View source for Alan Stivell

{{Short description|Breton musician (born 1944)}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name         = Alan Stivell
| birth_name   = Alan Cochevelou
| birth_date   = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1944|1|6}}
| birth_place  = [[Riom]], [[Auvergne]], France
| genre        = [[Celtic music]], [[Breton Music]], [[world music]]{{cn|date=September 2025}}
| occupation   = {{hlist|Singer|songwriter|composer|musician}}
| years_active = 1960–present
| label        = Keltia III
| website      = {{website|alanstivell.bzh }}
| image        = Festival de Cornouaille 2016 - Alan Stivell - 01.jpg
| caption      = Stivell in concert at [[Festival de Cornouaille]] ([[Quimper]], [[Brittany (administrative region)|Brittany]]), 2016
}}

'''Alan Stivell''' ({{IPA|br|ˈɑːlãn 'sti:vəlː}}; born '''Alan Cochevelou''' on 6 January 1944) is a French [[Celtic music]]ian and singer, songwriter, recording artist, and master of the [[Celtic harp]] from  [[Breton people|Brittany]].

From the early 1970s, he revived global interest in the Celtic (specifically Breton) harp and [[Celtic music]] as part of [[world music]].<ref name="AllMusic Alan Stivell">{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/alan-stivell-mn0000932980/biography |title=Alan Stivell Biography by Bruce Eder |date= 2015 |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date= 10 July 2015}}</ref> As a [[Bagpipes|bagpiper]] and [[Bombard (music)|bombard]] player, he modernized traditional [[Breton music]] and singing in the [[Breton language]]. A precursor of [[Celtic rock]], he is inspired by the union of the [[Celtic nations|Celtic cultures]] and is a keeper of the [[Breton culture]].

== Musical career ==
=== Early life and career beginnings ===
[[File:Exposition ROK - harpe de cristal Alan Stivell 01.jpg|thumb|upright|"Crystal Harp" [[solid-body]] (Goas-Stivell, 1987)]]
Alan Stivell was born in [[Riom]] on 6 January 1944.<ref name="AllMusic Alan Stivell" /> His birth name is Alan Cochevelou.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018 |title=Alan Stivell ➤ Biographie : naissance, parcours, famille… 📔 |url=https://www.nostalgie.fr/artistes/alan-stivell/biographie |access-date=2025-10-09 |website=Nostalgie.fr |language=fr}}</ref>

His father, [[Georges Cochevelou]], was a civil servant in the [[French Ministry for the Economy and Finance|French Ministry of Finance]] who achieved his dream of recreating a [[Celt]]ic or [[Breton people|Breton]] harp in the small town of [[Gourin]], [[Brittany]]<ref name="ReferenceA">JT Koch (ed). ''Celtic Culture. A Historical Encyclopaedia'' ABC-CLIO 2006 pp. 1627–1628</ref> and his mother Fanny-Julienne Dobroushkess was of [[Lithuanian-Jewish]] descent. In 1953, Alan began playing the instrument at the age of nine under the tutelage of his father and Denise Megevand, a concert harpist. Alan also learned Celtic mythology, art, and history, as well as the [[Breton language]], traditional Breton dance, and the Scottish [[bagpipes|bagpipe]] and the [[Bombard (music)|bombarde]], a traditional Breton instrument, from the [[oboe]] family. Alan began playing concerts at the age of eleven and studied traditional Breton, English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh folk music, also learning the drum, Irish flute, and tin whistle.<ref name="AllMusic Alan Stivell" /> He competed in, and won, several Breton traditional music competitions in the Bleimor Pipe band.<ref name="rfimusique.com">RFI Music. Alan Stivell. Biography. RFI Music. {{cite web|url=http://www.rfimusique.com/siteen/biographie/biographie_6138.asp |title=RFI Musique - - Alan Stivell |access-date=2009-07-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905211522/http://www.rfimusique.com/siteen/biographie/biographie_6138.asp |archive-date=2008-09-05 }} (last accessed 15 July 2009)</ref> Alan spent his childhood in [[Paris]], with its cosmopolitan influences. But he fell in love with [[music of Brittany|Breton music]] and [[Celtic Europe|Celtic culture]], in general, and often went back in his teens to Brittany.<ref name="AllMusic Alan Stivell" />

