Robat Arwyn (born November 1959) is a musical composer from

Ruthin Ruthin ( ; ) is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales, in the south of the Vale of Clwyd. The town, castle and St Peter's Square lie on a hill, skirted by villages such as Pwllglas and Rhewl. The name comes from the Welsh ''rhud ...

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

, best known for his many

Welsh-language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). ...

songs. His notable compositions include the songs "Anfonaf Angel" and "

Benedictus Benedictus, Latin for "blessed" or "a blessed person", may refer to: Music * "Benedictus" (canticle), also called the "Canticle of Zachary", a canticle in the Gospel of Lukas * Part of the "Sanctus", a hymn and part of the eucharistic prayer in W ...

". Arwyn was born in

Talysarn Tal-y-sarn () is a village in the slate quarrying Nantlle Valley in Gwynedd, Wales, next to Penygroes. It is part of the community of Llanllyfni and includes some of Llandwrog. The ward had a population of 1,930 at the 2011 census, the bui ...

, in the

Nantlle Nantlle () is a small village in the slate quarrying Nantlle Valley in Gwynedd, Wales. It lies on the north shore of Llyn Nantlle Uchaf and is part of the community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially- ...

valley, under the name Robert Arwyn Jones, and studied Music at

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

before qualifying as a librarian at College of Librarianship in Wales at Aberystwyth. He went on to be chief librarian at Denbighshire Libraries for 20 years. Arwyn's

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

, ''Ceidwad y Gannwyll'', with libretto by

Robin Llwyd ab Owain Robin Llwyd ab Owain is a Welsh author, poet, and Wikipedian. He won the chair at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in 1991. In 2013, he was appointed Wikimedia UK's first Wales Manager. He is the son of poet and writer Owain Owain. Writing In 1 ...

, was performed at the National Eisteddfod at Rhyl in 1985. His composition, " Atgof o'r Sêr" (2001), was commissioned for the Denbighshire

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. Competito ...

, where it was performed by

Bryn Terfel Bryn Terfel Jones (; born 9 November 1965), is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially primarily associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly '' Figaro'', '' Leporello'' and ''Don Giovanni,'' but he has subsequ ...

, Fflur Wyn and Côr Rhuthun. "Anfonaf Angel", which he wrote in 2008 with Hywel Gwynfryn, has since been recorded by many artists, including Ffion Hâf, Trio, Elgan Llyr Thomas,

Rhys Meirion Rhys Meirion is a Welsh opera and classical tenor singer. He was born on 24 February 1966 in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd. He joined the English National Opera in 1999 and became a company principal from 2001 to 2004. He has also sung leading r ...

, Piantel and the London Welsh Male Voice Choir. It was recorded in 2011 by

in order to raise funds for the Welsh Air Ambulance Service.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arwyn, Robat 1959 births 20th-century Welsh male composers 21st-century Welsh male composers Living people Welsh librarians People from Ruthin People from Talysarn