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Cerdd Dant
' (, or ') is the art of vocal improvisation over a given melody in Welsh musical tradition. It is an important competition in . The singer or (small) choir sings a counter melody over a harp melody. History is a unique tradition of singing lyrics over a harp melody. Traditional singers who sang in stately homes tended to sing in a Welsh language that had strict rules about metre, rhyme, and acceleration. is usually performed by a solo singer and a harpist; however, it is also performed by choirs and with several harps. A common form is have a harp melody written down or a well known tune, while the vocalist improvises their own harmony while singing a poem. When sung in a competition, there are strict rules about rhythm and cadences. When finishing a piece, the final verse has to end on a perfect cadence that is close to the home key so that the ending of the song is clear. In Wales, during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, two arts flourished side by side: ' (the craft of t ...
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Julius Caesar Ibbetson - Penillion Singing Near Conwy
The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the consulship was Gaius Julius Iulus in 489 BC. The gens is perhaps best known, however, for Gaius Julius Caesar, the dictator and grand uncle of the emperor Augustus, through whom the name was passed to the so-called Julio-Claudian dynasty of the first century AD. The Julius became very common in imperial times, as the descendants of persons enrolled as citizens under the early emperors began to make their mark in history.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. II, pp. 642, 643. Origin The Julii were of Alban origin, mentioned as one of the leading Alban houses, which Tullus Hostilius removed to Rome upon the destruction of Alba Longa. The Julii also existed at an early period at Bovillae, evidenced by a ...
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Nansi Richards
Nansi Richards Jones (14 May 1888 – 21 December 1979) was a Welsh harpist, sometimes known as the "Queen of the Harp"Folktrax 351"Nansi Richards, Triple Harp" or by her bardic name "Telynores Maldwyn". Early life and education Jane Ann "Nansi" Richards was born at Pen-y-bont-fawr, Montgomeryshire. An expert on both the triple and pedal harps, she always maintained that the greatest influences on her life were her father Thomas Richards, the Kale (Welsh Romanies) who stayed on their farm, and Tom Lloyd (Telynor Ceiriog, 1848–1917), who taught her to play the harp. She also studied at the Guildhall School of Music in London, with harpist John Thomas. Musical career She won the National Eisteddfod harp competition three times in succession. After a year at the Guildhall School of Music, she toured with American comedian "Happy" Fanny Fields. The two young women devised tricks for Nansi to do while playing the harp, such as playing with her back turned, or playing two har ...
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Melody
A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term can include other musical elements such as tonal color. It is the foreground to the background accompaniment. A line or part need not be a foreground melody. Melodies often consist of one or more musical phrases or motifs, and are usually repeated throughout a composition in various forms. Melodies may also be described by their melodic motion or the pitches or the intervals between pitches (predominantly conjunct or disjunct or with further restrictions), pitch range, tension and release, continuity and coherence, cadence, and shape. Function and elements Johann Philipp Kirnberger argued: The Norwegian composer Marcus Paus has argued: Given the many and varied e ...
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Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 2021 of 3,107,500 and has a total area of . Wales has over of coastline and is largely mountainous with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon (), its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate. The capital and largest city is Cardiff. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, and Wales was formed as a kingdom under Gruffydd ap Llywelyn in 1055. Wales is regarded as one of the Celtic nations. The conquest of Wales by Edward I of England was completed by 1283, though Owain Glyndŵr led the Welsh Revolt against English rule in the early 15th century, and briefly re-establis ...
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Music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect of all human societies, a cultural universal. While scholars agree that music is defined by a few specific elements, there is no consensus on their precise definitions. The creation of music is commonly divided into musical composition, musical improvisation, and musical performance, though the topic itself extends into academic disciplines, criticism, philosophy, and psychology. Music may be performed or improvised using a vast range of instruments, including the human voice. In some musical contexts, a performance or composition may be to some extent improvised. For instance, in Hindustani classical music, the performer plays spontaneously while following a partially defined structure and using characteristic motifs. In modal ...
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Eisteddfod
In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, according to Hywel Teifi Edwards, "sitting-together." Edwards further defines the earliest form of the eisteddfod as a competitive meeting between bards and minstrels, in which the winner was chosen by a noble or royal patron.Hywel Teifi Edwards (2015), ''The Eisteddfod'', pages 5–6. The first documented instance of such a literary festival and competition took place under the patronage of Prince Rhys ap Gruffudd of the House of Dinefwr at Cardigan Castle in 1176. However, with the loss of Welsh independence at the hands of King Edward I, the closing of the bardic schools, and the Anglicization of the Welsh nobility, it fell into abeyance. The current format owes much to an 18th-century revival, first patronized and overseen by the L ...