Stivell's first recording came in 1960 ("Musique gaelique"), a single that was followed by the LP ''[[Telenn Geltiek]]'' in 1964. He already recorded solo harp and harp backing singers in 1959 with ''Breiz ma bro'' ("Brittany my country") and a ''Mouez Breiz'' EP ("Voice of Brittany") with the female singer Andrea Ar Gouilh. His stage name, Stivell, means "fountain" or "spring" in Breton. The name refers both to the Breton renewal and to his surname Cochevelou (an evolution of ''kozh stivelloù'', "the old fountains").<ref name="AllMusic Alan Stivell" />

=== Stivell and the Celtic harp revival ===
With a new bardic harp with bronze strings, Stivell began experimenting with modernized styles of music that became known as [[Celtic rock]]. In 1966, Alan Stivell began to perform and record as a singer. The following year, he was signed by [[Philips Records]].  This was during the birth of the New Breton and Celtic music movement.

In 1968, after two years of touring and regular appearances at the American Students and Artists Center in Paris, Alan joined the [[The Moody Blues|Moody Blues]] onstage to perform in London's Queen Elizabeth Hall.<ref>JT Koch (ed). ''Celtic Culture. A Historical Encyclopaedia'' ABC-CLIO 2006 pp. 1627–1628.</ref>

In 1970, Stivell released his first hits, the single "Broceliande" and the album ''Reflets'', both on the [[Philips Records|Philips record label]]. He became closely associated with the burgeoning Breton [[roots revival]], especially after the release of the purely instrumental 1971 album ''[[Renaissance of the Celtic Harp]]'', which won one of the most famous awards in France, the prize of the [[Académie Charles Cros]].<ref name="rfimusique.com" />

The music critic Bruce Elder wrote of the album ''[[Renaissance of the Celtic Harp]]'': {{Quote|People who hear this record are never the same again. ''Renaissance of the Celtic Harp'', one of the most beautiful and haunting records ever made by anybody, introduced the Celtic harp to many thousands of listeners around the world. To call this music gorgeous and ravishing would be the height of understatement—indeed, there aren't words in the English language to describe this record adequately. The opening work, '[[Ys]]', is a piece inspired by the legend of the fifth century capital of the kingdom of [[Cornwall]], (most versions of the legend place the city in the [[Baie de Douarnenez|Douarnenez Bay]] on the coast of [[Brittany]]), [said to have been] engulfed by a flood as punishment for its sins. ([[Claude Debussy|Debussy]] wrote one of his finest works, "[[La cathédrale engloutie|The Engulfed Cathedral]]," later adapted by the group [[Renaissance (band)|Renaissance]] into "At the Harbour" on the 1973 album ''[[Ashes Are Burning]]'', based on the same legend). The reflective "[[Marv Pontkalleg|Marv Pontkellec]]" is every bit as sublimely beautiful, but the highlight of this record is "Gaeltacht," a 19-minute musical journey by Stivell's harp across the [[Gaels|Gaelic]] lands of [[Ireland]], [[Scotland]], and the [[Isle of Man]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.answers.com/topic/renaissance-of-the-celtic-harp |title=The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions |website=Answers.com |access-date=2020-03-02}}</ref><ref>Guyot, Charles. The Legend of the City of Ys, Amherst, MA: [[University of Massachusetts Press]], 1979.</ref>}}

