Full disclosure: this is a last minute change to the list. Today's carol was slated to be "The Babe of Bethlehem," but as I listened to it I realized that it's kind of a convoluted song that includes nothing not already examined here. Also, it comes from 15th century England, and not to put down the carols I've posted here from that period, but I'm getting burned out on it. I didn't want the blog post to feel like a redundant chore in which I post carols unheard in America, but widespread in England, and I felt like I was starting to head down that road. So I cut it. Suffice it to say, I'm absolutely shooting from the hip today, so today's analysis might seem comparatively thin, since I picked a carol that I find far more interesting, if limited on historical data. Don't be fooled by the title; "Tua Bethlem Dref" is not written in some sort of exotic language from the Orient. Nope, that's Welsh, my friends, and if you know me (or in the case of a lot of my readers, my dad) you know that the family name is also a Welsh word. As my dad always says of St. David's Day, "Today we celebrate the only Celtic people to never make a good whisky." Well if there's the one thing the Welsh do very well, it's singing, and do they ever do it a lot.
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Your average Welsh house party.
The best I can do on the history on this one is tell you that it was written in 1934 by a little-known Welsh composer named Edward Arthur, which is a pseudonym for his real name David Evans. Between those three, I think he managed to exhaust the total supply of popular Welsh names (coming from someone who's first name is Evan, middle name David). The song gained popularity throughout the British Isles due to its inclusion in A Child's Christmas in Wales, which is both a 1952 radio broadcast and later a work of fiction depicting a child's sense of nostalgia for Christmas. Whether "Tua Bethlem Dref" was included in just one of these and not the other or both remains unclear from what I can gather. That's about it for the history, in all honesty. Which is kind of nice, because I'd like to at least show the lyrics in their original Welsh form, since it's effectively a dead language, apart from its role in Welsh singing. Here's one translation that includes the Welsh lyrics:
Tua Bethlem dref
(To-ward Bethl’em town)
Awn yn fintai gref,
(We-e goooo in a crowd)
Ac addolwn Ef.
(And we wo–rship him)
Tua’r preseb awn
(Go to the stable)
Gyda chalon lawn,
(With a heart so full)
A phenlinio wnawn.
(And we’ll kneel down, we’ll kneel down.)
Gyda’r llwythau
(With a great throng)
Unwn ninnau
(We–e tooooo come along)
Ar y llwybrau
(On the paths that go to Him.)
(To-ward Bethl’em town)
Awn yn fintai gref,
(We-e goooo in a crowd)
Ac addolwn Ef.
(And we wo–rship him)
Tua’r preseb awn
(Go to the stable)
Gyda chalon lawn,
(With a heart so full)
A phenlinio wnawn.
(And we’ll kneel down, we’ll kneel down.)
Gyda’r llwythau
(With a great throng)
Unwn ninnau
(We–e tooooo come along)
Ar y llwybrau
(On the paths that go to Him.)
At y crud.
(To the crib, everyone)
I fachgennyn Mair,
(To Mary’s little son)
Y tragwyddol Air,
(To the eternal Word.)
Dygwn roddion:
(Gifts, gifts we bring)
Serch y galon,
(Love in our hearts singing)
Aur anrhegion, thus a myrr.
(Gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.)
Tua Bethlem dref
(To-ward Bethl’em town)
Awn yn fintal gref,
(We-e goooo in a crowd)
Ac addolwn Ef.
(And we wo–rship him.)
(To the crib, everyone)
I fachgennyn Mair,
(To Mary’s little son)
Y tragwyddol Air,
(To the eternal Word.)
Dygwn roddion:
(Gifts, gifts we bring)
Serch y galon,
(Love in our hearts singing)
Aur anrhegion, thus a myrr.
(Gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.)
Tua Bethlem dref
(To-ward Bethl’em town)
Awn yn fintal gref,
(We-e goooo in a crowd)
Ac addolwn Ef.
(And we wo–rship him.)
I wish I could pay homage to my ancestors and tell you that I can read a single word of that, but I can't. I do happen to know that f's in Welsh (Cymraeg in it's own tongue, because it makes me feel smarter) are pronounced like v's. So take that into consideration if you stumbled through mouthing the words once already. There you go, dad, I did my best to do our people proud, but I think I should leave the singing and poetry and coal mining to them. In parting, here's one more, slightly faster choral version, because for as much I can't read the lyrics, I think this is really unique sounding song:
Very nice! Back in the 1950's I was the designated driver for my grandmother, born in Pontypool in 1884, to take her to the local Gymanfu Ganu, which met in several different venues including an old Methodist church down near the intersection of Oak Hill and Evergreen, and the McKinley Memorial in Niles. I would wait for her outside in the car, and never went into watch any of the singing, and I've always regretted that.
