Gars d’Saint Malo, Les

Somewhat confusingly, the “Gars d’Saint Malo” is not based in Saint Malo, but in Saint-Biez-en-Belin, Sarthe, some way from the sea in north-west France. It is instead a musical ensemble created by a Malouin of origin, (hence the name of the group), and is now composed of 27 people.

The male choristers led by “one” choir leader are supported by five musicians, (2 guitars, an accordion, one keyboard and a violin).

The concerts, offered by the Notre-Dame de Ségrie association for almost 10 years have made it possible to discover or rediscover a central element of the village’s heritage while sharing moments of musical conviviality with its inhabitants, members of the association and those from the surrounding area. 

Three-part harmony:

The peculiarity of this training is that there are only men who sing; women are only admitted as musicians. Why? Answer from Patrick, chorister: “In the past, on the ships of the royal or merchant navy there were only men on board. Women were banned to avoid alcove conflicts. And then, during the manoeuvres to hoist linen sails weighing 500 to 1,000 kg, muscle was needed. During the crossings, when they had time, the sailors sang to both encourage and entertain themselves.”

This choir, which was created in 2013 and has been conducted for four years by Nadine, performs all the songs on three voices: tenors 1, tenors 2 and basses. If some songs are compositions by members of the group, all the songs are for marine vocation.

“For us, singing and music are pretexts for friendship, fraternity and the joy of singing together, ” concludes Patrick, singer and chorister in charge of communication.

The aims of their association are as follows: “To promote the culture of sailor’s songs through the creation of a men’s choir and a repertoire of songs of sailors or traditional or modern boatmen.”