[Bards] Welsh Bardic

Katherine of Scarborough katofscarborough at yahoo.com
Wed Apr 18 22:08:46 PDT 2007


*perk*

Diolch yn fawr!

This was wonderful.  The poetry IS beautiful to listen
to, and I think the modern setting serves to
illustrate that it's relevant and appreciated even
today.

It sounds like there are two seperate pieces being
performed.  The second one, Morfudd fel yr Haul
(Morfudd Like The Sun) was written in the 14th century
by Dafydd ap Gwilym, one of the most famous and
well-regarded of the Welsh bards.  His works were most
commonly written along themes of love and lust, and
often addressed to a particular woman.  Some of it was
quite risque, but then, it seems, so was a LOT of
"love" poetry written in the period. :)

The first piece that Ioan does by himself sounds like
the words to the traditional song "Ar lan y Mor,” or
“By The Sea.”  The words, for those interested, are as
follows (with somewhat literal translations, not my
own):

Ar lan y môr mae rhosys chochion
Ar lan y môr mae lilis gwynion
Ar lan y môr mae 'nghariad inne
Yn cysgu'r nos a choddi'r bore.

(On the seashore are red roses
On the seashore are white lillies
On the seashore is my love
Sleeping at night, and arising at morn.)

Ar lan y môr mae carreg wastad
Lle bum yn siarad gair âm cariad
Oddeutu hon fe dyf y lili
Ac ambell sbrigyn o rosmari.

(On the seashore there is a flat rock
Where I spoke with my love
Around it the thyme grows
And some sprigs of rosemary.)

Ar lan y mor mae cerrig gleision,
Ar lan y mor mae blodau’r meibion,
Ar lan y mor mae pob rhinweddau,
Ar lan y mor mae nghariad inne.

(On the seashore there are grey stones
On the seashore there are flowers
On the seashore are all the virtues
On the seashore is my love.)

If you've a chance to hear it sung, the melody to this
song is lovely and haunting.  Bryn Terfel does a
gorgeous rendition of it, among others.

Teehee!  Thanks again... I really enjoyed that, and
will be adding it to my YouTube favorites.  And in
exchange, here's a neat one with armor and horses and
flashing swords, oh my! -
http://youtube.com/watch?v=B-UoYRGlxJ4

...I have no idea what they're saying in that one,
though. :)

In service and song,
Lady Catrin ferch Maelgwn

--- shark <shark75080 at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> I posted this to the Steppes list but it really
> belonged here, now that I've found you all, of
> course ;-)
>  
> I found this clip on YouTube. Even though it's a
> modern setting, the sound of the poetry is
> beautiful. It's from a documentary on the Welsh
> bardic tradition. I think the poem is from the 14th
> century. I'm looking for a DVD of the documentary.
> When I find a source, I'll post it here.
>  
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogMCLu_GsUA
> 
> And Ioan is easy on the eyes as well. I saw the film
> Amazing Grace (about the abolition of the slave
> trade in England) and he sings in the film. The
> Welsh do have lovely voices!
>  
> Susanne of Steppes
> _______________________________________________
> Bards mailing list
> Bards at lists.ansteorra.org
>
http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/bards-ansteorra.org
> 


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