Minimalistic Tour Of Brittany: Yann Tiersen – “Porz Goret”

Yann Tiersen

“Porz Goret”

The piano is my very favorite instrument of all time: all the depths and inner quiet and loudness, all in one instrument.  No matter how electronic we become, nothing is as beautiful as a piano.  That being said, Yann Tiersen is my very favorite, modern piano composer.  I love his impressionistic, minimalistic approach while making deep, compassionate music.  Tiersen has a lot in common with Glass, and he could be a distant relative of Debussy.

According to Tiersen’s publicity:

ANN TIERSEN has unveiled a brand new track, “Porz Goret,” taken from Tiersen’s latest release, a book of sheet music for ten brand new piano pieces.

Each piece is related to a specific location on the island of Ushant off the coast of Brittany (‘Eusa’ in Breton), where Tiersen lives. Tiersen explains, “Ushant is more than just a home – it’s a part of me. The idea was to make a map of the island and, by extension, a map of who I am. To begin with I chose ten locations on the island and made a series of field recordings at each of them. The pieces of piano music I then went on to write are named after these locations, and the sheet music for each piece is accompanied by a GPS coordinate and a photograph of the site taken by Emilie Quinquis.”

Eusa, the book of sheet music, will be accompanied by a website that shows the photographs alongside field recordings from each location, created by Tiersen who continues, “For me it’s important that the music is played along with the field recordings for you to be welcomed to the island.” – go to http://eusasound.bzh/ for further information.

I am in love with Tiersen’s music.  He is the best.