A Christmas in Wales - ( click to download the flier )

7 - 8:30 pm, Dec 20, 2014
Kenilworth Presbyterian Church, 4028 SE 34th Ave at Gladstone St in Portland 

The Festival Chorus of the Welsh Society of Portland present their annual Christmas Concert “A Christmas in Wales” featuring traditional Welsh carols, songs, and other seasonal music. Featured special guests include the Celtic Fusion band Beltaine , harpist Tracey Rose Brown , as well as chorus member soloists and chamber ensembles. A sing- along of popular carols (including a “Deck the Halls” like you’ve never heard it before!) will round out the program.

The Festival Chorus draws on the rich traditions of choral singing in Wales, long known as “the land of song.” They sing in both Welsh and English and were originally founded to perform at the annual hymn-singing festival (or Gymanfa Ganu as it’s known in Welsh)  held at Bryn Seion Welsh Church. The Chorus now performs at events year ‘round. They are led by Dr. Jamie Lynn Webster, who also directs the Chautauqua Community Chorus and the Portland Revel’s ViVoce Ensemble.

Beltaine is the Northwest's premier Celtic Fusion band featuring hammered dulcimer, guitar, accordion, and marimbula. They offer a unique blend of musical styles inspired from Celtic, folk, rock, classical, jazz, and blues sources.

Wales has a rich and vibrant history going back to the pre-Roman Celts. The Welsh Society of Portland celebrates and perpetuates Welsh heritage, culture and music in Oregon. The WSOP is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.   

CONCERT - MORE DETAILS/DOWNLOAD THE FLIER HERE

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AmeriCymru: Hi Chris and many thanks for agreeing to this interview. You are appearing at the forthcoming 27th International Annual Folk Alliance Conference in Kansas City. Care to share the details?

Chris: Hi Ceri,croeso mawr, my pleasure, and thank you for the invitation. Sure, I will be an invited guest and Showcase artist at the FAI this year singing some Welsh folk songs and songs from the other Celtic nations. I have several performances but the main one will be at 9:30 on the showcase stage on sat the 21st Feb. The invitation came from TRAC (Traditional Music Wales), with help from the Arts Council of Wales. I will be there from the 18th (late on) until the night of the 21st and looking forward immensly to the opportunity of performing in America for the first time!

AmeriCymru: When did you first become interested in traditional Welsh folk music?

Chris: Well I guess it was when I was a teenager, about 16 or so. I was never an Eisteddfodwr and for Folk music I think that was a good move as Traditional Folk is a different tradition to the Eisteddfod. But my interest grew steadily to invol ve performing trad songs unaccompanied (at that time), and blossomed when I was a student in England, especially after being involved in Irish sessions around Bristol and the West country of England which is very rich in English trad singing too. So many an invite from Irish friends who were always keen to hear the Welsh language tradition as perhaps they were unfamiliar with the repertoire of Welsh music drew me into folk performance and an appreciation of other traditions which I thnk has been a boon. The interest went both ways and I was introduced to some great Irish and Scottish songs that I added to my own body of sources and influences. Song collecting is really a great part of folk music and sessions (yes in pubs until the early hours) are one of the best and most enjoyable context to expand your personal repertoire.

AmeriCymru: What instruments do you play?

Chris: I play guitar, for the guitarists out there I have a Taylor 214 currently needing some work, and a Faith FKV Naked Venus Electro. Both have excellent character whilst being vastly different in sound and timbre. I learnt on a Spanish but moved to a steel string Takemine EN40 which although a great amplified stage  performance instrument lacks the finger-picking fluency and subtlety of the other two.

I now have added the bouzouki as an instrument also and can be heard on the album too. Originally from Greece it has been modified in shape and retuned to suit Celtic music as a rhythm instrument mainly since the 60's.

AmeriCymru: Care to introduce your first album  Dacw'r Tannau for our readers?

Chris: Dacw'r Tannau translates as “there are..” or “behold the strings” and is part of a line from the song Dacw 'Nhariad  “Behold my love”. I recorded it at SAIN studios in Llandwrog near Caernarfon last March/April with John Lawrence of Gorki's Zykotic Mynci fame, on Gwymon Label.

There are 9 songs five in Welsh and four in English. I've known these songs for years but the bouzouki numbers and “Fair Flower of Northumberland (a Scottish border ballad) were arranged specifically for the album. The album has been received quite well critically and I hope to record another soon.  

Chris: Well first, its a privilege to be associated with Meic in any context and he certainly is a huge influence on me ever since I as a teenager although I do traditional  folk (at least on this album) and he's more singer-songwriter, bluesy as well as folk sensibility. It's the quality of his songs that are breathtaking to me as much as his guitar style which is fluid and articulate but economical. A real legend.  He represent  the finest expression of contemporary Welsh musical artistry-he really does, and I had the pleasure of supporting him this time last year back in Wales in one of the best performances I've seen him do.

