''Celtic Wedding'' is an album of

traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

Breton music Since the early 1970s, Brittany has experienced a tremendous revival of its folk music. Along with flourishing traditional forms such as the bombard- biniou pair and fest-noz ensembles incorporating other additional instruments, it has also branched ...

performed by the Irish band

The Chieftains The Chieftains are a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymous wi ...

. The album features guest performances by

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

artists Nolwen Monjarret, Bernard Pichard, Alain Guerton and Michel Bertae. Nolwen Monjarret later appeared on the Chieftains' 1991 album, ''

The Bells of Dublin ''The Bells of Dublin'' is a 1991 album of Christmas songs and traditional carols by the Irish band The Chieftains. The album features guest performances by various artists, including Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Mar ...

'', performing "A Breton Carol" with the band. The album's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desc ...

state that the music was selected from a publication entitled ''Tonioù Breizh-Izel'' (''

Traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

Tunes from

Lower Brittany Lower Brittany ( br, Breizh-Izel; french: Basse-Bretagne) denotes the parts of Brittany west of Ploërmel, where the Breton language has been traditionally spoken, and where the culture associated with this language is most prolific. The name is ...

''), which contains over 3,000 tunes collected by Polig Monjarret, who collaborated with

Paddy Moloney Paddy Moloney ( ga, Pádraig Ó Maoldomhnaigh; 1 August 1938 – 12 October 2021) was an Irish musician, composer, and record producer. He co-founded and led the Irish musical group the Chieftains, playing on all of their 44 albums. He was part ...

in choosing the tunes for the album. The original album's cover features a painting by the Scottish painter

Alexander Goudie Alexander Goudie (11 November 1933 – 9 March 2004) was a Scottish figurative painter. Education and Training Alexander Goudie was born in the Renfrewshire town of Paisley, Scotland, in 1933. He studied at the Glasgow School of Art under Willi ...

of a country fair attended by people and animals. This was later changed in more recent reprints to a cover photo of windblown rocks. ''Celtic Wedding'' was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

. The making of the album was sponsored by

Brittany Ferries Brittany Ferries is the trading name of the French shipping company, BAI Bretagne Angleterre Irlande S.A. founded in 1973 by Alexis Gourvennec, that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between France and the United Kingdom, Ireland, a ...

Track listing

All songs

. Descriptions from the album's liner notes.

Side one

#"Dans Mod Koh a Vaod" (3:30) Old-fashioned dance #"A Breton Carol" (3:41) #"Dans-Tro Fisel" (4:06) Dance from the Fisel country #"Marches" (4:09) From the

Vannes Vannes (; br, Gwened) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic Era The name ''Vannes'' comes from the Veneti, a seafaring Celtic people who live ...

country #"Dans Bro-Leon" (2:28) Dance and song from the

Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...

country #"Heuliadenn Tonioù Breizh-Izel" (6:57) A medley in which each member of the band plays a tune of his own choice

Side two

#"Ev Chistr 'Ta, Laou!" (1:56) Cider-drinking song #"Jabadaw" (3:03) Dance from Breton

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

#"Celtic Wedding" (20:11) A medley of song and dance describing the famous ancient Breton ceremony

Personnel

* Derek Bell – harp, tiompán,

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

, organ *

Martin Fay Martin Joseph Fay (19 September 1936 – 14 November 2012) was an Irish fiddler and bones player, and a former member of The Chieftains. He was born in Cabra, Dublin, Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scot ...

– fiddle,

bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, a ...

* Seán Keane – fiddle *

Kevin Conneff Kevin Conneff (born 8 January 1945) is an Irish singer and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and bodhrán player of Irish folk group; The Chieftains. He joined the group in 1976 after contributing to their album '' The Chieftains 6 ...

–

bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'' or ''bodhráns'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or oth ...

, vocals *

Matt Molloy Matt Molloy (born 12 January 1947) is an Irish musician, from a region known for producing talented flautists. As a child, he began playing the flute and won the All-Ireland Flute Championship at nineteen. Considered one of the most brilliant ...

– flute,

tin whistle The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria ...

–

uilleann pipes The uilleann pipes ( or , ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as "union pipes", their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the elbow"), from thei ...

*Nolwenn Monjarret - vocals *Bernard Pichard - bombarde *Alain Guerton - bombarde, biniou *Michel Bertae - bombarde, biniou

References

The Chieftains Official Website Discography https://web.archive.org/web/20110723095602/http://www.thechieftains.com/discography/disc_celticwedding.asp 1987 albums The Chieftains albums RCA Records albums {{1980s-folk-album-stub