Soliloquies for Harp: Ymsonau i'r Delyn (CD)

RELEASE DATE: 22-07-2022

This is Gwenllian’s second CD of solo harp music. Inspired by the wealth of Welsh music, Gwenllian sought to celebrate the diversity within the repertoire, from firm favourites by Mathias and John Thomas to brand new works and arrangements. Read her introduction to the CD below.

Track listing:

1. Dalwyn Henshall: Three Welsh Dances – i. Maestoso

2. Dalwyn Henshall: Three Welsh Dances – ii. Adagio cantabile

3. Dalwyn Henshall: Three Welsh Dances – iii. Allegro assai

4. Mared Emlyn: Melangell – 1. Canghennau Clwm

5. Mared Emlyn: Melangell – 2. Llannerch

6. Gwenllian Llŷr: Ffantasi ar ‘Calon Lan’

7. John Thomas: Le Soir

8. Haldon Evans: Soliloquies – i. Dros y Mynydd

9. Haldon Evans: Soliloquies – ii. Suo Gan

10. Haldon Evans: Soliloquies – i. O’r Banna

11. Ann Griffiths: Fantasia on a Welsh Folk Song, ‘Beth yw’r Haf i Mi?’

12. John Parry: Sonata No. 1 in D major – i. Allegro

13. John Parry: Sonata No. 1 in D major – ii. Andante

14. John Parry: Sonata No. 1 in D major – iii. Gavotta

15. Grace Williams: Hiraeth

16. William Mathias: Improvisations for Harp – i. Allegro moderato

17. William Mathias: Improvisations for Harp – ii. Lento – Sonore

18. William Mathias: Improvisations for Harp – iii. Allegro non troppo

19. Morfydd Owen: The Land of Hush-a-bye

Welsh music has, perhaps inevitably, played a significant part in my life: from my first big win in the Gŵyl Cerdd Dant, aged 10, playing one of John Thomas’s most popular arrangements, Ffarwel y Telynor (The Minstrel’s Adieu), to performing in New York’s Carnegie Hall with Côrdydd choir in a showcase of Welsh music. It feels fitting, then, that my next recording project should be all about Welsh music. Alongside my desire to showcase a few of the distinguished female Welsh composers, I was keen to include a wide range of pieces – from harp solos that have made their way firmly into the concert repertoire, to newer, perhaps less familiar pieces. What I hope you’ll enjoy in this collection is the distinctive voice of each of the composers, be that via original compositions or as fresh takes on well-known melodies.