Customer Reviews

Rough Guide to the Music of Wales

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Having Welsh heritage, and familiar already with Scottish and Irish folk music, I was delighted by the uniqueness and diversity of this Rough Guide compilation. Although there are analogs in the folk music of the aforementioned Celtic lands, Welsh music has a tonality and texture all its own. Fiddles, harps, bagpipes (although not the Scottish variety), and ballads abound on this poignant and thoroughly enjoyable CD. There is a lyrical melancholy here which predominates and which echoes some of the contemplative beauty of Dylan Thomas's poetry. I highly recommend this exploration of sounds which will startle in their haunting, lilting universality.

Like the other customer reviewer, I'm also partially of Welsh extraction. I've been listening to Celtic music for years, but had very little exposure to the music of Wales. I had heard that it was strong on the harp and that was about it. I was thrilled to hear this compilation with a rich variety of sounds and instruments. The music of this little country is very different from more familiar styles of Scotland and Ireland. This CD reaches back in history to early recordings and brings us right up to the current Welsh music scene. If you want to get the big picture of what Welsh music is all about, buy it!

This is a wonderful and broad introduction to the world of Welsh music. As expected, there are several beautiful examples featuring solo Welsh Harp (one by the grande dame of welsh harping - Nansi Richards). The Welsh are also well known for their love of singing and choirs. Rather than greats like Bryn Terfel, we have Capel Rhydwylm choir which sounds much more like the folks in your local choir than than The Sixteen. The entire cd has an honest and consistent informality to it from the Urban folk of Rag Foundation to the political-punk-folk of the Boys from the Hill to superb singing of Julie Murphy with both Dylan Fowler and her band Fernhill. This is a great compilation that deserves a place in anyone's collection. Since the music by most of these wonderful artists (Fernhill, Nansi Richards, etc.,) can be nearly impossible to find, not to mention expensive, the cd is an unquestionable bargain to boot. Most of the songs are either in welsh or instrumental, with a few exceptions.

This CD holds an interesting range of music which will take some time to digest. Some of it, as the other reviewers have mentioned (and the liner text says as well) is unexpected. It is a great way to sort through what types of Welsh music one would like to hear more of (or less). The liner notes are a great little booklet of information on the artists. I wish there was more about the music; it does describe each piece and give a little background, but I would have liked more translations of the titles and some of the lyrics themselves. I suppose that would have made the CD a lot more expensive, though, perhaps. Also it introduces an instrument called the "triple harp" and I think there is a photo of it on the liner, but it is not a full photo. It would be nice to see and read more about this thing that they describe as so unique and special. But this is just quibbling which a product that is so special and which I am very glad to have found!

Great variety - ancient harp from the bardic tradition (Taliesin, anyone?), baroque-style music, nice contemporary folk, and an introduction to many unique instruments.

Allegedly the Welsh were the first Celtic people to use harmony, and one of the tracks has a live recording of one of the most bizarre sounding choral pieces I have ever heard; if not for the fact that they are singing biblical scripture, the sound of the voices and the Welsh language would make you think it was an ancient pagan/druidic chant.

There is only one song with synthy stuff, which is good as far as I'm concerned - I'd like to hear more of the tradition music myself, and this recording provides exactly that. The synth is very subdued and mellow, however, and ends up working into the flow of the album very nicely.

Highly recommended for people who like new experiences, the romantically inclined, and budding ethnomusicologists alike.

There is a children's programme on Radio 3, Making Tracks that's up there with Top Gear (Peel Edition!) for introducing the listener to out of the rut music. They featured the two fiddlers, Bob Evans and Gareth Whelan from this Welsh Folk Rough Guide and I bought it on the strength of that. I have been playing it in the van ever since, every track is a gem, no question, you get 71.27 of music that you may very well have never heard before, it's got passion, melody, tradition and above all the pure sound of the triple harp. Nothing better this side of Paraguay!