clawr gan Catrin Williams

1. Ceidwad y byd (Draw yn nhawelwch Bethlem dref) 3.26
alaw Ffrengig, trefn./arr. Idris Rees; John Hughes
© Aureus

2. Hwiangerdd Mair (Suai’r gwynt) 3.27
Haydn Morris, trefn./arr. Gwennant Pyrs; Nantlais
© Snell & Sons

3. Mae’r nos yn fwyn (Vilda) 3.50
Caradog Roberts, trefn./arr. Gwyn M Evans; W Rhys Nicholas
© W Rhys Nicholas
unawdydd gwadd / guest soloist - Casi Wyn

4. Y dirion wawr a dorrodd 5.00
(See the Building), tradd./trad., trefn./arr. Gwennant Pyrs; H Hughes
© Gwennant Pyrs
utgorn / trumpet - Bari Gwilliam

5. Doethion a bugeiliaid 2.37
William Mathias, trefn./arr. Emyr Rhys; Gwyn Thomas
© Copyright Control

6. Carol y Gwrthod 5.40
Gwennant Pyrs; John Gruffydd Jones
© Curiad
unawdydd / soloist – Alwen Derbyshire

7. Ar gyfer heddiw’r bore 5.56
tradd./trad. Haldon Evans; Eos Iâl (1794-1862)
© Aran

8. Adeste Fideles (O Deuwch Ffyddloniaid) 3.18
John F Wade. trefn./arr. Derek Broadbent; Anon, cyf/trs. anon
© Wright & Round

9. Myn Mair 2.49
tradd./trad. Brian Hughes
© Curiad
unawdydd / soloist Siân Wyn Land

10. Ar fore dydd Nadolig 2.28
tradd./trad., trefn./arr. Emyr Rhys
© Aran

11. Sisialau’r awel fwyn 2.24
(Heidelberg Press), trefn./arr. Gwennant Pyrs; cyf. /trans. John Hughes
© Aureus

12. Carol y Blwch 2.34
tradd./trad., trefn./arr. Emyr Rhys
© Aran

17/11/08

Carolau Seiriol gyda Seindorf Beaumaris

Casgliad newydd o garolau Cymreig i gyfeiliant telyn ac offerynnau pres.

Ystyrir y garol fel yr enghraifft gynharaf o'r gân Gymreig ac fe erys yn dra phoblogaidd hyd heddiw. Mae'r casgliad hwn yn cwmpasu’r cyfoeth hwnnw o fewn ein traddodiad. Un o’r enghreifftiau cynharaf yw’r garol’ Myn Mair’ a gyfansoddwyd fe gredir yn y Canol Oesoedd; yn ogystal â’r garol Blygain sy’n rhan unigryw o’r traddodiad Eglwysig Cymreig. Ymysg y casgliad fe geir rhai carolau clasurol o’r cyfnod Fictorianaidd yn ogystal â rhai gan gyfansoddwyr cyfoes amlwg gan gynnwys ‘Doethion a Bugeiliaid’ gan William Mathias. Mae amryw o’r trefniannau hyn gydag offerynnau pres wedi eu paratoi yn arbennig ar gyfer y recordiad hwn ac fe’u perfformir gan ddau o enwau amlycaf Cymru.

Ers eu sefydlu yn 1991, mae Côr Seiriol wedi bod yn dra llwyddiannus o safbwynt cystadleuol a chreadigol. Yn yr Wŷl Gerdd Dant a chynhaliwyd yn y Rhyl yn diweddar, fe ddaethant unwaith eto yn gyntaf; am y degfed tro yn ei hanes. Dan arweinyddiaeth Gwennant Pyrs, mae eu sain unigryw a chyfoethog wedi ail ddiffinio cerdd dant ac wedi symbylu sawl cyfansoddwr blaenllaw i gyfansoddi iddynt. Mae’r aelodau’n bennaf o ardal Bangor ac mae ganddynt gysylltiad agos â Seindorf Biwmares, sydd ar hyn o bryd yn mwynhau’r teitl Pencampwyr Prydain yng nghategori cyntaf y bandiau pres. Gellir olrhain y llwyddiant hwn i’r band ieuencid sydd wedi ei hen sefydlu ac wedi meithrin talentau disglair ymhlith ieuenctid yr ardal.Yn y cyfamser, rhydd y Cyfarwyddwr Cerdd Gwyn Evans bwyslais ar gyfrannu at brosiectau lleol sy’n ymwneud â thraddodiad a gwreiddiau’r band.

Fe lawnsir y CD mewn Cyngerdd o Garolau yng Nghadeirlan Bangor ar Nos Sadwrn 6ed Rhagfyr am 7.30. Cyflwynir y noson gan Rhun ap Iorwerth a chymerir rhan gan y gantores ifanc Casi Wyn.

