Meredydd Evans
Encyclopedia
Meredydd Evans is a collector, editor, historian and notable performer of folk music
of Wales
written in the Welsh language
. His award-winning recordings of his own unaccompanied vocal performances and his published editions in collaboration with his American-born wife Phyllis Kinney have helped to preserve Welsh musical legacy and promote it world-wide.
Born in Llanegryn in Merionethshire
, Evans was brought up in Tanygrisiau
. He attributes his first exposure to Welsh folk songs to his mother who sang to him when he was a child. His interest in Welsh music developed at the University College of North Wales, Bangor, under the influence of Mrs. Enid Parry. In 1954 he recorded an important selection of songs for Folkways Records
in New York
while a Ph.D. Candidate in philosophy at Princeton University
. After his return to Wales, he and his wife edited three collections of Welsh songs described as "definitive reference-works for this genre of national song."
Whilst a student at Bangor he was a frequent performer, notably with Cledwyn Jones and Robin Williams on Noson Lawen broadcasts for the BBC. (He was the cwac cwac of Triawd y Buarth.)
Between 1963 and 1973 he returned to popular entertainment as Head of Light Entertainment for BBC Wales, and a producer of numerous popular television programmes including Lloffa, Fo a Fe, Ryan a Ronnie and Hob y Deri Dando.
A senior figure in Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, the Welsh Language Society, he is an advocate of non-violent revolutionary means to promote the interests of Welsh speakers. He appeared before the High Court in Carmarthen in 1980 after the Pencarreg television transmitter was taken off the air in the course of the campaign for a Welsh-language television channel.
In April, 2007, the University of Wales
published a festschrift volume for Evans and Kinney, "a fully bilingual collection of critical essays on various aspects of Welsh song and traditional music by Wales’ leading experts and musicologists" to celebrate their contribution "not only to Welsh traditional music but to the very culture and language of Wales."
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
of Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
written in the Welsh language
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
. His award-winning recordings of his own unaccompanied vocal performances and his published editions in collaboration with his American-born wife Phyllis Kinney have helped to preserve Welsh musical legacy and promote it world-wide.
Born in Llanegryn in Merionethshire
Merionethshire
Merionethshire is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, a vice county and a former administrative county.The administrative county of Merioneth, created under the Local Government Act 1888, was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 on April 1, 1974...
, Evans was brought up in Tanygrisiau
Tanygrisiau
Tanygrisiau is a village in the upper end of the Vale of Ffestiniog in the county of Gwynedd, north-west Wales . It can be found along the southern side of the Moelwyn mountain range and dates to around 1750...
. He attributes his first exposure to Welsh folk songs to his mother who sang to him when he was a child. His interest in Welsh music developed at the University College of North Wales, Bangor, under the influence of Mrs. Enid Parry. In 1954 he recorded an important selection of songs for Folkways Records
Folkways Records
Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987, and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.-History:...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
while a Ph.D. Candidate in philosophy at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. After his return to Wales, he and his wife edited three collections of Welsh songs described as "definitive reference-works for this genre of national song."
Whilst a student at Bangor he was a frequent performer, notably with Cledwyn Jones and Robin Williams on Noson Lawen broadcasts for the BBC. (He was the cwac cwac of Triawd y Buarth.)
Between 1963 and 1973 he returned to popular entertainment as Head of Light Entertainment for BBC Wales, and a producer of numerous popular television programmes including Lloffa, Fo a Fe, Ryan a Ronnie and Hob y Deri Dando.
A senior figure in Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, the Welsh Language Society, he is an advocate of non-violent revolutionary means to promote the interests of Welsh speakers. He appeared before the High Court in Carmarthen in 1980 after the Pencarreg television transmitter was taken off the air in the course of the campaign for a Welsh-language television channel.
In April, 2007, the University of Wales
University of Wales
The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...
published a festschrift volume for Evans and Kinney, "a fully bilingual collection of critical essays on various aspects of Welsh song and traditional music by Wales’ leading experts and musicologists" to celebrate their contribution "not only to Welsh traditional music but to the very culture and language of Wales."
Publications
- Hume Gwasg Gee, Denbigh. 1984.
- Merêd: detholiad o ysgrifau Dr. Meredydd Evans (eds Geraint Huw Jenkins, Ann Ffrancon), Gomer, Llandysul, 1994.
- Canu'r Cymry Volumes 1&2. Welsh Folk Songs. Welsh Folk-Song Society.
External links
- Welsh Folk Songs Album Details at Folkways RecordsFolkways RecordsFolkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987, and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.-History:...
- Sain Records http://www.sain.wales.com/sain/thing.aspx?thingid=251&letter=Mhttp://www.sain.wales.com/sain/..%2fsain%2fproduct.aspx?productuid=219248&clickproductonpage=