The ''veuze'' is a

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 ...

bagpipe Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, Nor ...

found traditionally in southeastern Brittany and in the northern part of the Vendée, particularly around

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

, the

Guérande Guérande (; br, Gwenrann, ; french: label=Gallo, Geraundd) is a medieval town located in the department of Loire-Atlantique, and the region of Pays de la Loire, Western France. The inhabitants are referred to as ''Guérandais'' (masculine), and ...

peninsula, and Basse-Vilaine. The veuze has been mentioned in writing dating to the 16th century, and is thought to be the oldest of the Breton bagpipes. The veuze is thought to be the antecedent of the biniou. The ''

Association Sonneurs de Veuzes The Association Sonneurs de Veuzes (french: "Association of Veuze agpipePlayers") was formed in Nantes in 1976 for players of the veuze, a traditional bagpipe of Brittany and Nantes. The society promotes the knowledge of playing and the history ...

'' (french: "Association of Veuze agpipePlayers") was formed in

in 1976.

Construction

The ''veuze'' consists of a bag (''poche''), blowpipe (''sutell''), a double-reeded chanter (''levriad''), and a single-reeded

drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

or drones (''bourdon''). The levriad is generally pitched in A or G , but can also be found in D, B and C .

References

External links

Association of Veuze Players
Bagpipes Breton musical instruments Celtic musical instruments {{Bagpipes-stub