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Choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which spans from the medieval era to the present, or popular music repertoire. Most choirs are led by a conductor, who leads the performances with arm, hand, and facial gestures. The term ''choir'' is very often applied to groups affiliated with a church (whether or not they actually occupy the quire), whereas a ''chorus'' performs in theatres or concert halls, but this distinction is not rigid. Choirs may sing without instruments, or accompanied by a piano, pipe organ, a small ensemble, or an orchestra. A choir can be a subset of an ensemble; thus one speaks of the "woodwind choir" of an orchestra, or different "choirs" of voices or instruments in a polychoral composition. In typical 18th century to 21st century oratorios and masses, 'chorus' ...
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Harp
The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or concerts. Its most common form is triangular in shape and made of wood. Some have multiple rows of strings and pedal attachments. Ancient depictions of harps were recorded in Current-day Iraq (Mesopotamia), Iran (Persia), and Egypt, and later in India and China. By medieval times harps had spread across Europe. Harps were found across the Americas where it was a popular folk tradition in some areas. Distinct designs also emerged from the African continent. Harps have symbolic political traditions and are often used in logos, including in Ireland. History Harps have been known since antiquity in Asia, Africa, and Europe, dating back at least as early as 3000  BCE. The instrument had great popularity in Europe during ...
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Cerdd Dafod
''Cerdd dafod'' (literally ''tongue craft'') is the Welsh tradition of creating verse or poetry to a strict metre in the Welsh language. History The history of ''cerdd dafod'' can be traced to 6th century Welsh poets such as Aneirin and Taliesin, but is probably much older. Studies also suggest that features of this form of poetry are comparable to the ancient Irish versifications and therefore point to an older shared Celtic inheritance. The composition of ''cerdd dafod'' requires strict observance of the rules of cynghanedd: an intricate system of sound-arrangement in respect of stress, alliteration, and internal rhyme within each line. One of the earliest texts on the subject is credited to Einion Offeiriad (fl c. 1320–c. 1349) a bard considered to have been under the patronage of Sir Rhys ap Gruffydd, a powerful nobleman of south-west Wales. In it, he lists 24 canonical metres used for all poems in the writing of ''cerdd dafod''. This was later revised by Dafydd ap Edmwnd ...
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Crwth
The crwth (, also called a crowd or rote or crotta) is a bowed lyre, a type of stringed instrument, associated particularly with Welsh music, now archaic but once widely played in Europe. Four historical examples have survived and are to be found in St Fagans National Museum of History (Cardiff); National Library of Wales (Aberystwyth); Warrington Museum & Art Gallery; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (US). Origin of the name The name ' is Welsh, derived from a Proto-Celtic noun ''*-'' ("round object") which refers to a swelling or bulging out, a pregnant appearance or a protuberance, and it is speculated that it came to be used for the instrument because of its bulging shape. Other Celtic words for violin also have meanings referring to rounded appearances. In Gaelic, for example, "" can mean "hump" or "hunch" as well as harp or violin. Like several other English loanwords from Welsh, the name is one of the few words in the English language in which the letter W is used as ...
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National Eisteddfod
The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitors typically number 6,000 or more, and overall attendance generally exceeds 150,000 visitors. The 2018 Eisteddfod was held in Cardiff Bay with a fence-free ' Maes'. In 2020, the event was held virtually under the name AmGen; events were held over a one-week period. History The National Museum of Wales says that "the history of the Eisteddfod may etraced back to a bardic competition held by the Lord Rhys in Cardigan Castle in 1176", and local Eisteddfodau have certainly been held for many years prior to the first national Eisteddfod. There have been multiple Eisteddfodau held on a national scale in Wales, such as the Gwyneddigion Eisteddfod of , the Provincial Eisteddfodau from 1819 to 1834, the Abergavenny Eisteddfodau of 1835 to 1851 ...
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BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is based in Cardiff and directly employs some 1,200 people to produce a range of programmes for television, radio and online services in both English and Welsh language, Welsh. BBC Cymru Wales operates two TV channels (BBC One Wales, BBC Two Wales) and two radio stations (BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru). The total budget for BBC Cymru Wales (including S4C's £76 million) is £151 million, £31 million of which is for BBC-produced television productions. Services Television BBC Cymru Wales operates two television services, BBC One Wales and BBC Two Wales, which can opt out of the main network feed of BBC One and BBC Two in England to broadcast national programming. These two channels broadcast a variet ...
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