Customer Reviews

Bryn Terfel - We'll Keep a Welcome

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Ok, I am not one to write reviews on a cd and in fact this is my first. The first time that I heard Bryn T sing any Welsh songs was on the Rugby World Cup cd entitled "Land Of My Fathers". The song Ar Lan Y Mor never fails to move me to tears, there is such a lonely, haunting quality to it. MYFANWY is another beautiful song about the hope of love blossoming. Not all songs are sung in Welsh but being the land of song and poetry, each one is a pearl. Bryn's voice is made for the songs on this album and unlike the overly boistrous level that he can at times achieve singing musicals or opera, it somehow fits on this cd when he does the more patriotic songs. The backing vocals of the Black Mountain Chorus does a wonderful job of complimenting Bryn on Land of My Fathers and Men of Harlach as well as some others. Many of the songs are Welsh hymns and a wonderful example of this is Calon Lan which translates as A Pure Heart. There are also some selections that are poetry set to music such as the Sunset Poem written by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Suo-Gan is a lovely lullaby about a mothers love. Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau is the Welsh national anthem and who wouldn't be stired up by words like 'The land whose stern warriors were true to the core, While bleeding for freedom of yore'? In short, don't buy this album unless you may truly say as the Welsh proverb goes 'To be born Welsh is to be born with music in your blood and poetry in your soul'

Once again, Bryn Terfel proves that he is the greatest bass-baritone alive, and does it in charming, engaging way. A whole range of emotions and vocal colors spill out of this great man. He begins and ends by shaking the rafters with his national pride in "Land of My Fathers". In between, he charms with "My Little Welsh Home" (a recital favorite) and "Myfanwy", soothes with "Ar Lan Y Mor" and "Ar Hyd Y Nos", and envigorates with "Men of Harlech" and the title track.

However, "Suo-Gan" is worth the entire price of the CD alone: Terfel practically outdoes himself with the soft, caressing beauty of his phrasing. It's no wonder his young son Tomas refuses to sleep when Terfel sings it, and will only smile at his father and listen quietly. Who, indeed, would want to miss one note of this glorious stuff?

Bryn Terfel is a powerhouse of a bass-baritone, and a most versatile performer on the opera stage. I have seen him a number of times, and the range and beauty of his performances have never disappointed: he was a lyrical, bronze voiced Wolfram in Wagner's Tannhauser, and a playful, beautifully voiced rake as Mozart's Figaro (qualities he almost topped as Don Giovanni). I am not particularly fond of his "crossover" recordings: when he's not hamming it up on certain Rodgers & Hammerstein songs (not all -- some are done beautifully), he just comes across as overly stylized and mannered singing popular music (qualities which, I think, also hurt Renee Fleming's "crossover" work).

This is not an opera recording, nor a typical "crossover" CD. These are perfectly chosen and performed hymns and Welsh standards, marvelously sung by Terfel and the stupendous mens' choir he surrounded himself with. My favorites are the songs which were featured prominently in John Ford's classic, "How Green Was My Valley", namely "Cwm Rhondda" (the familiar hymn "Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer"), "Men of Harlech", "Calon Lan" and, especially, a heartbreakingly gorgeous a capella version of "Myfanwy" (the melody of which can be heard in "O Home Beloved"). The Welsh language version of "All Through The Night" is sung as tenderly as can be by Mr. Terfel, and I enjoy his rendition of this gentle lullaby far more than the Amazon reviewer did here.

This CD has been in my car for going on 6 years now, and it gets played, in whole or in part, at least a couple of times a month. Very, very enjoyable music.

Bryn Terfel's wonderful new album brings the lovely, stirring, wrenching songs of Wales to a wider world. His rendition of "Myfanwy" may be the best ever recorded, and there's many another wonderful, memorable tune on this album. You certainly don't have to possess Welsh blood to enjoy this--classify it under world music, if you want to be contemporary. Certainly, these songs (and Terfel's profoundly-beautiful, exquisitely-nuanced voice) will haunt you for a long time. Overall, the year 2000 has been a great one for the global revival of Welsh culture--this album capping a year that saw the growing success of a very different brand of Welsh music, the "valley rock" of The Stereophonics; the wonderful, flawless novels of Owen Parry, whose narrator is a Welsh immigrant caught up in the American Civil War (try these--the music of the language is incredible, true poetry, but the books, "Faded Coat of Blue" and "Shadows of Glory" are actually swift-moving, very-literate mysteries); and, finally, the tragic film "Solomon and Gaenor," set in the Welsh coal valleys prior to World War I and offering a much more realistic view of life there than the lovely, but undeniably sugar-coated picture in "How Green Was My Valley." The film features the best of the "new Welsh" actors. Cymru forever!

Do you like the bass-baritone voice? Do you like Welsh songs? Then stop right here and buy this CD. Terfel is by turns rousing, then tender and mellow, with a large warm voice and the right coloration for each song. By the way, if you like Men of Harlech, this is an excellent version.

Bryn Terfel, one of the best baritones in the world, has produced a great recording for the listening public. We can always expect him to offer rich tone, articulate phrasing, and dynamic, intelligent interpretations in his recitals, and that's exactly what we get here. Terfel once said "Having been born Welsh does not necessarily mean being the son of a good home, but it does mean having singing in the fibers of your heart." Well, Terfel certainly does anyway, and he pays tribute to his beloved homeland Wales with a lineup of Welsh folk songs. The Welsh National Anthem, of which there are two versions on this CD, is at least as rousing as "The Star-Spangled Banner" (blasphemy, I know), and is worth listening to over and over. To boot, it's sung in Welsh Gaelic, a beautiful language. Another highlight of the CD- the title song, "We'll Keep a Welcome." Of course, the whole thing is worth listening to.

Anyone who likes Celtic/Welsh music, vocal music in general, and especially Bryn Terfel, will want to get this. I can't imagine Terfel's soaring, artistic voice ever getting old.

An absolutely delightful CD just full of the most wonderful melodic welsh songs and hymns, and what can you say about Bryn's voice other than 'fabulous', rich and vibrant - rather like smooth, dark chocolate. What a wonderful Christmas gift this CD would be for someone who has exquisite taste in music.

Magnificent, all the favourites are here (including Sospan Fach!). And they're all well done, too.
Most enjoyable... I listen to the whole thing a couple of times a month, (and I've had it about a year). It will rouse the hiraeth, boys bach.

I was too young for Sinatra and too old for Elvis or the Beatles. So what happens when I hit my 70s? I develop a scream with joy, photos on my wall, swooning crush on Bryn Terfel!! And, my da' was very proud of his Welsh Heritage and passed that on to me. This was the 3rd CD of his I bought. I think I now have all of them including the entire performance of Falstaff. Those I play most often are this; Tutto Mozart, and Simple Gifts. What a voice! What a hunk! My darling husband tolerated my obsession because he appreciated tha voice, and had hopes Bryn might be drafted as a lineman for the Denver Broncos.

A friend had this cd, I kept borrowing it, thought it was about time to get my own copy!