Various Artists
Blodeugerdd: Song of the Flowers - An Anthology of Welsh Music and Song (CD)

SFW-CD-40552

Wales, a country as ancient as it is forward-looking, boasts a wealth of contemporary musicians who harvest the best of their past to craft an artful future. Blodeugerdd ("song of flowers" in the Welsh language) features a garland of intimate musical interpretations by leading keepers of Welsh music today. Each track is an act of remembering something personal and an illustration of how Welsh culture, in the words of producer Ceri Rhys Matthews, "has survived by quietude and tenacity." 14 tracks, 60 minutes, 44-page booklet with photos and bilingual notes.
The 2009 Folklife Festival program featuring the creative culture of Wales includes six musicians from Blodeugerdd - Song of the Flowers. The Smithsonian Folklife Festival website has more information about live performances on the National Mall in Washington D.C., including a CD-release party on Friday June 26th, 2009.

Track listing:

1 Y’deryn pur (Gentle Bird) Mary Hopkin 2:45
2 Estampie yr ehedydd (The Lark’s Estampie) Anne Marie Summers and Helen Wilding 4:03
3 Ym Mhontypridd mae ’nghariad (My Lover Is in Pontypridd) Ceri Jones 2:47
4 Tôn Cân Pensylvania (Pennsylvania Song Tune) / Hoff Fron (Fond Heart) John Morgan, Diarmuid Johnson, and Chris Grooms 5:29
5 Dod dy law (Put Your Hand) Linda Griffiths 1:48
6 Abergenni / Pont Caerodor Ceri and Catrin Ashton 4:05
7 Carol Plygain (Plygain Carol) Daniel Huws 5:25
8 Colli’r eos (Losing the Nightingale) Christine Cooper 4:28
9 Bedd f’anwylyd (My Lover’s Grave) Llio Rhydderch & Tomos Williams 7:05
10 Caru yn y coed (Courting in the Woods) / Cerdd y gog lwydlas (Cuckoo’s Song) / Lliw lili ymysg y drain (Lily among the Thorns) Cass Meurig and Nial Cain 6:06
11 Y gŵr a’i farch (The Man and His Steed) / If You Do Not Love Me, Go Climb a Tree Jo Cooper and Elin Lloyd 2:46
12 Y dyn meddw (The Drunkard) / Glân meddwdod mwyn (Sweet Mellow Drunkenness) / Coleg y Brifysgol Abertawe (University College Swansea) / Pibddawns gwŷr Wrecsam (The Men of Wrexham’s Hornpipe) Jem Hammond and Tom Scott 4:44
13 Hiraeth (Longing) Max Boyce, Christine Cooper, and Llio Rhydderch 3:05
14 Lisa Lan, Ffoles Llantrisant (Beautiful Lisa, Girl from Llantrisant) Julie Murphy, Sille Ilves, and Martin Leamon 5:33

Published: 2009

Genre: Irish & Scottish & Brittany
Label: Smithsonian Folkways