On 28 February 1972, Stivell performed a concert in the [[Paris Olympia|Olympia]] theater, a famous music hall in Paris, where Alan and his band played music combining traditional Celtic music with modern sounds (electric guitar, drums, etc.). This concert made Stivell and his music well known throughout France.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> At this time, Stivell's eclectic approach to music was very new and was considered risky, but it soon became popular.  Over 1,500,000 records of that concert (''[[À l'Olympia (Alan Stivell album)|À l'Olympia]]'') were sold. Alan Stivell's newfound fame propelled him to tour across France, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. He continued recording, and published a collection of [[Breton poetry]] in 1976.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> With his 1980 ''[[Symphonie Celtique]]'', he mixed for the first time elements of rock, a symphonic orchestra, Celtic instruments and such non-European ethnic elements as [[Berber languages|Berber]] vocalist [[Djourha]] and [[sitar]]ist [[Narendra Bataju]].<ref name="rfimusique.com" />

The folk music revival faded somewhat in the 1980s. Though Alan Stivell still maintained a popular following, he did not reach the heights of popularity that he had in the 1970s. He continued touring in many parts of the world and recording for a loyal fanbase.  He also worked with the English musician [[Kate Bush]].<ref name="rfimusique.com" />

=== Celtic fusions and world music ===
[[File:A Stivell 072707 Nuremberg 03.JPG|thumb|Alan Stivell at [[Nuremberg]], Germany, 2007]]
In the 1990s, Stivell recorded with the French singer [[Laurent Voulzy]], Irish traditional performer [[Shane MacGowan]] and Senegalese singer [[Doudou N'Diaye Rose]]. The album was ''[[Again (Alan Stivell album)|Again]]'', and it became very popular in France, initiating the beginning of a Celtic new wave.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Stephen D. Winick|title=Breton Folk Music, Breton Identity, and Alan Stivell's Again|journal=The Journal of American Folklore|volume=108|date=1995|issue=42|pages=334–354|doi=10.2307/541889|jstor=541889}}</ref> Stivell's records in the late 1990s contained more pronounced rock elements, and he performed at a rock festival called [[Transmusicales]] in [[Rennes]]. He continued working with a variety of musicians, inviting [[Paddy Moloney]] (of [[The Chieftains]]), [[Jim Kerr]] (of [[Simple Minds]]), [[Khaled (musician)|Khaled]] and [[Youssou N'Dour]] to be in his very international ''1 Douar'' / ''1 Earth'' album.<ref name="rfimusique.com" />

The 1998 French-language hit "[[La Tribu de Dana]]" by rap trio [[Manau (group)|Manau]], one of the best-selling French singles of all time, featured a very similar musical arrangement to Stivell's "[[Tri Martolod]]". Although Stivell sued Manau for the unauthorised sampling, the group claimed that they had modified the original sufficiently, through the addition of lyrics and other changes, to avoid any charges of [[plagiarism]]. Stivell is now credited for a part of "[[La Tribu de Dana]]"'s arrangements.{{Citation needed|date=September 2017}}

Stivell's CD album ''Again'' in 1993 was the base for a new wave of his popularity, especially in France and Brittany. Other albums received good critical reviews, such as ''[[Brian Boru]]'' or ''[[1 Douar]]'' ("1 Earth").
In 2002 Stivell released ''[[Au-delà des mots]]'' ("Beyond Words"), his twenty-first LP. The album featured him playing six different harps, specially dedicated to the Celtic Harp Revival's 50th anniversary.{{Citation needed|date=September 2017}}

In 2004, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Celtic harp revival in Brittany, he wrote a book in collaboration with Jean-Noël Verdier: ''Telenn, la harpe bretonne'' ("Telenn, the Breton harp").<ref>Alain Stivell and Jean-Noël Verdier. ''Telenn, la harpe bretonne''. Le Télégramme 2004 {{ISBN|2-84833-078-3}} {{ISBN|978-2848330785}}</ref> The same year, the DVD ''Parcours'' was published by Fox-Pathé.

