St David's Day

[Rosie55]

Some interesting thoughts here and I agree re Daniel Jones too.
I didn't catch the Verdi (I am a Rebecca Evans fan too) so googled : Verdi Requiem St David's Hall and the results came up with this very moving complete performance of that same work, same venue but with soloists Margaret Price, Della Jones, Stewart Burrows and Robert Lloyd:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE8orNCAOl0

Just listening to the Friday night version on iplayer...

[Hautboiste]

I have just come back from choir practice where we held an informal concert for ourselves of music connected appropriate for St David's Day. I am seriously considering sending the programme to Radio 3 to show that Welsh music consists of more than male voice choirs singing Myfanwy in the hope that next year something better will be broadcast. Sadly I expect it will be ignored.

[Gordon]

I have just come back from choir practice where we held an informal concert for ourselves of music connected appropriate for St David's Day. I am seriously considering sending the programme to Radio 3 to show that Welsh music consists of more than male voice choirs singing Myfanwy in the hope that next year something better will be broadcast. Sadly I expect it will be ignored.

Having looked up both Radio Cymru and Radio Wales schedules for March 1st there was not much explictly Welsh on it!! The concert on R3 from Cardiff was also available via RC. Earlier in the day a programme about the top ten Welsh Saints! [Actually it was quite good, talking about the most common church dedications!!]. And a discussion [with phone ins and emails us and so on....] about whether the best Welsh are those that don't live there!! So much for the national saints day. I suppose I must not complain as I don't live there!!

Anyway your idea of writing to R3 might be helped along by getting that lot in Cardiff interested as well. No sense going to S4C.

'Does dim i'w golli, cymerwch y cyfle!!

[Anna]

I have just come back from choir practice where we held an informal concert for ourselves of music connected appropriate for St David's Day. I am seriously considering sending the programme to Radio 3 to show that Welsh music consists of more than male voice choirs singing Myfanwy in the hope that next year something better will be broadcast.

Could you share the programme with us I wonder? (Actually, I'm amazed how many Welsh inhabit this MB so I'm sure there will be interest)

Earlier in the day a programme about the top ten Welsh Saints! [Actually it was quite good, talking about the most common church dedications!!].

And what was the result, what is the most common church dedication in Wales? And, apart from Dewi Sant, who came in the Top Ten?

[Gordon]

And what was the result, what is the most common church dedication in Wales? And, apart from Dewi Sant, who came in the Top Ten?

Well from listening again here goes: [some with a "llan" in front for the church - "Llan" is the village centre - to give villages names]

10: Ellen/Helen who was the wife of a Welsh King of Gwynedd,
9: Madryn, settled in Anglesey and also has a place named for him in Argentina/Patagonia - Port Madryn
8: Garmon, came to Wales to fight heresy in 420AD, several churches named for him in N Wales. Story of miracles attached. A school in the town of Mold is named Maes Garmon,
7: Tyseilio, region of Powys, son of a king of Powys but resisted the future his father wanted. A name of course is hidden in Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. He went to Rome. That village is also dedicated to St Mary [Mair or "LlanFair" at the start of the long name] but she doesn't make the top ten!
6: Beuno, Powys born near the Severn river and the border with the Saxons. Various adventures. Lived near Corwen and then Holywell in Flintshire before settlng up a church elsewhere. Water from the well here placed on a sickly body would heal it.
5: Gwenffrewi [never heard of her myself!! but is also known as Winifred] but there is a tale related around the well at Holywell in Flintshire. She was a niece of Beuno. She was killed but brought back to life by Beuno!! After the Dissolution only a finger was left of her remains!
4: Ddeunwen, [also Dwyn, Donwen, and Donwenna] patron saint of lovers in Wales and also sick animals!! Saints Day January 25th. Little known about her but known to the poet Dafydd ap Gwilym in the 14thC. She came from Brecon. Her church and grave are on Anglesey and is a place of pilgrimage.
3: Illtyd - founded a monastery in 6th Llanylltyd Major in Glamorgan. He could see the future!! Was thought to have been a soldier but gave all up for the faith, including his wife and family. As a hermit his wife came looking for him and he is supposed to have cured her of blindness but she never came back to him afterwards!!
2: Non, mother of David - he was born of a girl who high born but was unmarried when she became pregnant - in Central/West Wales, the province of Deheubarth. Parallels with the mother of Jesus of course. She raised a fuss to get her son born in the area where the Cathedral of St David is now.
1: David!!

So there you are!! Here's where to find the programme for the next 2 days anyway

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01qzk2n in Welsh of course.

