A world premiere of songs created to explore the connections between Pembrokeshire and Wexford in Ireland will take place at St David’s Cathedral tomorrow, Saturday, March 4.

Composed by Professor Paul Mealor, the world’s most performed living composer the suite of six songs performed by Ar Log focuses on the folk tradition of the Celtic peoples of using music and poetry to keep alive the myths and legends of their past.

The suite of six new Welsh folk songs are composed by the renowned classical composer Paul Mealor, with words by Eisteddfod winning poet Grahame Davies.

The inspiration for the songs come from the Ancient Connections programme, a European funded collaboration between north Pembrokeshire and Wexford which revisits the story of St David and his protégé and pupil St Aidan of Ferns and the connections between the two places.

MORE NEWS:

Grahame Davies’s librettos beautifully capture the spirit of the mission of those early Celtic saints wistfully incorporating in one piece St. David’s last words to his followers, ‘do the little things that you have seen and heard me do’, which have a relevance and force for us today.

It is hoped that the songs will live on adding to the canon to which well-known and loved Welsh songs such as Myfanwy, Hiraeth, Bugeilio’r Gwenith Gwyn and ‘Ar Lan y Mor’ belong.

Ar Log, who are performing the songs, has a long history of playing in Ireland, including County Wexford. Following the premiere of the songs in St. Davids the band will return to County Wexford to premiere the songs in Ireland.

Since they were formed in 1976 Ar Log’s sets have followed the long folk tradition in Wales of performing songs in the Welsh language as well as reviving a more ancient tradition of performing instrumental pieces.

The instrumentals, which feature the Welsh triple harp, range from ancient jigs, reels and hornpipes to more modern compositions.

 

We passionately believe in the value of good, trusted journalism. If you share that belief, you can experience the benefits of unlimited advert-light news access from journalists you know and trust on your favourite devices - subscribe today HERE.

With a digital subscription you will experience up to 80% less advertising, this means faster loading pages and ultimately a much better user experience. You can also sign up for our free daily newsletters HERE.