On the death of Anne of Brittany, her husband King Louis XII honored her with exceptional funeral ceremonies lasting 40 days, which forever sealed her image as Queen of France and Duchess of Brittany. As he prepared this program centering on Antoine de Févin s Missa pro defunctis, and read the vivid narrative by the herald of Anne of Brittany, Denis Raisin Dadre realized that beyond all the official mourning there was also a silent sorrow: that of the Bretons who had lost their duchess and were in the process of losing their duchy s independence. To make the voices of the people heard, he asked Yann-Fañch Kemener to contribute some traditional Breton gwerzioù. These solo songs act as a counterpoint to the complex polyphony that expresses the pomp of royalty.