In 2006, a new CD album called ''Explore'' came out in France and other countries, distributed through [[Harmonia Mundi]]. The album explored fusions of Celtic music with electro-rock, raga and hip-hop with a unique and personal vocal style and an original mix of lyrics in Breton, English and French.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ceolas.org/artists/Stivell.html |title=Alan Stivell |website=Ceolas.org |date=1994-08-22 |access-date=2020-03-02}}</ref>

[[File:Nolwenn Leroy - Alan Stivell.jpg|thumb|Alan Stivell and [[Nolwenn Leroy]] performing "Brian Boru" at the [[Paris Olympia]] in 2012]]
In 2009, the title of his album ''Emerald'' celebrated his [[Wedding anniversary|emerald anniversary]] with his fans (i.e. forty years together) and paid homage to the sea and the Celtic lands (color blue-green, ''Glaz'' in Breton language). In 2013, a new CD album and DVD called ''Olympia 40th Anniversary'' came out in France ([[Universal Music Group|Universal]]) as a result of the concert performed at the [[Olympia (Paris)|Olympia]] mythical music hall on 16 February 2012.{{Citation needed|date=September 2017}}

On 2 October 2015, Stivell released a new CD album called ''[[AMzer: Seasons]]'' through ''[[Harmonia Mundi|WorldVillage]]'' in France (and other countries), his first one of the 2010s, coinciding with his career's 50th anniversary. The album is also available as a "Leclerc limited edition" including 3 bonus tracks (2 alternative mixes and a brand new instrumental) and a 60-page booklet.{{Citation needed|date=September 2017}}

== Critical acclaim ==
Music critic Bruce Eder has stated: "[Alan Stivell's] harp recordings, with their enveloping lyricism and tightly interwoven patterns of variations, can appeal to more serious listeners of new age music. Stivell's main audience, however, lies with fans of Celtic music and culture, and English folk music. Embracing ancient and modern elements, but (apart from his folk-rock work) making no compromises to modern melodic sensibilities, his music captures the mystery and strangeness of Breton, Irish, Welsh, and Scottish landscapes that are both ageless and timeless. It is haunting, mysterious, and beautiful, with no equivalent in modern popular music and few peers in the realm of commercial folk music."<ref name="AllMusic Alan Stivell" />

== Interviews ==
An English translation of Stivell's interview for ''Le Peuple Breton'' by Peter Barry was published in the [[Scotland|Scottish]] political, current affairs and arts review, ''Calgacus'' in 1975.<ref>"Interview with Alan Stivell", in ''Calgacus'' 1, Winter 1975, pp. 47 & 48, {{issn|0307-2029}}</ref> 

In the 1978 book ''Racines interdites'' ("Forbidden Roots"), a series of interviews with Stivell covers questions about the Breton language, history and geography, as well as his [[utopia]]n vision of a world living in [[meditation|meditative]] harmony with nature. Lyrics for 17 of Stivell's songs are reprinted at the back of the book.<ref>''Alan Stivell: Racines interdites'', interviews conducted by Jacques Erwan and Marc Legras, "Musiques et Musiciens series", 1978</ref>

== Legacy ==

Alan Stivell has influenced multiple contemporary artists, most notably [[folk metal]] band [[Eluveitie]]. Their biggest hit 'Inis Mona' shares a melody with the traditional Tri Martolod. Where it is played on [[bagpipes]], [[tin whistle]] and [[hurdy-gurdy]] with the addition of harsh vocals, [[electric guitar]], [[bass guitar]] and [[drums]]. 

== Instruments ==
<gallery>
Festival de Cornouaille 2016 - Alan Stivell - 13.jpg|[[Celtic harp]] and [[low whistle]]
Alan Stivell - tin whistle.jpg|Vocals and [[tin whistle]]
Festival de Cornouaille 2016 - Alan Stivell - 14.jpg|[[Bombard (music)|Bombard]]
Alan Stivell - biniou.jpg|[[Electronic bagpipes]] ([[MIDI]])
Festival de Cornouaille 2016 - Alan Stivell - 11.jpg|[[Great Highland bagpipe]]
Pat O'May et Alan Stivell 02.JPG|[[Electric guitar]]
</gallery>

