1 beti o lansanffraid. taflwn yr hosan. hufen y cwrw melyn
2 william southern clarke's hornpipe. monkey hornpipe
3 pantybara. breuddwyd rhysyn bach. blode'r gwinwydd
4 cheshire hornpipe. radnorshire hornpipe
5 the cambro brython. pwt ar y bys
6 evans' jig. boda wennol
7 dyma gariad fel y moroedd. saron. crug y bar
8 can y ceiliog du. tower colliery march
9 ty a gardd. y derwydd
10 llatai dafydd thomas. meillionnen
11 carmarthenshire hornpipe. glamorganshire hornpipe
12 farewell to bedwas. deildy aberteifi




1 beti o lansanffraid. taflwn yr hosan. hufen y cwrw melyn
ces i'r tiwn gynta wrtho martin leamon a sille ilves mewn sessiwn yn yr alltrodyn arms, rhydowen tua blwyddyn yn ol. wedyn newid y cyweirnod i'r pibe. ymddengys hefyd yn un o'r tiwns fu'r telynor thomas david llewelyn (aberdar 1828-79) yn adnabyddus a hi. mae rhai o'r brawddege cerddorol yn dod a'r geirie 'mi af i briodas yfory - ar gefen yng ngaseg las fawr - a honno'n ddeg troedfedd a hanner - ei mesur o'i mwng hyd y llawr' i'n feddwl. can a glywais gan brigitte kloareg a jonathan shorland tua ucen mlynedd yn ol, hefyd mewn tafarn, yn llantrisant. cafodd ei ddefnyddio fel alaw i ganu'r faled 'fe ddwedodd yr hen frenin salmon' mor bell yn ol a 1811. ymddengys ar daflen a gyhoeddwyd gan yr argraffwyr james a williams o aberystwyth yn y flwyddyn honno, yn dwyn hefyd y teitl ychwanegol 'the winter's night'

daeth yr ail diwn drwy ddwylo mary richards darowen (1787-1877). mae'n adnabyddus, ne o leua tiwn tebyg iawn iddi, yn northumberland fel 'jockey lay up in th' hay loft' mewn casgliad gan thomas bewick y pibydd a'r arlinydd enwog. mae i'r fersiwn yna beder rhan ac ma'r frawddeg dwytha'n mynd i f naturiol yn lle sharp. ymddengys hefyd mewn rhestr o diwns yn yr unol daleithie tua 1830 yn y 'gentleman's amusement book' fel 'we with fun the stocking throw'

cafodd nansi richards y drydedd o whare bachan o'r enw tom ffliwt. ''rwy'n cofio tom ffliwt yn eistedd ar ferfa yn y cartws 'ma a ffliwt ymhob ffroen, yn canu 'hufen y cwrw melyn' efo'i drwyn. newid ffroen a newid ffliwt bob yn ail''. tiwn dicon syml, ond perffeth yn ei ffordd. mae'r tiwn ar hen feinyl ganddi. ma nansi'n whare ddi llawn swing.

three slip jigs that may be associated with eastern wales. i got the first from martin leamon and sille ilves at a session in the alltrodyn arms, rhydowen about a year ago. i shifted it down from b minor to fit on the pipes. some of the musical phrases remind me of the song 'y cobler du bach' that i first heared about twenty years ago sung in a pub in llantrisant by brigitte kloareg and jonathan shorland. it was played as far back as the mid nineteenth century by the harper thomas david llewelyn (aberdar 1828-79) and appears as a ballad tune to be used for the song 'fe ddwedodd yr hen frenin salmon' published by printers james a williams, of aberystwyth in 1811

the second is called we with fun the stocking throw in english. it first appears in wales in the cwrt mawr music collection now housed at the national library in aberystwyth and passed through the hands of, among others, fiddler mary richards of darowen (1787-1877) it was apparently known in the usa under that name where it appears in a tune list dating to 1830

nansi richards played the third tune on a recording with much more swing than on this cd. she heared it as a child from the playing of one tom ffliwt, who would play it on two tin whistles, one in each nostril

2 william southern clarke's hornpipe. monkey hornpipe
two tunes composed by mining agent william southern clark in the mid nineteenth century. bachan a ddath lawr o ardal telford, dyffryn hafren, os dwy'n cofio'n iawn odd willam clark. ma ryw berffeithrwydd syml, anochel i'r tiwns yma

3 pantybara. breuddwyd rhysyn bach. blode'r gwinwydd
rwy wedi bod yn 'delio' a'r cyfres o node yn y tiwn gynta ers tua pum mlynedd erbyn hyn. ffynhonell y node yw'r tiwn adnabyddus 'y llwyn onn'. ddath rhein yn ei tro o'r tiwn 'constant billy' sydd dal ar lafar yn swydd rhydychen heddi ar gyfer danso morris. tiwns ar gyfer canu penillion yw'r lleill a dyna sut y daethant i lawr i ni heddi. yn bersonol mae'r pump cam neu'r cinque pas i'w glywed mor amlwg yn y rhein nes i fi honni taw galiers 'y nhw, o leia mewn ysbryd, os nad egwyddor - ac yn erbyn pob cyngor yscolheigedd. mae'n debyg ta john parry, ne falle edward jones cyfansoddws y drydedd tiwn. dodes i nhw yn y modd dorian ar 'A' yn erbyn byrdwn yn 'D'

