This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (October 2010)

Flight of King Gradlon, by E. V. Luminais, 1884 (Musée des Beaux-Arts, Quimper)

Ys (pronounced /ˈiːs/ EESS), also spelled Is or Kêr-Is in Breton, and Ker-Ys in French (ker means city in Breton), is a mythical city that was built on the coast of Brittany and later swallowed by the ocean. Most versions of the legend place the city in the Douarnenez Bay.

The legend[link]

Origins[link]

According to some versions of the legend, Ys was built below sea level by Gradlon (Gralon in Breton), King of Cornouaille (Kerne in Breton), upon the request of his daughter Dahut (also called Ahes), who loved the sea.

In others, Ys was founded more than 2000 years before Gradlon's reign in a then-dry location off the current coast of the Bay of Douarnenez, but the Breton coast had slowly given way to the sea so that Ys was under it at each high tide when Gradlon's reign began.

To protect Ys from inundation, a dike was built with a gate that was opened for ships during low tide. The one key that opened the gate was held by the king.

Fall[link]

Ys was the most beautiful and impressive city in the world, but quickly became a city of sin under the influence of Dahut. She organized orgies and had the habit of killing her lovers when morning broke. Saint Winwaloe decried the corruption of Ys and warned of God's wrath and punishment, but was ignored by Dahut and the populace.

One day, a knight dressed in red came to Ys. Dahut asked him to come with her, and one night, he agreed. A storm broke out in the middle of the night and the waves could be heard smashing against the gate and the bronze walls. Dahut said to the knight: "Let the storm rage. The gates of the city are strong, and it is King Gradlon, my father, who owns the only key, attached to his neck." The knight replied: "Your father the king sleeps. You can now easily take his key." Dahut stole the key from her father and gave it to the knight, who was none other than the devil. The devil, or, in another version of the story, a wine-besotted Dahut herself, then opened the gate.

Because the gate was open during storm and at high tide, a wave as high as a mountain collapsed on Ys. King Gradlon and his daughter climbed on Morvarc'h, his magical horse. Saint Winwaloe approached them and told Gradlon: "Push back the demon sitting behind you!" Gradlon initially refused, but he finally gave in and pushed his daughter into the sea. The sea swallowed Dahut, who became a mermaid or morgen.

Gradlon took refuge in Quimper, which became his new capital. An equestrian statue of Gradlon still stands between the spires of the Cathedral of Saint Corentin in Quimper. It is said^{[by whom?]} that the bells of the churches of Ys can still be heard in the sea calm. A legend says that when Paris will be swallowed, the city of Ys will rise up from under the waves: Pa vo beuzet Paris, Ec'h adsavo Ker Is (Par-Is meaning "similar to Ys" in Breton^{[citation needed]}).

This history is also sometimes viewed as the victory of Christianity over druidism, as Gradlon was converted by Saint Winwaloe. Dahut and most inhabitants of Ys were worshippers of Celtic gods. However, another Breton folktale asserts that Gradlon met, spoke with and consoled the last Druid in Brittany, and oversaw his pagan burial, before building a chapel in his sacred grove.^{[citation needed]}

Development of the legend[link]

While legends and literature about Gradlon are much older, such as the Lai de Graelent by Marie de France probably written in the late 12th century, the story of Ys appears to have developed between the end of the fifteenth century and the seventeenth century. An early mention of Ys appears in Pierre Le Baud's Cronicques et ystoires des Bretons in which Gradlon is the king of the city, but Dahut is not mentioned. Bernard d'Argentre's La histoire de Bretagne and mystery plays on the life of St. Winwaloe, in the sixteenth century, also provide early references to the city. ^[1] The version of the story of Ys which appears in Albert Le Grand's Vie des Saincts de la Bretagne Armorique published in the seventeenth century already contains all the basic elements of the later story^[2] and has been said to be the first.^[3]

The legend of Ys was confined to the folk of Brittany until 1839, when T. Hersart de la Villemarqué published a collection of popular songs collected from oral tradition, the Barzaz Breizh. The collection achieved a wide distribution and brought Breton folk culture into European awareness. In the second edition, the poem 'Livaden Geris' ('The Submersion of Ker-Is') appeared. The same basic story elements are present, but in this version the holy man is instead St. Corentin. It appears that elements of the text of this version were adapted from the medieval Welsh poem 'Seithennin' about the legend of Cantre'r Gwaelod, a very similar Welsh legend about a land that disappeared beneath the ocean as a result of human error. In this version, Dahut steals the key at the incitement of a lover. Also, here the element of Dahut as a mermaid or morgen has appeared as the last verses of the song refer to a fisherman seeing a mermaid combing her hair and singing a sad song.

