f42 Routes To Wales
As everybody makes plans to descend on Cardiff for Womex in October, Angharad Wynne asks ten leading Welsh artists what makes the country’s music unique.
T
his autumn, the world will descend on Cardiff for Womex, hosted in the city in late October. Exploration of music cultures is at the
heart of the Womex philosophy, so as the 2,500 or so delegates prepare to explore Wales’s music heritage, we asked some of the leading exponents of Wales’s folk music scene to share their views as to what makes the tra- dition unique. Each has chosen an example which demonstrates differ- ent aspects of Wales’s music culture and music heritage and at the end of the feature you’ll find a web link to where you can listen to them all on Soundcloud.
The Welsh language provides an unbroken cultural DNA strand to music, myth and cultural traditions dating back to the 6th Century if not earier. What is clear is that poets and musicians have always had a special status among the Welsh. The 10th Century laws of King Hywel Dda (Hywel the Good) make partic- ular reference to the value of musical instruments: the harp, the crwth and pipes. He also emphasised the high status of the bard, and his duty to sing praise poems to harp accompaniment in honour of his patron. A little later, the mediæval chronicler, Giraldus Cambrensis noted that
Gwenan Gibard
the Cymry (the Welsh people) like to sing “in harmony”. This is at a time when music in Norman and Saxon courts was still per- formed in unison. These traditions: singing verse to harp accompaniment, the delight in harmony, the harp, the crwth and the pipes are still parts of the warp and weft of Wales’s contemporary music scene.
The harp tradition in Wales – unlike the other Celtic nations – is unbroken. Not surprisingly therefore, the earliest sur- viving manuscript of harp music in Europe comes from Wales. It is the manuscript of Robert ap Huw, and it provides a tantalis- ing glimpse into the musical repertoire of the early Middle Ages. We asked interna- tionally renowned harpist, Catrin Finch – last issue’s cover star in her new duo with Seckou Keita – to tell us more:
·
“These tablatures of the Ap Hww manuscripts provide a vital insight into early, traditional music. Today, his music is still celebrated and performed widely. I have chosen a piece I recorded a while ago called Caniad Y Gwyn Bibydd (The Song of the White Piper). It demonstrates his music’s amazing ability to sound contem- porary, even though it was written nearly five centuries ago.”
Track 1: Caniad Y Gwyn Bibydd. (Arranged and performed by Catrin Finch, from her private collection.)
Catrin Finch
Cerdd Dant (it means ‘the art of the string’) is the ancient art of singing or chanting poetry to harp accompani- ment. This tradition is a direct descendant of the form used by early court bards to declaim or intone poetry in praise of the chief or prince. The uniqueness of the Cerdd Dant tradition has proved interest- ing to musicologists the world over. We asked one of the leading exponents of the tradition, singer, harpist and musicologist, Gwenan Gibard to choose a soundtrack:
·
“Choosing one track as an example of Cerdd Dant is very difficult, as there are so many variations within this ancient tradi- tion. The many forms of strict metre Welsh poetry are sung, but also free metre poetry, lyrical verses and prose express all kinds of different moods. I have chosen a track from the 1970s, by one of the old style singers, Einion Edwards, from Llanuwchllyn, Meri- onethshire, an area considered to be one of the strongholds of the Cerdd Dant tra- dition for centuries. The harp melody is the traditional Cainc y Datgeiniad, perfect- ly suited to the words – a light hearted account of the singer’s affairs of the heart, with the internal rhyme adding to the comic effect.”
Track 2: Bûm Yn Caru (sung by Einion Edwards. From the album Goreuon Cerdd Dant, Cyfrol 2. Published on the Sain label.)
Photo: Judith Burrows
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92