Voix Liées du Pays né de la Mer, Les

Bearing one of the longest names found in the MMDI, “Les Voix Liées du Pays né de la mer” is a sea song group with currently 15 members, based in the Vendée in Western France.

The group, (titled “The Linked Voices of the Country Born of the Sea” in English) was created in 2014 by five singers and musicians from the South Vendée who met for the pleasure of singing in the great tradition of sailor song groups. 

Since then, the group has expanded with singers and musicians with accordion, guitar, wind instruments and percussion, to reach the number of eight today. “We have a very collegial operation,” says André Aubineau, the president. Our goal, both fun and cultural, is to discover the tradition inherited from the marine world, from the time of sailing.

Singers and musicians perform harmonised compositions with 2 or 3 voices. The repertoire consists of traditional songs that, for the most part, were used on board the large sailboats of the late nineteenth century. The group also plays more contemporary songs “to vary the musical palette and bring polyphonies. 

These songs give an air of celebration, a part of a dream, and the public is encouraged to participate by taking up the tunes sung by the “singing leader” (songs to hoist the sails, to haul or maritime lamentations…).

The group performs at outdoor festivals, market events, campsites, and at indoor concerts for the benefit of associations and charities.

Les Voix Liées du Pays né de la Mer has produced an album entitled “Chants de Marins”, available as a CD exclusively at their live shows. Extracts of the songs may be heard via the groups’s website.