Am fwy o wybodaeth ac i archebu tocynnau ewch i www.traciaucymraeg.com neu ffonio 01286 831346. gellir prynu tocynnau’n ogystal o siop y Gadeirlan neu Recordiau Cob, Bangor. Bydd cyfran o elwr noson yn mynd at Ward Alaw.

Erbyn hyn byddwn yn meddwl am garolau fel emynau sy'n dathlu'r Nadolig. Ond mae’r gair 'carolau' yn un a ddefnyddid yn yr Oesoedd Canol, a phryd hynny gallai olygu sawl math o gân, ac nid rhai llawen na thymhorol o anghenraid.

Naws seciwlar neu baganaidd oedd i’r rhan fwyaf o Garolau Nadolig yr Oesoedd Canol. O ganlyniad roeddent yn amhoblogaidd ymhlith yr awdurdodau eglwysig, ac ar fwy nag un achlysur ( mor gynnar â dechrau'r seithfed ganrif ac mor ddiweddar â'r unfed ganrif ar bymtheg ) ceisiodd cynghorau'r Eglwys Gatholig eu gwahardd.

Ceir y cyfeiriad Cymraeg cynharaf at garolau mewn llawysgrif crefyddol a gopïwyd yn Llanddewibrefi yn 1346. Yno, mae'n debyg yr ystyrid carolau yn fath o ddawns-ganeuon, gan bod y geiriau 'caroli' (canu carolau) a 'hopyaw' ('dawnsio') yn ymddangos gyda’i gilydd dwywaith. Yn ei ‘daith trwy Gymru’ a ysgrifennwyd tua 1187/8 mae Gerallt Gymro yn disgrifio math o ddawns â chytgan lleisiol, a symudai o amgylch yr eglwys a’r llan ac a berfformid gan wŷr a merched ifainc ar ddydd gŵyl y Santes Eluned yn ardal Aberhonddu. Mae’r gair ‘carolau’ yn digwydd droeon yng ngwaith Dafydd ap Gwilym (1330-50).

Y cyfnod rhwng hynny a chanol yr unfed ganrif ar bymtheg a ystyrir gan rai yn ‘oes aur’ y garol. Roedd llawer o’r engreifftiau mwyaf defosiynol yn dilyn y patrwm ailadroddus o bennill a byrdwn, ac yn canmol y Forwyn Fair, y baban Iesu a’r Seintiau. Mae’n bosibl bod dwy enghraifft a gynhwysir yma wedi goroesi o’r gyfnod hwnnw yn Sir Gâr, sef ‘Myn Mair’ ac ‘Ar fore dydd Nadolig’, er bod carolau diweddarach hefyd wedi ceisio dynwared eu harddull.

Yn sgil y Diwygiad Protestannaidd yn Lloegr a dyfodiad Piwritaniaeth, anogid pawb i roi’r gorau i dathlu’r Nadolig mewn llawenydd, ac o hynny ymlaen prin oedd tystiolaeth o’r traddodiad o ganu carolau y tu allan i rai cadarnleooedd Catholig. Mae’n bosibl mai wrth ymateb i’r amgylchiadau hyn yr ymddangosodd traddodiad unigryw Gymreig y Gwasanaeth Plygain. Er bod gwreiddiau’r Plygain hefyd yn ymestyn yn ôl i’r Oesoedd Canol, datblygodd i fod yn fersiwn fer o’r Weddi Foreol, gyda chyfres faith o garolau i’w dilyn, llawer ohonymt wedi eu cyfansoddi yn lleol. Mae’r perfformiadau’n awgrymu bod perthynas agos rhyngddynt a cherddoriaeth werin, wrth i grwpiau bach o gantorion o blith y gynulleidfa gynnig carolau sy’n aml yn defnyddio alawon gwern poblogaidd. Alaw boblogaidd o’r unfed ganrif ar bymtheg a ddefnyddir ar gyfer ‘Y dirion wawr a dorrodd’. Yn sgil lledaeniad y capeli Anghydffurfiol yn y bedwaredd ganrif ar bymtheg, yn hytrach na gadael i’r traddodiad ddiflannu, fel y gwnaeth cynifer o arferion yr Eglwys yn Nghymru, mabwysiadwyd y Plygain gan yr Anghydffurfwyr, er iddynt addasu natur y gwasanaeth i gyd-fynd â’u cyfarfodydd hwyrol a gynhelid yn ystod yr wythnos. Enghraifft dda o Garol Plygain a ddefnyddir o hyd mewn eglwysi a chapeli yw ‘Ar gyfer heddiw’r bore’.

