A new take on Welsh traditional folk music. 
Golwg ffres ar gerddoriaeth gwerin traddodiadol Cymreig.

10 Mewn Bws: Blas / Taster

Catrin: In the 1860s, the Welsh culture and language were suffering a huge amount of persecution under the British government. A group of 150 Welsh people from all walks of life undertook a mammoth voyage and boarded a small tea clipper named the Mimosa to set sail for Patagonia. Their aim was to settle in a place where they would be able to live and worship freely as Welsh people, and preserve their language and traditions. To this day, over 5000 of their descendants still speak their native Welsh. ‘Patagonia’ is about their brave voyage.

Catrin: Yn yr 1860au roedd diwylliant Cymreig a’r iaith Gymraeg yn dioddef o dan erlid trwm gan lywodraeth Prydain. Hwyliodd 150 o Gymry ar fwrdd llong fach te o’r enw’r Mimosa draw i Batagonia. Eu bwriad oedd ymgartrefu mewn lle newydd er mwyn gallu byw, addoli a diogelu eu hiaith a’u traddodiadau. Hyd heddiw mae dros 5000 o’u disgynyddion yn dal i siarad Cymraeg. Mae ‘Patagonia’ yn gân am eu mordaith ddewr.

Patagonia (Catrin O’Neill)

Mari: A version of 'Alawon fy Ngwlad', a traditional Welsh song. After looking for a new way to present the song, I decided to set the melody over an unusual accompaniment of glockenspiel, harp, musical saw and mandolin. This arrangement came about late one night at Tŷ Newydd, Llanystumdwy after a bottle or two of wine!

Mari: Dyma fersiwn o'r gân draddodiadol 'Alawon fy Ngwlad'. Ar ôl chwilio am ffordd newydd i'w chyflwyno, penderfynais osod yr alaw dros gyfeiliant anarferol o glockenspiel, telyn, llif gerddorol a mandolin. Daeth y trefniant yma at ei gilydd yn hwyr un nos yn Nhŷ Newydd, Llanystumdwy ar ol ambell i botel o win!

Alawon Fy Ngwlad  (alaw tradd. geiriau Idris Fychan / tune trad. words by Idris Fychan)

Gwen: Inspired by the rhythmic chanting of Miss Selina Griffiths (b. 1880) on her archive recording in St. Fagan's, ‘Calennig’ is a gathering of New Year elements: ‘Deffrwch Benteulu,’ ‘Blwyddyn Newydd Dda i Chi’ and the old version of ‘Nos Galan’.

Gwen: Ysbrydolwyd gan recordiad yn archif Sain Ffagan o lafarganu rhythmig Miss Selina Griffiths (g. 1880). Mae Calennig yn gasgliad o sawl cân draddodiadol blwyddyn newydd: ‘Deffrwch Benteulu’, ‘Blwyddyn Newydd Dda i Chi’ a’r hen fersiwn o’r alaw ‘Nos Galan’. 


Calennig (tradd./trad tref Gwen Mairi Yorke a 10 Mewn Bws)

Huw: This is an original song about a young man in love with a girl from Aberdyfi. I was inspired to write the song by Catrin O’Neill who is originally from Aberdyfi. She calls everyone ‘blodyn’ (flower) and so that’s where the original idea for the song came from. 

Huw: Cân wreiddiol yw hon am ddyn ifanc sydd mewn cariad â merch o Aberdyfi. Ces i f’ysbrydoli i ‘sgwennu’r gân gan Catrin O’Neill, sy’n dod o Aberdyfi yn wreiddiol. Mae hi’n galw pawb yn ‘blodyn’, felly dyna syniad gwreiddiol y gân.

Blodyn Aberdyfi – Huw Evans

“...very tall...his complexion was very dark, with rosy cheeks...he always rode on horseback, on a blood horse...he wore a three-cocked hat with gold lace, a silk coat with swallow-tails, sometimes red, sometimes green, and sometimes black...the buttons on the coat were half-crowns, those on the waistcoat shillings...he wore two gold rings – only two...” (description given by Saiforella Wood, great granddaughter of Abram Wood; it appears to be the only 
description of him and is online)
(disgrifiad gan Saiforella Wood, gorwyres Abram Wood; ymddengys mai hwn yw’r unig ddisgrifiad ohono, ac mae ar gael ar-lein.)

Francesca: The above description is of Abram Wood, the father of Welsh Romany Gypsies.  What a man! I was completely inspired by this 'King of the Gypsies', who reputedly introduced the violin to Wales, and was the head of a long line of musicians.  I wanted to create a song with everyone that was loose and rough, without a beginning or an end, something that was devilish and uncontrollable, with voices, clapping, clogging-inspired rhythms and a crooked violin tune.  

