À l'Olympia (Alan Stivell album)

À l'Olympia (Also called At the Olympia and Olympia Concert) was Stivell's first live album, recording in Paris Olympia. It was released by Fontana in 1972.

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 intelligensia. 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 ambiance 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]

Track listing

Lyrics and musics are traditionals arranged by Alan Stivell.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Wind of Keltia"	3:42
2.	"An Dro"	3:07
3.	"The trees they grow high"	3:04
4.	"An Alarc'h" (The swan)	2:25
5.	"An Durzhunel" (The turtle dove)	3:23
6.	"Telenn Gwad / The Foggy Dew"	3:57
7.	"Pop Plinn"	3:37
8.	"Tha mi sgith"	4:22
9.	"The King of the Fairies"	3:20
10.	"Tri Martolod"	4:27
11.	"Kost ar c'hoad"	3:54
12.	"Suite Sudarmoricaine"	3:29

Personnel

Singing, harp, Irish flute, bombard- Alan Stivell
Electric Guitar– Dan Ar Braz
Drums– Michel Santangeli
Fiddle– René Werneer
Guitar, Dulcimer, Banjo– Gabriel Yacoub
Bass– Gérard Levasseur
Bombarde, Cello, Flute– Henry Delagarde
Bombarde, Flute– Mikael Klec'h
Organ– Pascal Stive
Percussion– Serj Parayre

Recording

Producer– Frank Giboni
Engineer – Paul Houdebine
Engineer Assistant – Henri Lousteau

Discography

Fontana 6399 005 [original French release]
Fontana 6325 321 [France, Italy]
Disques Dreyfus 834-289-2 [French CD release of 1988]
^[4]

References

↑ (French) Frédéric Jambon, « Stivell. Les 40 ans du concert mythique ce soir à l'Olympia », Le Télégramme, 16 février 2012
↑ CD Olympia Concert on Discovery-records.com
↑ Rate your music
↑ Jim Chokey. Discography. Alan Stivell. http://www.ceolas.org/artists/Stivell.html (last accessed 15 May 2013)

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

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