Reviving the old songs

On Friday 28^th February there will be a special concert at the Drwm, ‘GIG: ATGYFODI’R HEN GANEUON (Literally translates as ‘resurrecting the old songs’) with Arfon Gwilym and  Sioned Webb.  Tickets are available here.

Arfon and Sioned are both well known in Wales as versatile and experienced performers of Welsh traditional music, they are singers and they also play the violin and harp. They were invited to an evening at the Drwm following the success of their ‘O’r Archif’ (From the Archive) session at ‘Tŷ Gwerin’ (Folk House) at the Llanrwst National Eisteddfod, when they performed a selection of songs which they had discovered while researching the J. Lloyd Williams archive.

Who was J. Lloyd Williams?

J Lloyd Williams (1854 – 1945), was a botanist and musician born in Llanrwst. He earned a D.Sc. (Wales) for his work on marine algae in 1908, and received an honorary DMus degree. (Wales) in 1936. He was one of the leading collectors of Welsh folk music, played a major role in establishing the Welsh Folk Song Society in 1906, and was editor of the society’s journal.

He also edited the general music magazine ‘Y Cerddor’ (The Musician) from 1931 to 1939 and, jointly with Arthur Somerville, compiled the two volumes of Sixteen Welsh Melodies, 1907 and 1909. Read more about him in the Dictionary of Welsh Bibliography

What’s in the J. Lloyd Williams archive?

Music manuscripts and papers, 1750-1945, including hundreds of folk songs brought together by Dr J. Lloyd Williams in his role as Editor of the Welsh Folk-Song Society journal, and papers relating to his research into the history of Welsh music; material relating to his interest and vocation in the field of botany; and personal papers. (53 boxes) More details in the online catalogue.

The archive contains songs that J Lloyd Williams himself collected, songs collected by a group known as the ‘Canorion’, and by Ruth Herbert Lewis, Mary Davies and Grace Gwyneddon Davies. Also importantly it includes older collections of songs in the manuscripts of Ifor Ceri,  Llywelyn Alaw, and Mari Richards Darowen. Sioned Webb as a harpist was particularly attracted to a volume of mainly Welsh and English airs and songs collected by Evan Jones (‘Ifan y Gorlan’), harpist, of Gorlan, near Llanrwst. (AH1/46)

Some of the most important manuscripts have been digitised at the Library, namely:

• Melus geingciau Deheubarth Cymru (Dr J. Lloyd Williams Music MSS and Papers AH1/34)

A volume of melodies, [c. 1815], being the original of ‘Melus Geingciau [sic] Deheubarth Cymru or The Melodies of South Wales’ , containing 56 tunes collected by Ifor Ceri and others, some with words.

• John Thomas’ Fiddler’s tune-book (Dr J. Lloyd Williams Music MSS and Papers: AH1/36)

A composite volume containing two treatises in Welsh on angling and musical theory, three lists of tune titles, and a large collection of tunes, compiled by John Thomas for the violin, some from printed sources and others written down from oral tradition. The tunes have been published, with related notes, in Cass Meurig (ed.), Alawon John Thomas: a fiddler’s tune-book from eighteenth-century Wales (Aberystwyth, 2004).

Click here to learn more about Welsh traditional music and the Welsh Music Archive.

Join us to celebrate St David’s Day in the company of Arfon Gwilym and Sioned Webb.

Nia Mai Daniel

Rheolwr Rhaglen | Programme Manager
Yr Archif Gerddorol Gymreig | The Welsh Music Archive

@cerddllgc | @MusicNLW

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