Breton music into modernity. A journey which today leads him to demand political measures to save the culture of his region. Warning: shock interview.
L’Express: Are you rather optimistic or rather pessimistic about the future of Breton?
I would say that the bottle is half empty and we don’t know if it will be filled again. Certainly, thousands of children and adults learn this language; certainly, tens of thousands of people participate in festù-noz; certainly, Breton first names are in vogue; certainly, artists like Nolwenn Leroy or myself have had great success… There has therefore been undeniable progress and we should be happy about it, especially since it was never given, but won by activists. But is that enough? My answer is “no” because the Breton’s vital prognosis remains compromised. It has no future if it is not used in administration, taught in all schools, etc. In other words: it must become a co-official language. And that also presupposes autonomy.
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I thought you were not an autonomist, but an independentist…
Personally, I am in fact in favor of a federal Europe of which Brittany would be one of the States. But I am above all a democrat and I know that the prospect of seeing a majority agree with me remains utopian. In any case, the most important thing is to save Breton culture and language. This is not necessarily impossible within the framework of the French Republic, but only on condition that Brittany achieves a particular status of autonomy. Otherwise, we will always remain at the mercy of a change of government in Paris and a majority outside Brittany. To save Breton, Brittany must therefore achieve autonomy. There is no other solution.
Is this not the door open to separatism?
Basically, Brittany is a stateless nation located between two magnetic poles: France and the Celtic archipelago. The problem is that the first cuts us off from our Welsh, Scottish and Irish cousins. She doesn’t believe that we sincerely love her and her attitude towards our language proves it.
Let’s draw a parallel with a couple: what would you think of a husband who forced his wife to stay with him by force? Shouldn’t he try to win her back instead? It’s the same thing in politics. For centuries, France has tried to maintain Brittany by force by destroying its culture. I tend to believe, on the contrary, that respecting the Bretons would avoid radical scenarios which would no longer be essential.
But couldn’t we keep a Breton culture without a Breton language?
This is impossible, and for one major reason: language influences a person’s thinking at every moment. It builds personalities much more than dance or music, especially since we don’t listen to just one type of music – and that’s very good. Do you know, for example, that in Breton, the order of words in sentences is not the same as in French? It changes the way we think. So it’s obvious to me: Hep Brezhoneg, Breizh ebet! If the Breton language disappears, Brittany will disappear.
You have just published a double symphonic album, Liberty-Roazhonrecorded in concert with the Orchester national de Bretagne (1). Is this a way of restoring dignity to traditional music?
Alan Stivell: Of course. Great composers like Béla Bartók or Alexandre Borodine, then Guy Ropartz and Jef Le Penven, understood that this music was noble and sophisticated. However, my approach is more focused on creation, keeping at the center the influence of timeless Celtic music, rather than “traditional”. It’s another way of moving towards universal music where we don’t forget who we are.
In 2008, you compared the situation of the Tibetans to the “cultural alienations” which would have affected the Bretons or the Occitans. Are you not exaggerating?
The physical violence suffered by certain Chinese minorities obviously does not occur in France. On the other hand, here too, cultural minorities are rejected. As if by instinct, France has always seemed to seek to destroy languages other than French. And what we have torn off remains in the order of palliative care. Arcom has once again refused a radio station 100% in Breton, as if there weren’t enough French radio stations!
I would also like to remind you that among human rights are the linguistic rights of minorities. And that these are not respected in France – it is the UN which affirms this.
Some suspect you of turning your back on the universal values that the French language conveys, of cultivating a form of withdrawal…
The speeches you refer to are mere manipulative slander. I have been the exact opposite of this since my very professional beginnings, in 1966. Cultural diversity is a key value for me (2), no honest person could dispute that. Look at my discography: if the Breton language is very present there, we also find Occitan, Catalan, Corsican, Irish, Sanskrit, Tibetan, Kabyle, Wolof, Bambara, Arabic, Algonquin, English, French! Who says better? Where is the withdrawal?
In reality, behind the contempt for certain languages, we detect contempt for their speakers. What do these so-called intellectuals do about equality between humans, and therefore equality between cultures? When you think about it, they are not far from racist thinking. All this is all the more scandalous since this pseudo-hierarchy between languages does not arise from fate, but from military power relations in the past. Following them, we should therefore put the cultures of certain peoples under a bushel simply because they were once defeated by more powerful armies! What do they know, for example, about Occitan which, with its troubadours, was one of the most prestigious languages in Europe until the crusade against the Albigensians? Have they even read their works? This all comes from incredible ignorance…
> On tour in 2025. The first confirmed dates can be found on its official website. There is also some interesting food for thought in the “cultural complements” section.
FIND VIDEOS DEDICATED TO FRENCH AND THE LANGUAGES OF FRANCE ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL
(1) Alan Stivell. Freedom – Roazhonrecorded with the Orchester National de Bretagne (Verycords label)
(2) See his autobiography: Stivell by Alan. Editions Ouest-France.
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To listen
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To watch
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