Programme Note
Aros a Myned /Tuag Adref
I was attracted to the poetry of Ceiriog (1832 -1887) by its potent and simple imagery reflecting eternal themes – the seasons, passing of time and the natural world. This is the first time that I have set poems in Welsh to music and the experience was very exciting. I love the beauty and special qualities of the language and respond deeply to its rhythms and sound world.
My music is minimalist and in each of these two settings I have restricted myself to just six notes in each vocal part ; that is six notes at a single prescribed pitch, allowing each voice a circle of repetition rather in the manner of plainchant. This process mirrors the world that I respond to in the poems, specifically the ever-changing yet unchanging nature of Wales. Each part has its own six notes but there are overlaps and also octave doublings between voices. I have chosen notes which are primarily within a tonal/modal framework rather than a chromatic one a ýnd these allow melodic lines which at first sight are very traditional. As the music evolves and develops these phrases are heard in new contexts and structures while subtle syncopations and polyrhythms further encourage a sense of freshness and discovery.
The overall structures of the two pieces are quite different. Aros a Myned is an extended setting of the words. Each group of two lines is in effect a mini variation focussing on different musical elements first contrapuntal, then homphonic, then using quite rhythmic ostinati.
Tuag Adref follows the same endless variation principle but here this is overlaid with essentially two expositions of the material descending through the voices – one for each stanza – followed by a coda. Polyrhythms are even more pronounced in this setting
Two Settings of Ceiriog was commissioned by the GO WEST Festival with funds made available by the Arts Council of Wales.
Here are the words of the two poems with a literal English translation.
AROS A MYNED by Ceiriog (1832 -1887)
Aros mae’r mynyddau mawr
Rhuo trostynt mae y gwynt
Clywir eto gyda’r wawr
Gan bugeiliaid megis cynt
Eto tyf y llygad ddydd
O gylch traed y graig a’r bryn
Ond bugeiliaid newydd sydd
Ar yr hen fynyddoedd hyn
Ar arferion Cymru gynt
Newid ddaeth o rod i rod
Mae cenhedlaeth wedi mynd
A chenhedlaeth wedi dod
Wedi oes dymhestlog hir
Alun Mabon mwy nid yw
Ond mae’r heniaith yn y tir
A’r alawon hen yn fyw
Literal translation
COMING AND GOING
The great mountains stand
The wind roars across them
Still at dawn can be heard
The songs of shepherds as before
The daisy, eye of the sun, still grows
Round the feet of the hills and crags
But there are new shepherds
On these ancient mountains
To the old traditions of Wales
Change came step by step
A generation has gone
And a generation has replaced it
After a long, troubled time
Alun Mabon is no more
But the ancient language in the land
And the old melodies live on
TUAG ADREF
O ddydd i ddydd mae melyn haul
Yn pasio yn ei gerbyd
O nos i nos mae’r lleuad wen
Yn codi ac yn machlud
O awr i awr mae’r ser yn troi
Ar draws yr eangdere
Mae holl greadigaeth enfawr Duw
Yn teithio tuag adre’
Mae’r ffryfdlif bach ar ben y bryn
Yn rhedeg megis crwydryn
Ac afon fawr y dolydd is
Yn rhedeg yn y dyffryn
Mae’r gwynt yn crwydro yn y nef
A symud mae’r cymyle
A’r mor cynddeiriog rua am
Ryw lonydd lan yn gartre’
Literal translation
HOMEWARD
From day to day the golden sun
Rides past in his chariot
From night to night the milky moon
Rises and sets
From hour to hour the stars
Turn in the vastness of space
The whole of God’s great creation
Is travelling homeward
The little brook on the hilltop
Runs like a vagrant
And the mighty river below
Hurtles through the valley
The wind meanders in the heavens
And the clouds shift
While the wild sea roars
For some peaceful shore to call home