Emile Souvestre's Le Foyer Breton also played a great part in making the legend widely known, and many 19th century English tellings of the story are closely derived from the Foyer Breton's tale "Keris". In Souvestre's telling, the character of the Devil disguised as a man with a red beard has appeared.^[4]

Adaptations in the arts[link]

Several famous artistic adaptations of the Ys legend appeared in the late 19th and early 20th century. E. V. Luminais' painting Flight of King Gradlon, depicting Gradlon's escape from Ys, scored a success at the Salon of 1884.

Le roi d'Ys, an opera by the French composer Édouard Lalo which premiered in 1888, transforms the story significantly, replacing the figure of Dahut with Margared, whose motive for opening the gates (with the aid of her own betrothed Karnac) is her jealousy at Rozenn's marriage to Mylio (characters who are also inventions of Lalo).^[5]

Also inspired by the story of Ys is Claude Debussy's La cathédrale engloutie, found in his first book of Preludes (published 1910). This is a prelude intended to evoke the atmosphere of the legend by its sound.^[6]

Ys in popular culture[link]

The legend of Ys has been used repeatedly in fantasy fiction, prominently by Robert W. Chambers in "The Demoiselle d'Ys", one of the stories in The King in Yellow, Chambers' best-known work. Poul Anderson and his wife Karen Anderson dealt with the legend in their The King of Ys tetralogy. Ys and other sunken/lost lands figure in Jack Vance's Lyonesse Trilogy. The sunken City of Ys is also mentioned in "Sword of Destiny", a book in "The Witcher" Saga written by Andrzej Sapkowski, and the manga Berserk.

A. S. Byatt's novel Possession: A Romance, which won the Booker Prize in 1990, makes frequent reference to Breton myth and legend, including the story of Ys.

Italian progressive rock band Il Balletto di Bronzo loosely based their 37 minute opus on the story of Ys, naming both the piece and the 1972 album on which it appears after the city. Harpist/singer-songwriter Joanna Newsom released an album in 2006 called Ys.

The Japanese game studio Falcom have a series of games called Ys, with the first game released in 1987.

See also[link]

Mythology portal

• Iram of the Pillars
• Hyperborea
• Thule
• Atlantis
• El Dorado
• Shamballa
• Rocabarraigh
• Lyonesse

Notes and references[link]

Further reading[link]

• Guyot, Charles. The Legend of the City of Ys, Amherst, Mass.: University of Massachusetts Press, 1979.

• MacKillop, James. Myths and Legends of the Celts, London ; New York : Penguin Global, 2005, pp. 299–302. ISBN 978-0-14-101794-5.

External links[link]

Listen to this article (info/dl)

This audio file was created from a revision of the "Ys" article dated 2006-07-22, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. (Audio help)

More spoken articles

• Gralon.net
• Timeless Myths – City of Ys

Joanna Newsom
Joanna Newsom in 2007
Background information
Born	Joanna Caroline Newsom (1982-01-18) January 18, 1982 (age 30) Nevada City, California, United States
Genres	Indie folk
Instruments	Voice Harp Piano Harpsichord
Labels	Drag City
Associated acts	The Pleased

Joanna Newsom (born January 18, 1982) is an American harpist, pianist and singer-songwriter from Nevada City, California.

Early life[link]

Newsom grew up in the small town of Nevada City, California. As a child, Newsom was not allowed to watch television or listen to the radio because she was raised by doctors who were "kind of idealists when it came to hoping they could protect us from bad influences, like violent movies, or stupid stuff".^[1] She was exposed to music from a young age. Her father played the guitar and her mother was a classically trained pianist who played the hammered dulcimer, the autoharp and conga drums.^[2][3] Newsom attended a Waldorf school where she studied theater and learned to memorize and recite long poems. This skill helps her to remember lyrics while on tour.^[4]

