Get the new CD from Don Barclay (Mussels guitarist)
 

 
The ‘Mussels’ at the Sea Shanty Festival in Paimpol (Brittany) France.
 

 
Brise-Bise on Friday December 18th. The theme for the evening is "Mer~Noël".
Everyone's invited!
 

 
By the autumn, book our services for the holiday season with our Christmas concert.
 

 

 

Repertoire

The Mussels Marinières interpret songs of the sea in English and French. Some of the song stylings used are traditionally called «shanties».

« Shanties » are work songs that became popular in the ports-of-call and along the docks of early 1800's North America. These songs were used to direct the seamans tasks and to lighten up their heavy, repetitive work.

«Shanties» (which probably derives from the french word 'chanter') remained an important part of the daily life of sailors until the arrival of steam and deisel power (around the 1920's).

With this loud new technology, shanties were no longer useful as work songs and have been passed along to musical groups like The Mussels Marinières, to continue this tradition.

The group interprets certain songs A Capella and others have musical accompaniment, such as acoustic guitar, bouzouki and percussion. The vocal harmonies are the focal point of the music and are omnipresent in all of the songs.

From the heave away tack&sheet shanties to the folk songs of Stan Rogers, The Mussels Marinières offer you a wave of emotions : hoping you will jump right in…ears first