== Discography ==

=== Original (studio and live) albums ===
#''Telenn Geltiek / Harpe celtique'' (1964) <small>(studio #01 / instrumental #01)</small>
#''Reflets / Reflections'' (1970) <small>(studio #02)</small>
#''[[Renaissance of the Celtic Harp]]'' (1971) <small>(studio #03 / instrumental #02)</small>
#''[[À l'Olympia (Alan Stivell)|À l'Olympia]] / Olympia Concert'' (1972) <small>(live #01)</small>
#''[[Chemins de Terre]] / From Celtic Roots / Celtic Rock'' (1973) <small>(studio #04)</small>
#''E Langonned'' (1974) <small>(studio #05)</small>
#''[[In Dublin (Alan Stivell album)|E Dulenn / À Dublin]] / Live in Dublin'' (1975) <small>(live #02)</small>
#''Trema'n inis: Vers l'Île'' (1976) <small>(studio #06)</small>
#''Raok Dilestra: Avant d'accoster / Before Landing'' (1977) <small>(studio #07)</small>
#''Un dewezh 'barzh 'gêr: Journée à la maison / A Homecoming'' (1978) <small>(studio #08)</small>
#''International Tour: Tro ar Bed'' (1979) <small>(live #03)</small>
#''[[Symphonie Celtique]]: Tir Na N-Og'' / ''Celtic Symphony'' (1979) <small>(studio #09)</small>
#''Terre des vivants: Bed an dud vew'' (1981) <small>(studio #10)</small>
#''Legend / Légende / Mojenn'' (1983) <small>(studio #11)</small>
#''Harps of the New Age / Harpes du Nouvel Âge / Telenn a' Skuilh-dour'' (1985) <small>(studio #12 / instrumental #03)</small>
#''The Mist of Avalon'' (1991) <small>(studio #13)</small>
#''[[Again (Alan Stivell album)|Again]]'' (1993) <small>(studio re-recordings with other artists in duet)</small>
#''Brian Boru'' (1995) <small>(studio #15)</small>
#''1 Douar / 1 Earth'' (1998) <small>(studio #16) ("Eunn Douar" in [[Breton language|Breton]])</small>
#''Back to Breizh'' (1999) <small>(studio #17)</small>
#''Au-delà des mots / En tu-hont d'ar c'homzoù / Beyond Words'' (2002) <small>(studio #18 / instrumental #04)</small>
#''Explore'' (2006) <small>(studio #19)</small>
#''[[Emerald (Alan Stivell album)|Emerald]]'' (2009) <small>(studio #20)</small>
#''[[AMzer: Seasons]]'' (2015) <small>(studio #21)</small>
#''Human~Kelt'' (2018) <small>(studio #22)</small>

''A l'Olympia'' and ''In Dublin'' were recorded live, but featured only new, previously unreleased tracks.

=== Compilations ===
* ''Attention! Alan Stivell!'' (1973)
* ''Grand Succès d'Alan Stivell'' (1975)
* ''70/95 Zoom'' (1997) – Disques Dreyfus <small>(2-CD compilation 1970~1995, 35 tracks)</small>
* ''Routes'' (1997) – Disques Dreyfus <small>(4-CD boxset / 73 tracks / 32-pages booklet)</small>
* ''Vers l'île'' (1999) – [[Universal Music Group]] <small>(3CD "Long Box" / 30 titres / booklet)</small>
* ''Ar Pep Gwellañ (Le best of)'' (2012) – Universal Music Group <small>(CD best-of including a bonus CD of the remastered recording of the 1972 "Olympia" concert)</small>
* ''40th Anniversary Olympia 2012'' (2013) – Universal Mercury <small>(CD/DVD Live about the new concert in Paris)</small>

