Treujenn gaol

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The Treujenn gaol or Dreujenn gaol (from Breton "Kohlstrunk") is a single reed instrument ( clarinet ) that is used in Breton music .

Origin and design

The earliest evidence of the use of a clarinet in Brittany dates back to 1830. Since 1840, the use of the instrument in all parts of Brittany increased rapidly. At first it was used in brass bands and orchestras and then (as in other regions) it was adopted in folk music. The clarinet type with 13 keys developed by Iwan Müller in 1812 and revised by Hyacinthe Klosé in 1839 was used. This type of clarinet was preserved in Brittany into the 20th century, while the clarinet with 24 keys became the standard form.

The clarinet accompanied the traditional dances and chants, partly together with the traditional instruments binioù (bagpipe), vielle à roue (hurdy-gurdy) and bombarde , partly by displacing them.

From 1880 to the First World War , the clarinet was widespread in Upper Normandy and Lower Normandy and was played a lot, especially at weddings. In the period between the two world wars, they were largely replaced by the diatonic and later the chromatic accordion . Central Brittany was an exception. Traditional clarinets were used to accompany the popular dances fisel and fañch and for the wedding processions.

In the 1970s a return to traditional Breton music began. In this context, the Treujenn gaol has been revived since the mid-1980s, especially for the music of Bagad .

Today in Breton folklore mostly two Treujenn gaol play in a duo but also in an ensemble with accordion and violins. Alongside saxophone and drums, the clarinet is an integral part of Breton jazz bands and is used for both jazz and traditional pieces.

Style of play

With the traditional pieces only the clarinet register is used (overblow flap open). The melodies usually use diatonic scales without a change in sign. Of the 13 keys, only those for the h (sounding a) and c '(sounding b') and the overblown key are used. Other halftone keys or fork handles are not used. Accordingly, the superfluous flaps can also be clamped or removed, in particular the movable rings are locked. Diatonic clarinets with no or few keys are also used. This results in two rows of tones:

  • From the root note b: b, c ', d', * es', f ', g', a ', b' (the tones marked with * are raised by a quarter tone compared to the equal temperament)
  • From the root c ': c', d ', * es', f ', g', * as ', * b', c "

These rows largely correspond to the traditional tonality of central Brittany. These scales are more difficult to achieve on a clarinet with 24 keys.

Instrumentalists

A well-known Breton clarinetist is Erik Marchand , who belonged to both the Quintet Clarinettes and Gwerz . The bands Darhaou, Tonnerre de Brest, L'Echo, Cabestan and Strobinell also use clarinets.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b La clarinette en Bretagne on musique-bretagne.com (French, accessed on May 26, 2009)
  2. ↑ Origine et évolutions techniques de la clarinette on musique-bretagne.com (French, accessed on May 26, 2009)
  3. ↑ Un déclin général on musique-bretagne.com (French, accessed on May 26, 2009)
  4. ↑ Une clarinette bien bretonnisée on musique-bretagne.com (French, accessed May 26, 2009)
  5. ↑ a b c Treujenn Gaol: Mode et style de jeu ( Memento from April 25, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) on treujenngaol.over-blog.net (French, accessed on May 26, 2009)
  6. ↑ Clarinettes diatoniques - Clarinettes sans clés ( Memento of April 26, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) on treujenngaol.over-blog.net (French, accessed on May 26, 2009)

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