Requiem Danne de Bretagne

On the death of Anne of Brittany, her husband King Louis XII honored
her with exceptional funeral ceremonies lasting 40 days, which forever
sealed her image as Queen of France and Duchess of Brittany. As he
prepared this program centering on Antoine de Févin s Missa pro
defunctis, and read the vivid narrative by the herald of Anne of Brittany,
Denis Raisin Dadre realized that beyond all the official mourning there
was also a silent sorrow: that of the Bretons who had lost their duchess
and were in the process of losing their duchy s independence. To make the
voices of the people heard, he asked Yann-Fañch Kemener to contribute
some traditional Breton gwerzioù. These solo songs act as a counterpoint
to the complex polyphony that expresses the pomp of royalty.