bombarde et biniou, Les secrets de la vie de couple is a big, hardcover book and enclosed DVD.  bombarde et biniou is Brittany’s first method book dedicated to the subtleties of playing in couple format, specifically the bombard and biniou pairing that is a central pillar in the milieu of Breton music. 

Inside are tips and secrets for tuning, maintaining, and improving your respective instruments. This work deciphers the different aspects of playing as a couple: refrains, starts, stops, and repertoire. It provides a very rich source of information about the two instruments and the ensemble they traditionally form, including the making and preparation of reeds.

But - you ask - this book is not in English and I don’t read French! That is a good point, as this website is oriented towards the English-speaking reader. The answer is that, while the text and illustrations are still of value to anyone playing these instruments even if your comprehension is poor or non-existent, the secret to this book lies in the mind-blowing DVD that comes with it. 

The DVD says “15 Vloaz Moal-Chaplain” but there is a bit of a surprise - there is a second, extra film, a more primitive but very cool film featuring the luthier and musician Jil Lehart. You can see Jil making bombards and binious and hear him play music with his longtime musical partner, Daniel Feon.

The main event is concert footage of a Fest Noz celebrating 15 years of Gildas Moal and René Chaplain (both of whom were amongst the technical consultants for this book) playing music together. This is a ‘who’s who’ of bombard/biniou couples, the mostly regular working people who have been playing this discipline for most if not all of their lives. 

This is certainly the most well-done film of bombard and biniou players ever released. Pair after pair of musicians come out and perform a signature piece of music. You can see the fine sheen of sweat on some of the players, see spittle fly, see the tiny details of how they play. The sound is captured as though you are right there - this is an intense piece of musical footage. If you play bombard or biniou, you simply must have this DVD. You will want to watch it repeatedly because it is a resource of the utmost value. There is nothing else like it.

~ Fañch