[Hautboiste]

Here is our programme
1. Deo gratias - emyn G^wyl Cymru. E.T. Davies
2. Hymn tune Graig Ddu - Meirion Wynn Jones set to Cofio'r Sant - Vernon Jones
3. Darlleniad Cymraeg - Y Winllan from Buchedd Garmon - Saunders Lewis
4. Emyn G^wyl Ddewi/Hymn for St David's Day - E. T. Davies
5. Migldi,magldi - trad. Arr Mervyn Burtch
6. Cysga di, fy mhlentyn tlws. Trad. Arr Mervyn Burtch
7. English reading - In the footsteps of St David - Rowan Williams
8. The Lord bless you and keep you - John Rutter
9. Pebyll yr Arglwydd - Joseph Parry
10. Bugeilio'r gwenith gwyn. Trad arr Robat Arwyn
11. Darlleniad Cymraeg - Etifeddiaeth - Gerallt Lloyd Owen
12. Dewi Sant. 1st chorus - Molwn Di O Dduw am Dy saint - Arwel Hughes
13. O Ddewi Sanctaidd - Meirion Wynn Jones
14. Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau

[Gordon]

Here is our programme
1. Deo gratias - emyn G^wyl Cymru. E.T. Davies
2. Hymn tune Graig Ddu - Meirion Wynn Jones set to Cofio'r Sant - Vernon Jones
3. Darlleniad Cymraeg - Y Winllan from Buchedd Garmon - Saunders Lewis
4. Emyn G^wyl Ddewi/Hymn for St David's Day - E. T. Davies
5. Migldi,magldi - trad. Arr Mervyn Burtch
6. Cysga di, fy mhlentyn tlws. Trad. Arr Mervyn Burtch
7. English reading - In the footsteps of St David - Rowan Williams
8. The Lord bless you and keep you - John Rutter
9. Pebyll yr Arglwydd - Joseph Parry
10. Bugeilio'r gwenith gwyn. Trad arr Robat Arwyn
11. Darlleniad Cymraeg - Etifeddiaeth - Gerallt Lloyd Owen
12. Dewi Sant. 1st chorus - Molwn Di O Dduw am Dy saint - Arwel Hughes
13. O Ddewi Sanctaidd - Meirion Wynn Jones
14. Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau

Well there's some familiar stuff in there HB! Wonderful, why couldn't the BBC do that!! Siomedig dros ben. Even something about St Garmon!!

Years ago on a professional visit to S Africa [J'burg] I went with an SABC person [black] to the townships and was surprised to find a hospital with Welsh written over the entrance, relating to "Bugeilio'r Gwenith Gwyn". Gwyn is "white" in Welsh, strangely. I commented but no one knew were it had come from. It seems that the hospital may have been established by a Welshman. We get around, as the Beach Boys might have said, with some help from Chuck Berry.

[aeolium]

Earlier in the day a programme about the top ten Welsh Saints!

All the venues in the summer Gower Festival are churches including some named after Welsh saints (though there's a St George in there, too):

http://www.gowerfestival.org/gower_festival_venues.htm

St Illtyd, Ilston and St Teilo, Bishopston are particularly lovely settings (the latter IIRC staged a first performance of a Daniel Jones string quartet given by the Delme Quartet).

[Roehre]

30 - 3

[amateur51]

30 - 3

The very model of restraint, Roehre

[Hautboiste]

30 - 3

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Well, North and South Walians do speak different languages!

Yes. I learnt some Welsh as a student in North Wales. After leaving, I decided to polish up my Welsh, so bought a Linguaphone course (nla). It was indeed almost a different language.

Edit: This morning, early, so many people wearing their daffs, lovely it was to see, why do not the English wear the rose on 23rd April?

I was born in Lancashire, the Red Rose county, but now I live in Yorkshire, where you have to be quite brave to wear such an emblem.

[JFLL]

As to St. George's day - who marks that? Certainly not any English that I know.
Edit: This morning, early, so many people wearing their daffs, lovely it was to see, why do not the English wear the rose on 23rd April?

Perhaps because, historically, the English were comfortable in their national identity, took it for granted and felt no need to parade it and mark their distinctness from other nations? But since all that is changing, perhaps we'll go down the same road. (And maybe it would be a small comfort after a pasting on the rugby field. )

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Perhaps because, historically, the English were comfortable in their national identity, took it for granted and felt no need to parade it and mark their distinctness from other nations?

There's a lot in that, JFLL - and the facts that (a) St George isn't a real saint and (b) had nothing to do with England.

Always preferred St Alban, missel'n. (And his mates, St Arnold and St Anton )

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

There's a lot in that, JFLL - and the facts that (a) St George isn't a real saint and (b) had nothing to do with England.

Always preferred St Alban, missel'n. (And his mates, St Arnold and St Anton )

It's a pity so many politicians have saints' names. It casts a whole new light on St David, St Michael & St George. However, there's little chance of confusing St Nick with Father Christmas.