Yn y cyfamser, roedd nifer o gewri amlycaf yr oes Fictoraidd yn annog y boblogaeth i ailafael mewn dathlu’r Nadolig. Un ohonynt oedd Charles Dickens (a ysgrifennod ‘A Christmas Carol’ ym 1843) ac o dan ei ddylanwad ef ac eraill daeth y Nadolig unwaith eto yn achlysur dathliadau poblogaidd, yn ddiwrnod ar gyfer y teulu, a gwledda. Yn nghanol bwrlwm yr Oes Ddiwydiannol newydd y daeth nifer o’r carolau yn boblogaidd ar lefel ryngwladol. Cyfansoddwyd yr alaw i’r emyn Lladin ‘Adeste Fideles’ gan John Francis Wade ym 1743, ond dichon fod y geiriau wedi eu hysgrifennu mor gynnar â’r drydydd ganrif ar ddeg. Cyfieithwyd hwy bellach i bob un o brif ieithoedd Ewrop. Cyfrannodd Cymru hithau i’r corff o garolau a grëwyd yn y cyfnod hwn. Hen alaw werin Gymreig a ddefnyddiwyd ar gyfer ‘Deck the halls’, a gyhoeddwyd am y tro cyntaf ym 1760, ac a ddefnyddiwyd gan Mozart mewn deuawd i’r piano a’r fiolin. Fodd bynnag, nid ymddangosodd fel carol tan 1863, pan osodwyd geiriau iddi gan Ceiriog a’i chyhoeddi fel ‘Nos Calan’. Rhywdro ar ôl hynny y troswyd hi i’r Saesneg, a chredir mai yn yr Unol Daleithiau y gwnaed hynny.

Tua diwedd y bedwaredd ganrif ar bymtheg daeth bandiau pres yn boblogaidd a datblygodd traddodiad o ganu carolau i gyfeiliant offerynnau pres, yn benodol dan ddylanwad Byddin yr Iachawdwriaeth. Cyfunwyd hynny â thraddodiad gwerin arall, wrth i gymdogion fynd o amgylch o ddrws i ddrws i ganu carolau. Mae hyn yn adleisio hen arferion y Calennig a Gwasaela, a fyddai hefyd yn digwydd o amgylch dechrau’r flwyddyn.

Mae ‘Carol y Blwch’ yn cyfeirio at arferion y bonedd o rannu bwyd a rhoddion eraill i’w gweision ac i dlodion y plwyf ar ddydd Gŵyl San Steffan, ar ôl y Nadolig. Yn ôl traddodiad, ar y diwrnod hwnnw yr agorid y blychau cardod yn yr eglwys, er mwyn rhannu eu cynnwys rhwng y tlodion.

Yn Ystod yr ugeinfed ganrif, roedd cyfansoddwyr clasurol ledled Ewrop yn ymddiddori o’r newydd mewn deunydd gwerin, a phrin bod unrhyw gyfansoddwr Cymreig nad oedd wedi cyfansoddi neu greu trefniant newydd o garol. Mae i’r carolau hyn arwyddocâd diwylliannol arbennig iawn, gan fod rhai ohonynt ymhlith yr hynaf o ganeuon Cymru, ond eto’n cael eu canu a’u mwynhau yn rhan o draddodiad byw, sy’n parahau i ddatblygu.

Emyr Rhys

gyda diolch yn arbennig i Dr Sally Harper am ei herthygl ‘Early Welsh Carol’ a gyhoeddwyd yn ‘The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology’, gol. J R Watson (Llundain, Canterbury Press)

Welsh Carols with Brass (featuring Côr Seiriol and Beaumaris Band)
(ARAN516)

A new collection of Welsh carols featuring harp and brass accompaniment.

Carols are not only amongst the earliest examples of Welsh song but are also popular songs, widely sung and appreciated within a living tradition. This collection draws on every aspect of this rich body of work. Early examples include ‘Myn Mair’ believed to have been written in the Middle Ages and ‘Plygain’ carols that are borne of an unique tradition within the Welsh church. Some of the great Victorian classics are here, as well as some relatively contemporary carols by our foremost composers and arrangers, including ‘Doethion a Bugeiliaid’ by William Mathias. Many of these arrangements with brass have been prepared especially for this recording and are performed here by two of the most distinguished musical names in Wales.

Since their formation in 1991,Côr Seiriol have achieved astonishing success both competitively and creatively. At the recent ‘Cerdd Dant’ festival held at Rhyl, the choir were once again awarded first prize in the blue riband event – the tenth time they’ve achieved this accolade. Their uniquely rich sound under the direction of Gwennant Pyrs, has redefined the cerdd dant repetoire and drawn many leading composers to write for them. Based in the Bangor area they have close ties with Beaumaris Band, who are the recently crowned first section champions of Great Britain. Competitive success for the band has firm roots in a youth band structure that draws the very finest local players from a young age. Meanwhile the musical director Gwyn M Evans places equal priority on local engagements and projects that emphasise the band’s heritage.