Maredydd Evans is a seminal figure in Welsh folk revival and his trad style is mesmerising. The late Nansi Richards and Llio Rhydderch are exceptional triple harpists, there is a concrete Welsh musical sensibility here in their playing which I find a source of great resourcefulness and is genuinely ancient and unique to the Welsh triple harp. Another triple harpist is Robin Huw Bowen who tours ceaselesly it seems and has recorded many excellent albums. I must draw attention to the singing of Plethyn who's unnacompanied harmonies are based on traditional Plygain singing and are beautiful.

I've always admired the playing of Janch and Renbourn. I've never consciously seen them as direct influences on my style though but more than one reviewer has pointed this out so perhaps the influence is audible-as it were- to listeners more discerning than myself!! Unconscious osmosis? Nevertheless it's a privilege to be compared to both.

I think it's important to seek influences from as wide a range of sources as possible even  from other traditions providing you can integrate what you take into your own tradition, and many folk musicians have and do so. Although from a distinctly different tradition Dick Gaughan from Scotland is the traditional musician/guitarist and folk song arranger that I feel has had most influence on me. And I could listen to him all day. But I've listened to a lot of Nick Jones and Martin Carthy from England as well. And although I wouldn't list him as a stylistic influence I do admire what I've heard of the playing of Martin Simpson.

From Ireland Andy Irvine and Donal Lunny especially in their Planxty days have been a source of enormous pleasure as has been the singing of Christy Moore.

Another Irishman of note would be Luke Kelly of the Dubliners who chooses and interprets songs so beautifully and was around at the very beginning of the Irish folk revival.

Woody Guthrie has been an important influence thematically and as an admirer of American folk styles he was a great introduction. As a guitarist I can't help mention the wonderful American Bluesmen and am a great admirer of many artists from that tradition. Robert Johnson, Skip James and particularly J B Lenoir. I kind of see early Blues as a form of Folk music. But Artists like the wonderful BB King are perhaps an influence on my musical sensibility rather than a direct influence on guitar style. If so then it's all good!

AmeriCymru: Where can people go online to hear and purchase your music?
 
Chris: You can listen to and view photos and vids of my music on my EPK (electronic press kit) at:

http://www.sonicbids.com/band/robchrisjones/feed/

You can purchase my album on SAIN's website at:

http://www.sainwales.com/store/sain/gwymon-cd20      

AmeriCymru: What's next for Chris Jones?

Chris: Well, I have an ambition to work in America and to travel as much as I can playing music. Also to record more albums now that I have one under my belt and having enjoyed the process for the first time.

AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?

Chris: First I’d like to emphasise how important I feel a forum like AmeriCymru is for promoting Welsh identity, music, business and contacts internationally and also it's crucial that we identify ourselves as ethnically Celtic like the Irish and Scots do so successfully as we are sometimes overlooked as people don't know. “Is Welsh Celtic?” A question I've often heard. Self-promotion is necessary as a musician to get noticed and is necessary for Welsh people to promote our national identity too as we have a great deal to offer as a people, especially now that further political devolution is on the cards in the UK.
 
But when I use the term ethnic I mean a cultural, historical and civic national identity not a vulgar genetic definition. A definition that includes everyone who identifies themselves as Welsh.

Advance Event Notice
Lleuwen Steffan - Folk Alliance International

Saturday February 20 2016, 7:45 PM
@ Pershing East/West Ballroom, Kansas City, MO

Lleuwen Steffan (photo by Steph Carioù)

AmeriCymru: Hi Lleuwen...please tell us about your upcoming visit to the States. How long will you be in the US?

Lleuwen: Pnawn da Americymru,  great to be in touch again. It’s been so long since I last crossed that pond !  The first trip will be short – I will perform with  brilliant double-bassist Vincent Guerin as a part of Folk Alliance International in Kansas City. The gig will be at 7.45pm on Saturday 20 February and the exact location will be posted on the festival website shortly. (www.folk.org). We will return to the States in the summer to play at Rochester Jazz Festival, NY. This time with the full band. What a treat ! We will play two concerts at the festival between June 24 and July 2. We will have a working VISA for this occasion and are searching for other concerts in the States either the month prior to or the month following Rochester Jazz Festival.

AmeriCymru: What can you tell us about the musicians who will be accompanying you?

Lleuwen: I  consider myself a very, very lucky lady to have a dream band accompanying me this summer : Vincent Guerin from Brittany with his double bass : http://www.vincecow.com/wordpress/ Jochen Eisentraut from the Ogwen Valley on piano and sax. My sister Manon Steffan Ros providing vocal harmonies. It’s going to be fun and we are all extremely excited for the American Adventure !