At the age of five, Newsom asked her parents if she could play the harp. Her parents eventually agreed to sign her up for harp lessons, but the local harp teacher did not want to take on such a young student and suggested she learn to play the piano first. Starting at the age of four, she began playing the piano and later the harp, which she "loved from the first lesson onward."^[5] From her instructor, Joanna learned composition and improvisation. She learned to play on smaller Celtic harps until her parents bought her a full-size pedal harp in the seventh grade.^[6] During her teens, she and the instrument became inseparable, and she describes her relationship with the harp as similar to "an artificial limb or a wheelchair. It’s almost part of me, but more to the point, it serves a purpose, and if it wasn’t there I would wonder what was supposed to fit in its place."^[1]

She studied composition and creative writing at Mills College in Oakland, California. While at Mills, she played keyboards in The Pleased. She dropped out of the school in order to focus on her music.^[1]

Career[link]

In 2002 and 2003, Newsom recorded two EPs, Walnut Whales and Yarn and Glue. These homemade recordings were intended to serve as a document of her early work; she recorded them on a Fisher-Price tape recorder.^[7] These EPs were not intended for public distribution. At the suggestion of Noah Georgeson, her then-boyfriend and recording engineer of the EP, she burned several copies to sell at her early shows.^[7] John Fellman, co-producer of Mission Creek Music and Arts Festival, claims to be the first to have booked a show for her.^[8]

A friend of Newsom's passed one of these CDs on to Will Oldham at a show in Nevada City. Oldham was impressed with Newsom's music and asked her to tour with him. He also gave a copy of the CD to the owner of Drag City, his record label. Drag City signed Newsom and released her debut album The Milk-Eyed Mender in 2004.^[9] Shortly thereafter, Newsom toured with Devendra Banhart and Vetiver and made an early UK appearance at the Green Man Festival in Wales, returning to headline in 2005, 2007 and 2010.

Newsom's work has become prominent on the independent music scene. Her profile has risen, in part, due to a number of live shows and appearances on shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC.

Her second album Ys was released in November 2006. The album features orchestrations and arrangements by Van Dyke Parks, engineering from Steve Albini and mixing by Drag City label-mate Jim O'Rourke. On a road trip, Bill Callahan recommended she listen to the album Song Cycle by Parks, which led to his being chosen to arrange her work on Ys.

Joanna Newsom at the Sasquatch Music Festival, Washington in May 2005

Joanna is known to debut songs impromptu at her concerts. On March 28, 2009, she performed over two hours of new material at a 'secret' concert in Big Sur, California with fellow Nevada City singer-songwriter Mariee Sioux under the pseudonym 'The Beatles's'. Those in attendance reported that about one-third of her new material was played primarily on piano, with a backing arrangement of banjo, violin, guitar and drums.^[10]

Since late 2006, Joanna has performed a solo harp version of the traditional Scottish song "Ca the Yowes Tae the Knowes".^[11]

Several of the songs on The Milk-Eyed Mender have been covered by her peers. "Bridges and Balloons" was covered by The Decemberists on their 2005 EP Picaresqueties. "Sprout and the Bean" has been covered by The Moscow Coup Attempt and Sholi. "Peach, Plum, Pear" has been covered by Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett) on the 2006 EP Young Canadian Mothers, as well as by Straylight Run. M Ward has played "Sadie" at some of his live shows.^[12]

In 2009, she appeared in the music video for the song "Kids" by the group MGMT.^[13]

On January 12, 2010, an entry cryptically entitled "@!?*(%$#!!" was posted on the Drag City website. It contained a link which led to a short comic strip titled "Joanna Newsom 'Have One on Me'" with a date of February 23, 2010.^[14] Later that day, it was confirmed by Spunk, Newsom's Australian label, that the title and date represented the title of Newsom's upcoming album and its release date.^[15] P-Vine Records in Japan announced that Have One on Me, which was recorded in Tokyo in 2009, would be released in Japan on March 3, 2010, as a three-disc CD set, with a total of approximately three hours of new recordings.^[16] Newsom was chosen by Matt Groening to perform at the edition of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival he curated in May 2010 in Minehead, England.

