About
Biography
Guitarist and composer from Lorient born in Toulon on March 31, 1957.
He learns guitar at the age of 16, then discovers Celtic music when he arrives in Brittany at the age of 17. He participates very early in small bands playing traditional Breton and Irish music and trains in parallel to the study of classical music at the music school of Lorient.
Afterwards, he plays in rock bands with musicians from Quimper and starts touring outside of Brittany ....
He obtains his degree in musicology at the faculty of Rennes, and continues his studies of writing, counterpoint and composition with Jean-Luc Kuczinsky (Master Polyphonies).
As a guitarist, he collaborated from 1986 to 1992 with Alan Stivell's numerous bands and played as a side-man with some of the best known names in French music. He made his first arrangements of Breton music for string quartet in 1990 and founded the band Glaz (albums Déclic/Sony) at the end of 1992.
His career as a professional musician has brought him into contact with a wide variety of music. He also composes for the theater, for the cinema and realizes callsigns of emissions and credits of antenna for TV Breizh and France bleu.
In 1998 he founded the quartet Arz Nevez for which he composed and arranged.
Through Arz Nevez, he realized creations for the Parliament of Brittany (2000), the festival of voices of Fougères (2001), the interceltic festival of Lorient with the Bagad Kemper (2002), the Stadttheatre of Bern (creation "Fest Noz" with Felix Duméril and the Bern Ballet, 2003), the Cornwall theater (creation with Bijaya Vaidya, 2004), the Embarcadère theater (2005, 2007 & 2009), "Suite for harpsichord" for the harpsichordist Claude Nadeau, who performed it during the 400th anniversary of the city of Quebec on July 4th 2008.
Creation in 2010 with Roland Becker at Amzer Nevez and at the interceltic festival.
Sound illustration of the book by Nathalie Beauvais (2011)
Creation of Kerham (chamber orchestra) at the Lorient festival (2012)
Writing and realization of " Tour d'horizons " choreography by Felix Duméril with the company "T42 dance project".
Realization of the 5th album of Arz Nevez "Canntaireachd" (2012)
Realization of the music of "Miroir" piece by Alain Kowalczyck (2013)
2014
Writing of An div inizhi: piece for harp and orchestra
Writing of the project Moussig, commissioned by the Coop Breizh.
2015
Recording & realization "Moussig"
From 2016 à 2019
Writing of the show on the Gouren
Writing and recording of pieces for instruments and orchestra:
The principle: transform each musician of the ensemble "Kerham" into a soloist. There are 10 musicians
- "Iona": piece for cello and orchestra
- "Kerolin": for violin and orchestra
- "Corrib": for flute and orchestra
- "Teviec": for bombard/oboe and orchestra
- "Solo": for voice and orchestra on a text by Xavier Grall
- "Ker Anna": for violin, viola and orchestra
- "2020/2021": writing and recording of the music for "Pop Up", a new creation by the choreographic ensemble T4/2 directed by Félix Dumeril & Misato Inoue. The premiere took place in Bern in October 2021
Upcoming projects:
Three pieces for the ensemble "Kerham" for double bass, clarinet and a second piece for violin are on the program.
Pieces for mixed choir on texts by X Grall
Guitar and orchestra project
The sound universe of Yves Ribis
Ronan GORGIARD, Ouest-france La vie est parfois tellement bizarre qu'il vaut mieux ne pas trop chercher à la comprendre. Qu'est-ce qui fait qu'Yves Ribis, garçon né en 1957 sur les rivages de la Méditerranée, s'est retrouvé dans le « dur » de l'adolescence, dans un lycée agricole de Pontivy, accro à la guitare d'Hendrix, « bluffé » par la musique bretonne de Stivell grâce au doigté rocky de Dan ar Braz ? « Je suis un autodidacte, avoue-t-il, j'ai commencé à jouer dans les festou-noz et les bals populaires. Et puis dans les années 90, j'ai eu la chance de tourner avec Alan Stivell ».
Désireux d'en savoir plus, Yves Ribis étudie vraiment la musique à Rennes et découvre les joies du classique, de la composition et de l'écriture musicale. Et c'est en 1999 que le public entend pour la première fois Arz Nevez, quatuor à cordes revisitant le répertoire traditionnel breton et celtique.
Stéphane FOUGERE, Ethnotempos Arz Nevez confirme la légitimité et l’excellence de la démarche d’Yves RIBIS, lequel a donné naissance à une musique bretonne « de chambre », c’est-à-dire qui s’accommode fort bien d’une écoute domestique sans forcément cesser de taper du pied et d’esquisser quelques pas, et qui rabiboche mélomanes et danseurs.
The Arz Nevez concept
The violin is an instrument that has been played in many traditional Celtic music styles since the 19th century... why not widen the circle and invite the other instruments of the quartet?
Thus was born the idea of Arz Nevez, which is a mediator between traditional and classical music
For Arz Nevez, Yves Ribis does not try to make traditional music, but he is largely inspired by it.
His language is very influenced by Breton, Scottish, Irish music... but also by Bach, Fauré, Debussy, Arvo Part, Indian music, blues ....
In this sense, one can say that his music is modal, but because of a writing whose polyphony is rather elaborate, the trituration of the temperament, is not his purpose.
With Kerham, he widens his palette of timbres, the principle of Kerham is the same as for Arz Nevez, he creates an ensemble of instruments having been used in traditional music:
Flute, oboe / bombard, clarinet, string quintet, Celtic harp and singing.
And leaves the codes of the traditional music to find a way between the currents... what could be more normal for a passionate of the sea?