ReplyDeleteWas just hunting down recordings of some Welsh carols, with the same intention as you - posting one a day till Christmas, and I came across you. I would like to take issue with one thing though:"it's effectively a dead language, apart from its role in Welsh singing". This is very far from true. I'm an English immigrant, but I live most of my life through the medium of Welsh - I speak it all day with my husband; it was the medium of the chapel service which I attended on Sunday and the lecture I went to last night on a Welsh dramatist, we write emails in Welsh every day, and spoke it with the visitor who just picked up a Welsh book from us, and it will be the medium of the AGM for our local community newspaper, to which I will be going tomorrow night.In other words, we use it just as you use English.
ReplyDeleteI was about to say something similar!
DeleteLove the blog, but that comment has me writhing 🙈
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ReplyDeleteCymraeg (Welsh) is far from being "effectively a dead language apart from its role in Welsh singing!" I was brought up with Welsh as my second language and I use it regularly, though sadly unlike Merch ei Mam in the comment above not as much as I would like to for various reasons. Welsh medium education is thriving, with the schools being the choice of many monoglot English parents and adult language courses are increasingly popular!
ReplyDeleteAccording to Professor David Ewart Parry Williams, D.Mus. (1900-96) "Edward Arthur" was born David Evans on 6Feb 1874 in Resolven, near Neath in Glamorgan. He was educated at Arnold College, Swansea and University College Cardiff. He married Mary Thomas of Plas-y- Coed, Morriston in 1899 and they had 2 sons.
ReplyDeleteIn 1903 he succeeded Dr Joseph Parry as head of music at Cardiff and was appointed professor there is 1908. He became a prominent composer and amongst other works wrote the music used at the opening of new University buildings at Cardiff and a cantata for the celebration of the bicentenary of Methodism in Wales. "He strove untiringly to raise musical standards throughout the country", a number of his hymn tunes are found in English hymnals and he was largely responsible for editing the Welsh Wesleyan hymn book " Llyfr Emynau a Thonau"
Some of his smaller compositions appeared under the pseudonym 'Edward Arthur'. I like to think that perhaps he wrote "Tua Bethlem Dref" when his grandchildren were taking part in a Nativity play at their Sunday School!
He died 17 May 1948.
The words were written by "Wil Ifans" - William Evans who was born in Cwmbach, Llanwinio, Carmarthenshire in 1883. He became a Minister in the Congregational Church, serving for 3 years in Dolgellau, then spent most of the rest of his life in Bridgend with a few years as a minister in Cardiff. He won the Crown three times - a major prize for poetry written in a strict metre on a nominated topic in the National Eisteddfod of Wales - in Abergavenny in 1913, Birkenhead in 1917 and Pwllheli in 1925. He became Archdruid of Wales (Head of the Gorsedd or Guild of Bards at the National Eisteddfod) in 1947 and held that role until 1960. He died in Bridgend in 1968.
ReplyDeleteI have been unable to find out whether it was the words or the tune which was written first.
As a Welshman, I find some of the statements in this article pretty offensive, but most of all the claim that Welsh is a dead language. It most certainly is not. 20% of the Welsh population speaks it as their first language and the number of fluent speakers is growing. Please inform yourself better before posting in future.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed offensive to state that Welsh is a dead language. At last census, 70% of the district where I live noted abilty to speak Welsh. My children and grandchildren are natural Welsh speakers. You should retract and apologise for the statement and for the other misinformation you are spreading in this blog or whatever it is. I learned the carol, Tua'r Bethlehem Dref, when I was about eleven and it is my fovourite carol. It is a shame you deride and perpetuate nonsense about Wales and Welsh.
ReplyDeleteFavourite. Typing error!
ReplyDeleteUnknown above is me: Lesley Williams
ReplyDeleteWelsh isn't a dead language what!? Lots of people grow up as Welsh first language!! I've met numerous people who barely speak English, only Welsh! There are Welsh-speaking only schools? And Welsh-speaking only University courses!? My Nain and Aunt solely speak in Welsh with each other!? And names: Rhys, Aled, Bryn, Jones, Owen, Dylan, Osian, Gruffyd, Alwyn, Idris, Arthur, Gareth, Lloyd, Hiws, Williams, Thomas, Morgan... Just to name a few...
ReplyDelete