== Family tree ==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
| boxstyle_1 = background-color: #fcc;
| boxstyle_2 = background-color: #fb9;
| boxstyle_3 = background-color: #ffc;
| boxstyle_4 = background-color: #bfc;
|1= 1. '''Alain Cochevelou'''<br />(b. 1/6/1944 in [[Riom]])<br />musician<ref>PÉRON Goulven, [http://data.over-blog-kiwi.com/0/45/65/95/201302/ob_b2179856c34921194ca1b30ff9b50ab1_9-alan-stivell.pdf KAIER AR POHER N°29] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517153151/http://data.over-blog-kiwi.com/0/45/65/95/201302/ob_b2179856c34921194ca1b30ff9b50ab1_9-alan-stivell.pdf |date=2014-05-17 }} of June 2010</ref><ref>[http://illus-tree.voila.net/stivell/index.htm ]{{dead link|date=March 2020}}</ref>
|2= 2. '''[[Georges Cochevelou]]'''<br />(5/13/1889 in [[14th arrondissement of Paris|Paris]] – 12/20/1974 in [[Saint-Mandé]])<br />civil servant in the French Ministry of Finance
|3= 3. '''Fanny-Julienne Dobroushkess'''<br />(b. 3/31/1903 in [[18th arrondissement of Paris|Paris]] – 9/26/2005 in [[Limeil-Brévannes]])
|4= 4. '''François-Pierre-Marie Cochevelou'''<br />(9/29/1864 in [[Gourin|Nouec Vihan]] – 3/10/1893 in [[Pontivy]])<br />railway worker in 1889
|5= 5. '''Anne-Marie-Eulalie Lintanff'''<br />(b. 3/25/1869 in [[Pontivy]])
|6= 6. '''Haïm Woulf Dobroushkess''' (добрушкес)<br />(b. ≃1865 in the [[Baltic states]], [[Russian Empire]])<br />stonemason
|7= 7. '''Julie Lévy'''
|8= 8. '''François Cochevelou'''<br />(5/22/1818 in [[Gourin]] – 11/7/1887 in [[Gourin]])
|9= 9. '''Marie Anne Coroller'''<br />(b. 2/25/1832 in [[Gourin]])
|10= 10. '''François Marie Lintanff'''<br />(b. 5/28/1844 in [[Mûr-de-Bretagne]])
|11= 11. '''Eleonore Marie Schutz'''<br />(b. 4/25/1844 in [[Pontivy]])
|12= 
|13= 
|14= 
|15= 
}}

== References ==
=== Footnotes ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
* Laurent Bourdelas: ''Alan Stivell'', Brest, 2012, {{ISBN|2-84833-274-3}}
* Yann Brekilien (photog. Padrig Sicard): ''Alan Stivell ou le folk celtique'', Paris, 1973, {{ISBN|978-2852570054}}
* 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|978-0-19-937706-0}}
* Anny Maurussane and Gérard Simon: ''Alan Stivell ou l'itinéraire d'un harper hero'', Paris, 2006, {{ISBN|2-9526891-0-5}}
* Alan Stivell, Jacques Erwan and Marc Legras: ''Racines interdites / Gwriziad difennet'', Jean-Claude Lattès, Paris, 1979
* Alan Stivell and Jean-Noël Verdier: [http://alanstivell.com/telenn.pdf ''Telenn, la harpe bretonne''], Brest, 2004, {{ISBN|2-84833-078-3}}
*Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/5qlyXCYCq8g Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20210805094154/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qlyXCYCq8g Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qlyXCYCq8g| title = Inis Mona {{!}} Eluveitie live {{!}} Rockpalast 2019 | website=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}

== External links ==
<!-- Per [[WP:ELMINOFFICIAL]], choose one official website only -->
{{Commons category|Alan Stivell}}
* {{Official|http://www.alanstivell.bzh}} (English, Breton and French language)
* [http://www.backline.fr/as/menu.htm Biography until 1995]
* [http://www.discogs.com/artist/Alan+Stivell Alan Stivell] at [[discogs]].com
* [http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/alan_stivell Alan Stivell] at [[Rate Your Music]].com
* [https://www.innerviews.org/inner/alan-stivell 2019 interview with Innerviews]
* {{IMDb name|id=nm0830635}}

{{Alan Stivell}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stivell, Alan}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Breton musicians]]
[[Category:Celtic fusion musicians]]
[[Category:People from Riom]]
[[Category:French people of Breton descent]]
[[Category:Breton-language singers]]
[[Category:French people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Celtic rock music]]
[[Category:French folk music]]
[[Category:Fontana Records artists]]
[[Category:Vertigo Records artists]]
[[Category:Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres]]