On February 11, 2010, Pitchfork Media reported that Newsom would be the subject of a tribute book titled Visions of Joanna Newsom which has now been published by Roan Press.^[17] She toured throughout Europe and America in 2010 to promote her latest record, supported by a five-piece band. In December 2010, a tribute album of Newsom covers was released as a digital download. Artists involved include M. Ward, Billy Bragg and Owen Pallett, with all proceeds going to Oxfam America's Pakistan Flood Relief Efforts.^[18]

On July 19, 2011, Newsom's second single, What We Have Known, was released on 12" vinyl. The single was originally the b-side to her first single, Sprout and the Bean.^[19] In June 2011, she filmed her second music video (for the song "Good Intentions Paving Company") with directors Karni & Saul.^[20] Newsom was also chosen by Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival that he curated in March 2012 in Minehead, England.^[21]

In late 2011, Newsom contributed vocals to "The Muppet Show Theme" for The Muppets^[22] and appeared on the cover of the 10th anniversary issue of Under the Radar with Robin Pecknold.^[23]

Newsom began 2012 with television appearances on Austin City Limits (on January 21) and Portlandia (on February 7).^[24][25]

Style[link]

Newsom's earlier work was strongly influenced by polyrhythms.^[26] Her harp teacher, Diana Stork, taught her the basic pattern of four beats against three which creates an interlocking, shifting pattern that can be heard on Ys, particularly in the middle section of "Sawdust & Diamonds." After Ys, Newsom said she had lost interest in polyrhythms. They "stopped being fascinating to me and started feeling wanky."^[27]

The media have sometimes labeled her as one of the most prominent members of the modern psych folk movement. Joanna, however, claims no ties to any particular music scene.^[28] Her songwriting incorporates elements of Appalachian music and avant-garde modernism.

Newsom's vocal style (in the November 2006 issue of The Wire she described her voice as "untrainable") has shadings of folk and Appalachian shaped-note timbres. Newsom has, however, expressed disappointment at comments that her singing is "child-like."^[28]

Critics noticed a change in Newsom's voice on her latest album.^[29][30] In the spring of 2009, Newsom developed vocal cord nodules and could not speak or sing for two months. The recovery from the nodules and further "vocal modifications" changed her voice.^[31][32][33]

Collaborations[link]

In addition to her solo work, Newsom has played on records by Smog, Vetiver, Nervous Cop, The Year Zero, Vashti Bunyan, Moore Brothers, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Golden Shoulders and The Roots^[34] and played keyboards for The Pleased.

Personal life[link]

Newsom's family includes her brother Pete, a fellow musician, and sister Emily, who inspired her song "Emily" (and contributed backing vocals). She is the second cousin, twice removed, of Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom of California.^[35] She has dated Noah Georgeson, Bill Callahan and is dating Andy Samberg.^[36]

Discography[link]

Albums

• The Milk-Eyed Mender (Drag City, 2004)
• Ys (Drag City, 2006) US #134, UK #41
• Have One on Me (Drag City, 2010)^[37] US #75, UK #28

Early unofficial recordings

• Walnut Whales (self-released, 2002)
• Yarn and Glue (self-released, 2003)

EPs

• Joanna Newsom and the Ys Street Band (Drag City, 2007) UK #135^[38]

Singles

• "Sprout and the Bean" (Drag City, 2004)
• "What We Have Known" (Drag City, 2011)

Licensing of songs[link]

• In 2004, "Peach, Plum, Pear" played over the credits of the animated short City Paradise.
• In 2004, "This Side of the Blue" was used on a British television commercial for Orange SA.
• In 2006, "Sprout and the Bean" was used in a tourism ad for Melbourne, Australia.
• In 2007, "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie" was used in the PBS documentary Following Sean.
• In 2007, "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie" was sung by an aspiring musician in the film Great World of Sound.
• In 2008, "Sprout and the Bean" was featured in the film The Strangers.
• In 2008, "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie" was used in a television commercial for HSBC.
• In 2008, "The Book of Right-On" was used in an MTV ad for sexual care and education.
• In 2009, "The Book of Right-On" was licensed for the end credits of the Mexican/Italian film The Best of Feelings
• In 2009, "Sprout and the Bean" was used in a Victoria's Secret Bra commercial.
• In 2009, the harp intro of "Cosmia" was used in the Louis Theroux documentary "A Place for Paedophiles."
• In 2009, "Sprout and the Bean" was used again in a tourism ad for Melbourne, Australia.
• In 2009, a shorter edit of "Inflammatory Writ" was used in ads for the Spanish TV channel La Sexta^[39]
• In 2010, "Bridges & Balloons" was used in an LG commercial.^[40]

References[link]

Interviews[link]

• Tiny Mix Tapes (September 2004)
• KCRW (February 2005)
• The Guardian (October 15, 2006)
• The Wire (November 2006)
• Pitchfork (November 20, 2006)
• The Times (February 20, 2010)

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Joanna Newsom

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Joanna Newsom

• Drag City