Nine Welsh Folksong Arrangements

​

​These Welsh folksongs are freely arranged and are dedicated to my bother D

I originally composed a set for unaccompanied SATB in 1997 – here the set is expanded (April/May 2010)

Soprano & Tenor soli, SATB & Octet [picc/fl – cl/bass cl – bsn/contra – 2 horns – tpt – vln & cello]

There are nine Welsh folksongs used in this piece:

1.      The Grey Cuckoo

2.      There’s my love in the orchard yonder

3.      Titroom, tatroom

4.      I wandered through the churchyard, sighing

5.      The sea-cob of Malltraeth

6.      The Mother-in-law’s Plaint

7.      The Kind Old Man

8.      My dear one is slender

9.      Farewell to thee, my homeland dear

The English translations are by D. Vaughan Thomas

The original a capella settings were written for a memorial concert for Roger Thomas, the founder of Rowan Cottage, a man with a compassionate vision. This took place on Sunday 2nd March in the United Church, sung by a selection of the Occasional Singers.

Karen Bidwell kindly lent some Welsh folksongs for me to find those in this collection

The expanded version was written for the Occasional Singers, for their Summer concert in St James, Kingston, on June 5th 2010, with soloists Abbi Temple & Henrik Lagercrantz