Francesca: Disgrifiad o Abram Wood, tad y Sipsiwn Romani yng Nghymru ceir uchod. Am ddyn! Roeddwn i wedi f’ysbrydoli’n llwyr gan ‘Frenin y Sipsiwn’ a wnaeth, yn ôl y sôn, gyflwyno’r ffidil i Gymru; roedd hefyd yn benteulu i linach hir o gerddorion. Roeddwn i’n awyddus i greu cân gyda phawb, cân fyddai’n llac ac yn amrwd, heb ddechreuad na diweddglo iddi, rhywbeth dieflig ac anystywallt, gyda lleisiau, clapio, alaw gam ar y ffidil, a rhythmau a ysbrydolwyd gan glocsio. 

Abram Wood (Francesca Simmons)

Ellen: Having grown up on its slopes, I feel a strong connection to the poem ‘Epynt’ by Tom Davies. It describes the 1940s eviction of the (mainly) Welsh-speaking population from the Epynt, a marshy mountain-top which lies between the Cambrian Mountains and the Brecon Beacons. Using Tom Davies’ sonnet, this song depicts the sombre and empty nature of the Epynt: the wind in the rushes, the echo of voices in the valleys, the rumbling of artillery.
To this day, the Epynt remains a military training ground.

Ellen: Wedi fy magu ar lethrau Mynydd Epynt, rwy’n teimlo cysylltiad cryf gyda’r gerdd ‘Epynt’ gan Tom Davies. Mae’n disgrifio’r modd y gorfodwyd i boblogaeth Mynydd Epynt - y rhan fwyaf ohonynt yn Gymry Cymraeg – fudo oddi yno yn ystod y 1940au. Ucheldir corsiog yw Mynydd Epynt, rhwng yr Elenydd a Bannau Brycheiniog. Gan ddefnydio soned Tom Davies, mae’r gân yn darlunio cymeriad prudd a gwag yr ardal: y gwynt yn y brwyn, adlais lleisiau yn y dyffryn, murmur y gynnau.
Mae Mynydd Epynt yn faes tanio milwrol hyd heddiw.


Epynt (geiriau Tom Davies)

Huw: A set of tunes inspired by conversations between the 10 musicians on the bus on their journey through Wales. The meanings of the tunes are secret!

Huw: Set o alawon a ysbrydolwyd gan sgyrsiau rhwng aelodau o '10 Mewn Bws’ ar eu taith drwy Gymru. Mae ystyr yr alawon yn gyfrinach!

Alawon Huw (Taith y Cangarŵ Rasorbac/Doinwen o'r Bloc/Trosedd Ieuenctid) Huw Evans

Gwilym: I wrote to Merêd (Meredydd Evans) to ask about the background of the song, and I received an answer in the form of a photocopy from one of his books. The name of the tune is Bryniau Cassia, and was originally sung with religious words when Merêd was growing up. Merêd got the secular words which I sing from Huw Morris Penmaenmawr, who found the words on a piece of paper in Anglesey. Only the words to the first verse are old; I wrote the rest of the song.

Gwilym: Mi 'nes i sgwennu at Merêd (Meredydd Evans) yn gofyn am gefndir y gân, a ges i ateb ar ffurf ffoto copi o un o'i lyfrau. Yn syml, enw'r alaw (a gafodd ei chanu gyda geiriau crefyddol yn y capel pan oedd Merêd yn tyfu fyny) yw 'Bryniau Cassia.' Cafodd Merêd y geiriau seciwlar rydw i'n eu canu gan Huw Morris, Penmaenmawr, ac mi wnaeth o eu ffeindio ar bapur mewn tŷ fferm ym Môn. Dim ond geiriau'r bennill gyntaf yn fy fersiwn i sy'n hen; fi sgwennodd y gweddill.

Wel Bachgen Ifanc Ydwyf (Gwilym Bowen Rhys)

10 musicians from different backgrounds coming together to reinterpret Welsh traditional music in a way which is relevant to them and audiences of today.
10 in a Bus is a project led by trac: Music Traditions Wales.

10 o gerddorion o gefndiroedd gwahanol yn dod ynghyd i ail-ddehongli cerddoriaeth werin draddodiadol Cymreig mewn ffordd sy'n berthnasol iddyn nhw a chynulleidfaoedd heddiw. Mae 10 Mewn Bws yn brosiect sy'n cael ei arwain gan trac: Traddodiadau Cerdd Cymru. 

10MewnBws

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