David John Thomas (15 April 1881 – 13 May 1928), often known by his

bardic name A bardic name (, ) is a pseudonym used in Wales, Cornwall, or Brittany by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement. The Welsh language, Welsh term bardd ('poet') originally referred to the Welsh poets of the M ...

of "Afan", was a Welsh

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, conductor, and organist. Thomas is remembered mainly for his

hymn tune A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part (or more) harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm (chords change frequently), with or without refrain ...

s and songs such as "Drosom ni", "Suo Gan", and "Cymru fach i mi". His other works include a cantata, "Merch y Llyn" ("Lady of the Lake"), and a choral work, "He Fell Among Thieves", a setting of the famous poem by Sir

Henry Newbolt Sir Henry John Newbolt, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (6 June 1862 – 19 April 1938) was an English poet, novelist and historian. He also had a role as a government adviser with regard to the study of English in England. He is perhaps ...

References

1881 births 1928 deaths 20th-century Welsh male composers {{wales-bio-stub