Gwerz is a type of folk song of Brittany, a Celtic region in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

In Breton music, the gwerz tells a story which can be epic, historical, or mythological. The stories are usually of a tragic nature. The gwerz is characterised by an often monotonous melody and many couplets, all in the Breton language

Breton language

Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...

. Though historically sung unaccompanied, some modern musicians use limited instrumentation with the gwerz.

Some of the most famous performers in current gwerzioù are Erik Marchand

Erik Marchand

Erik Marchand is a French Breton traditional singer and player of the treujenn-gaol . Although born in Paris, his family was of Breton origin, hailing from Quelneuc, Brittany....

, Yann-Fañch Kemener

Yann-Fañch Kemener

Yann-Fañch Kemener is a traditional singer from Britanny, born in Sainte-Tréphine , France.He took part in reviving Kan ha diskan in the 1970s and 1980s, especially with Erik Marchand...

, and Denez Prigent.