4 cheshire hornpipe. radnorshire hornpipe
ma tipyn o fynd a'r yr hen triple hornpipes erbyn heddi, sydd yn llenwi bwlch seicolegol yn y ganfas cerddorol. beth sy'n apelio i fi'n bersonol yw'r ffordd y mae nhw'n cysyllu ni a gweddill yr ynys ar yr un llaw ac yn agor ffenest i fyd lloerol rythme'r triple jigs ar y nall

5 the cambro brython. pwt ar y bys
two very popular 'straight' hornpipes in the welsh tradition but played here with a flat third and a sharp six and seven. the tuning sits beautifully on the hornpipe and doesn't cause the usual clashing the piper hears of the natural third harmonic in the drone with the well tempered third on the chanter. cyfansoddiad gan rhywyn o'r ddeunawfed ganrif yw'r un gynta, a thiwn boblogedd ledled yr ynys yw'r ail gan amla dan yr enw buttered peas ne butter and peas

6 evans' jig. boda wennol
two tunes i got from piper jason lawday of bethlehem, carmarthenshire. he found the first, which is an unusual version of a well known jig, in a tune book in llandeilo. the second tune is his reworking of llancesau trefaldwyn, another very popular jig in the welsh tradition. i have a feeling it's known as shrewsbury lasses in the english tradition. boda wennol is the name jason heared a farmer in north carmarthenshire give to a red kite, normally barcud coch. boda wennol translates as swallow buzzard.

7 dyma gariad fel y moroedd. saron. crug y bar
i learned the first tune from my father. its a well known hymn tune. the tune is sometimes called moriah in certain hymnals but in practice different tunes are sung to dyma gariad fel y moroedd and different tunes are given the title moriah, depending on what part of the country you come from and which denominaion you subscribe to. there is a learned article in, i think, the magazine canu gwerin concerning the relationship between saron and crugybar. saron is by now not known while crug y bar is a dearly loved funeral dirge. a tune that everybody knows. i loved putting the three together.

8 can y ceiliog du. tower colliery march
dwi wedi bod yn whare'r tiwn gynta ers ache ond ma wastod rhyw gornel newydd i droi yn y diwn fach syml hon. ma'n hollol gartrefol ar bibe yn enwedig y pibgorn, lle caiff y 'trydydd elfen' rhwydd hynt i amlygu'i hun. hy mae'r gwagle rhwnt y pibydd a'r pibe yn llenwi'n naturiol a rhyw hud 'sonig' a ddeill o berfeddion y llefarydd. nes i'r ail diwn i adleisio balchder ag urddas y coliers a ddychwelodd i tower. posibiliade yn drech ar brobleme.

9 ty a gardd. y derwydd
the first is a very popular tune, especially with children. it appears in a collection of three volumes of 'sea shanties' put together by j. glyn davies, of liverpool in i think, the 1920's or 30's generally known as 'cerddi huw puw'. they are songs for children and few were ever sung at sea. the second part of the tune was his starting point and is according to him, danish in origin, and this he used for the chorus. he made the first part of the tune. y derwydd was i think composed by john parry in the eighteenth century but i could be wrong about that. again, they sit very nicely in the 'gogywair' as scholars like to call this tuning. the 'gogywair' is apparently of considerable antiquity, which may or may not render it sacred and significant of something other, depending on your belief system.

10 llatai dafydd thomas. meillionnen
the song to the first tune was sung by dafydd thomas of llandysul to a tune collector at the beginning of the twentieth century. here are the words from memory and in a southern rather than western dialect. these were in my head as i played the tune
ei di'r perot purlon per
lawr sha gotre'r shir ma'n shwrne
at y ferch lle ddotes serch
i ddywetyd hyn o eirie
cer di wap na fydd yn hir
cei'r dydd yn hir ymhobman
cei'r gwynt o'r west a'r ffordd yn glir
o bydd gywir i mi'r awron
ma'n debyg i nansi richards whare'r ail diwn yn y lleddf fel yma'n ogystal a'r llon arferol. i fi ma awyrgylch y lleddf yn cynnig posibiliade rhythmyg diddorol sy'n cysylltu'r tiwn a theimlade annisgwyl

11 carmarthenshire hornpipe. glamorganshire hornpipe
from the stock of british hornpipes that enchanted the island for centuries. there is something of the horticultural in the hornpipe for me. music for adults perhaps. it is no coincidence that the more i play hornpipes, then the more time i spend in the garden and the more facinated with apple varieties i become. if these tunes were apples they would be marged niclas and perthyr. in england the carmarthen hornpipe is called the reform. i don't know if the glamorgan was known there.

12 farewell to bedwas. deildy aberteifi
i used to live near bedwas for seven years and have a family connection with the area at the bottom of the rhymni valley. sentimental words were sung to a fancier version of this tune in welsh called pe cawn i hon and these affect how i approach the tune as well. a six note jig in the welsh tradition is something to treasure especially when the f# is quickly passed by and only occasionaly at that. the image of cardigan bower suggested by the title sets a mood that one can only aim for. perhaps the f# has something to do with it