AmeriCymru: Are you looking for other gigs/engagements while you are here?

Lleuwen: Yes indeed! As I mentioned, our visas will allow us to work in the US and Canada for a month and I am on the look-out for concerts either the month prior or following the Rochester Jazz Festival. There are many ways in which my music can be performed . . . with the band, as a trio, duo, or even solo with just my voice and guitar. Chapels, house gigs, village halls, festivals, music halls. . .the variety is what keeps the music moving and inspiration flowing. Perhaps Americymru members would also be interested in my sister’s work. Manon (Steffan Ros) will sing back-up vocals on the American Adventure. She is also a professional writer. Her most critically acclaimed novel Blasu has recently been translated into English - The Seasoning.  Manon often gives talks and workshops about her writing and would be very happy to do so in America .You can read an interview with Manon here : 

http://www.judithbarrow.co.uk/wednesdays-interview-with-honno-authors-today-with-manon-steffan-ros/

We are open to all kinds of music making. I have recently had the pleasure of leading singing workshops specializing in folk songs and hymns. If you would like more info about any of this, please feel free to contact me directly through my website or through my management. (Details at the bottom of the page.)

AmeriCymru: How would you describe your repertoire? Will it include material from your three studio albums?

Lleuwen: I have been working on a set of original material combined with some Welsh hymns and a sprinkle of rather unlikely and unusual folk tunes. I can’t wait to share this music with American audiences ! It has been called jazzy folk, it has been called folky jazz. But to me they’re just songs.  The band is a « lobscows » (welsh stew) of  various tastes and textures. I’m having great fun making songs and sharing musical memories with friends. The enjoyment of the band is surely heard in the music. I have been working with two wonderful singer / songwriters this year – John Spillane form Ireland and Frank Yamma from the Australian desert. Both totally inspiring in very different ways. I will be performing songs from my past albums of course but will mostly focus on the new stuff. And you know, the new old stuff  . . .revamps of Welsh hymns and some folk songs.         

AmeriCymru:  What's next for Lleuwen Steffan. Any new recordings in the pipeline?

Lleuwen: There have been very many new songs in the past four months. Mostly about mountains vs cities - Eryri, Cardiff, Llanrug, motorways, seasickness. I am always hunting for songs, alway writing and recording songs. The new stuff is acoustically wild and less electric than the previous record, Tan. Not at all polished. I have been travelling  back and forth to Brittany so much during the past years and songs do tend to come out on the ferry.  Some I love and some I don’t.  It’s wonderful.  To find a song I am proud of gives me joy.  And I enjoy writing the crap ones too . . . to have a good old laugh at myself ! It’s soul food.  I consider myself very fortunate to be doing this. I am very happy with this direction. There might be a release date on the horizon . . . but I’m just going to keep quiet and surprise you with that one!

AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?

Lleuwen:   Do keep an eye on my website for the latest info about our American Adventure ! All will be revealed. Also, please do not hesitate to contact us for more info. And last but not least, I wish you all a NADOLIG LLAWEN and a BLWYDDYN NEWYDD DDA ! Make it a good one, folks ! Cariad mawr x

Lleuwen’s website : http://www.lleuwen.com

Management & Bookings : Peter@peterconwaymanagement.com

A CO-OPERATIVE LIFE IN SOUTH WALES 1890-1964

In his lifetime, William Hazell was a leading figure in the co-operative movement of South Wales, but since his death in 1964 he has been all but forgotten. In this book, Alun Burge has unearthed an authentic, but previously unknown, working-class voice of the South Wales valleys. This book charts the journeys of Hazell and the Ynysybwl co-operative movement through strikes, lockouts, personal tragedy, political turmoil, and two world wars. It is a unique and absorbing account of life in a South Wales village which also sheds a much-needed light on the forgotten history of the co-operative movement in Britain. Wi lliam Hazell is a key figure belatedly emerging from the history of the south Wales coalfield. His lifelong commitment to the co-operative movement was inspired by his vision of co-operation as a means of building a better future. He epitomised the deep and loyal relationship that developed between the people of the Valleys and their co-operative societies, and which became a central part of their way of life. A writer and a thinker, as well as a man of action, his powerful and articulate voice still resonates half a century later.

' a most impressive, important and original historical work which reconstructs a culture in its fullest sense. '  Neil Evans, Cardiff University

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alun Burge is a historian of the co-operative movement. He has worked with co-operatives since 1985 in a variety of national and international roles, including five years living in Nicaragua. After returning to Wales, he worked in the Welsh Government's Department of Social Justice.

BUY THE BOOK HERE

Ynysybwl in south Wales. Home of the co-operative movement.