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Gabriel Yacoub

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Gabriel Yacoub
Yacoub performing in 2011
Yacoub performing in 2011
Background information
Born(1952-02-04)4 February 1952
Paris, France
Died22 January 2025(2025-01-22) (aged 72)
Bourges, France
GenresCeltic music, Breton Music
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • composer
  • musician
Years active1971–2017
LabelsLe Roseau
SpouseMarie Sauvet
Websitegabrielyacoub.com

Gabriel Yacoub (4 February 1952 – 22 January 2025) was a French musician and visual artist. He was a lead member of the Celtic music band Malicorne from its formation in 1973, as a pioneer of the revival of traditional music in contemporary formats.[1] He later also played and recorded solo music, including to his own lyrics.

Life and career

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Yacoub was born in Paris on 4 February 1952[1] to a Lebanese father and a French mother.[2] His early musical interests, in the 1960s, was American folk music, first by Bob Dylan, then by Woody Guthrie[1] and real American traditional music.[3] He was inspired, but looked for something with French cultural roots.[3] He became a guitarist and singer with the group of harpist Alan Stivell who introduced him to traditional Breton music[3] and toured France in 1971.[1][4]

Before founding Malicorne, Gabriel and his wife Marie Sauvet [fr] recorded the experimental album Pierre de Grenoble in 1973.[4][5] This was originally intended to be the name of the group. It included contributions from Breton guitarist-singer Dan Ar Braz.[6] In 1973 they co-founded Malicorne, to revive traditional French music[3] and combined modern instruments, including guitar, electric guitar and bass guitar, with traditional instruments such as bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy and krumhorns.[1][5] Gabriel played guitars, mandolin, Epinette des Vosges and banjo, while Marie played electric dulcimer, bouzouki and hurdy-gurdy. They made a number of successful albums, of which the 1976 Almanach was regarded as the most popular.[5]

In 1978, Yacoub recorded a solo album called Trad. Arr., which featured English fiddler Barry Dransfield as guest;[7] he played traditional French tunes with acoustic guitar, and began to write and compose original songs.[1]

After disbanding for the first time, at the end of 1981, Malicorne reformed in different configurations in 1984, in 1986 and again from 1987 to 1989.[8] The group played in its original line-up for a single concert on 15 July 2010, in La Rochelle[8][5] and finally, in November 2011, with a new line-up. In August 2017, a concert in Paimpol, as part of the Sea Shanty Festival, was the band's last appearance.[8]

In 1986, the final year of Malicorne, Yacoub recorded Elementary Level of Faith,[9] an album of electric folk-rock, with the Hungarian composer Ivan Lantos and the singer and keyboardist Nikki Matheson.[1] In 1990 his next album, Bel, was back to acoustic guitar.[1] It features a string quartet as well as bagpipes played by Jean-Pierre Rasle (who had previously recorded, from 1982 to 1983, with the Albion Band). Yacoub toured as a duo with Marie in 1990. In 1994 he released Quatre, featuring an orchestra and a choir. He worked with fiddler Nathalie Riviere and bassist Yannick Hardouin from 1998.[1]

In February 1995 he performed at the Palais des Sports, in Paris, opening for Bernard Lavilliers, and in May that year at La Cigale.[9]

Yacoub (r.) with Alan Stivell, August 2017

In 2002 he wrote a book of poetry and lyrics, called Les choses les plus simples ("The simplest things"), distributed by Harmonia Mundi[10][11] and recorded an album of his own songs in English, The Simple Things We Said.[12]

In July 2013, Yacoub was honoured as an officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.[13]

Yacoub died after a long illness at a hospital in Bourges on 22 January 2025, at the age of 72.[4][14][5]

Discography

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Yakoub made many recordings, with Marie Yakoub (before, during and after Malicorne), as lead singer and musician with Malicorne, and solo, including:[1][10]

Gabriel and Marie Yacoub

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Malicorne

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see also Malicorne discography

Solo

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harris, Craig. "Gabriel Yacoub". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  2. ^ "Gabriel Yacoub / Biographie". gabrielyacoub.com. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d Moll, Michael (June 2000). "French Folk cooking slowly". FolkWorld. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Postic, Laurence (22 January 2025). "Mort de Gabriel Yacoub. De ses débuts à son dernier concert à Paimpol, ce que le fondateur de Malicorne a donné à la Bretagne" [Death of Gabriel Yacoub. From his beginnings to his last concert in Paimpol, what the founder of Malicorne gave to Brittany]. france3 (in French). Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Gabriel Yacoub, fondateur du groupe de folk Malicorne, est décédé à 72 ans" [Gabriel Yacoub, founder of folk group Malicorne, has died at 72]. Le Figaro (in French). AFP. 22 January 2025. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  6. ^ "Pierre De Grenoble (1973)". Forces parallèles (in French). 20 February 2007. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  7. ^ a b Stivell, Marco (3 October 2010). "Gabriel Yacoub: Trad. Arr. (1978)". Forces parallèles (in French).
  8. ^ a b c Peigné, Thierry (12 August 2017). "Festival Paimpol : le groupe Malicorne tire sa révérence" [Paimpol Festival: the Malicorne group bows out]. france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr (in French). Retrieved 20 January 2025.
  9. ^ a b c Lee, Hélène (16 February 1995). "Sur le mode Yacoub" [In Yacoub mode]. Libération (in French). Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Gabriel Yacoub / Contribution". www.gabrielyacoub.com. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  11. ^ Yacoub, Gabriel (2002). Les choses les plus simples (in French). Editions Christian Pirot. ISBN 978-2-86808-181-0.
  12. ^ Yacoub, Gabriel (2004), The simple things we said Enregistrement publique (in French), [Villecomble (Haut-de-Seine)]: Simple, OCLC 659160864
  13. ^ "Arrêté du 9 juillet 2013 portant nomination dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres". Ministére de la Culture at de la Communication (in French). 9 July 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  14. ^ Carpentier, Laurent (23 January 2025). "La mort de Gabriel Yacoub, cofondateur du groupe de folk français Malicorne" [Death of Gabriel Yacoub, co-founder of folk group Malicorne]. Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  15. ^ "Gabriel Yacoub, fondateur du groupe de folk Malicorne, est décédé" [Gabriel Yacoub, founder of the folk group Malicorne, has died]. lanouvellerepublique.fr (in French). 22 January 2025.
  16. ^ "Malicorne". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  17. ^ "Malicorne 2". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  18. ^ "Almanach". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  19. ^ "Malicorne IV". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  20. ^ "Quintessence". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  21. ^ Olivas, Diego (4 June 2019). "Gabriel Yacoub: Elementary Level Of Faith (1987)". fondsound.com.
  22. ^ "Bel". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  23. ^ Stivell, Marco (10 April 2011). "Gabriel Yacoub: Quatre (1994)". Forces parallèles (in French).
  24. ^ "Babel". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  25. ^ "Tri". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  26. ^ "Yacoub". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  27. ^ "Gabriel Yacoub / The Simple Things We Said". RootsWorld Recording. 2001. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  28. ^ Grosdemouge, Jean-Marc (10 November 2004). "Gabriel Yacoub / Je vois venir". A.C.I.D.
  29. ^ Stivell, Marco (19 January 2012). "Gabriel Yacoub: De La Nature Ded Choses. (2006)". Forces parallèles (in French).
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