This CD will be launched at a Carol Concert in Bangor Cathedral on Saturday, December the 6th at 7.30. The evening will be presented by Rhun ap Iorwerth and also features the young soprano Casi Wyn.

For more details or to book tickets visit www.traciaucymraeg.com or phone 01286 831346. Tickets are also available from the Cathedral shop or from Cob Records, Bangor. A contribution will be made to Alaw Ward, Ysbyty Gwynedd.

Whilst we now think of carols as hymns celebrating Christmas, the use of this term stretches back to the Middle Ages when it was used to describe a wide variety of songs, not all of them joyful or seasonal.

Most of the Christmas carols in the Middle Ages were secular or pagan in origin, and thus they were not popular with religious officials. On more than one occasion, as early as the 7th century and as late as the 16th century, Roman Catholic councils attempted to ban Christmas carols altogether.

The first Welsh references suggest that the carol was regarded as a form of dance-song, for two deliberate pairings of the words ‘caroli’ (‘carolling’) and ‘hopyaw’ (‘dancing’) occur in religious texts copied in 1346 at Llanddewibrefi. Gerald of Wales in his ‘Journey through Wales’, of 1187/8 describes a dance with sung refrain that moved between church and churchyard and was executed by men and young girls in the Brecon area on the feasts of St Eluned. Equally, the word ‘carol’ occurs several times in the poetry of Dafydd ap Gwilym (fl 1330–50).

It is this period until the middle of the 16th century that is sometimes regarded as the ‘golden age’ of the carol. Many of the more devout examples had a repetitive burden-verse structure and praised the Virgin Mary, the infant Christ and the Saints. 'Myn Mair' and 'Ar fore dydd Nadolig' from the Carmarthenshire area are possibly survivors from this period although subsequent examples have also sought to imitate this style.

Following the Reformation and the rise of Puritanism, the joyful celebration of Christmas fell out of favour, and a tradition of carol singing only seems to have been recorded in strongholds of Roman Catholicism. It was possibly as a reaction to these circumstances that an uniquely Welsh tradition became prominent, that of the 'Plygain' service. Although the plygain has medieval roots, it later became a shortened form of morning prayer followed by a lengthy series of carols, many locally-composed. Performances retain a strong link to folk music, being performed by small groups of performers from within the congregation, often employing popular melodies such as 'Y dirion wawr a dorrodd', which takes as its melody a popular tune from the 17th century. Far from disappearing under the impact of Nonconformity in the nineteenth century, the plygain was one of the few traditional church festivals not discarded by Welsh Nonconformist chapels, although the character of the service was sometimes changed by making it a variation of the ordinary week-night prayer-meeting. 'Ar gyfer heddiw'r bore' is amongst the many plygain carols that are still widely sung in both church and chapel.

Meanwhile, Victorian antiquarians were becoming the new champions of Christmas, among them Charles Dickens (who wrote several Christmas stories including, of course, ‘A Christmas Carol’ in 1843). Under the influence of these and other writers, Christmas became a popular celebration, a day for feasting and family. In this new industrial age, many carols became popular on an international level. The melody to the Latin hymn ‘Adeste Fideles’ was composed by John Francis Wade in 1743 although the words may have been written as early as the 13th century. It has since been translated into all the major European languages. Welsh material made its own contribution to the emerging carol repertory of this period, as 'Deck the halls' takes its melody from a Welsh folk tune first published in 1760 and used by Mozart for a violin and piano duet. However, it was first published as a carol by the poet and musicologist John 'Ceiriog' Hughes under the title "Nos Galan" ("New Year's Eve") in 1863. Its subsequent English translation is believed to be of American origin.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, brass bands began to emerge and a tradition of carol singing with brass accompaniment developed, thanks in particular to the Salvation Army. Another folk tradition was absorbed as neighbours sang carols from house to house in what we now regard as 'caroling', though the custom is in fact highly reminiscent of the Welsh tradition of 'Calennig' and the wider practice of 'Wassailing'.

'Carol y Blwch' or 'The Alms box Carol' refers to the practice of nobles "boxing up" and distributing food and other gifts to their servants and to the poor on the day after Christmas. Boxing Day was traditionally when the alms box at every church was opened and the contents distributed to the poor.

The 20th century saw the wider acceptance of folk material into the Western classical tradition and there is hardly a Welsh composer who hasn't been drawn to produce either new material or arrangements of carols. Carols are not only amongst the earliest examples of Welsh song but also retain their position as popular songs, widely sung and appreciated within a living tradition.