Dakota Beacon

Winter is nearly over.  It is St. David’s Day! It’s also Sunday so we are celebrating our Westen culture here as is our custom.  

St. David was the son of St. Non and a Welsh prince who ravaged her.  He is said also to have been born on the edge of a cliff during a violent thunderstorm, which is a dramatic beginning and incongruent with his peaceful life.  

St. David is the patron saint of Wales.  It is a recurrent problem among the Celtic saints as to how to become a martyr.  The problem arose because unlike many other less civilized pagan cultures, the Celts had a “live-and-let-live” attitude of tolerance to those who introduced Christianity.  In fact, for the most part they warmly embraced it and incorporated Christian traditions into their own. In order to become a saint other means must be devised. Most often these Celtic saints demonstrated their commitment by monastic means, in some cases by total isolation.  This was no small thing in Celtic culture, to be sure. Celts were and are highly socialized peoples and it is a hardship for one to live apart and without this social milieu. Such saints are sometimes referred to as “Green Martyrs”. The Celtic people just wouldn’t kill or torture them.

A “green martyr” is one who self-imposes strict adherence, making voluntary sacrifices in order to serve God.  A “white martyr” is one whose suffering is imposed - perhaps St. Padre Pio would be such an example. We are all familiar with the “red martyrs” - those who died or were tortured for their beliefs.  Most Celtic saints were “green martyrs”. Such was Saint David. He founded a monastery and imposed very strict conditions upon his followers - they drank only water, they ate only seasoned bread and vegetables.  They labored intensely - they were required to pull their own ploughs. The monks renounced all personal wealth and possessions - they even eschewed the pronoun “my”. Saint David is said to have founded Glastonbury Abbey.  He is known to have commissioned the construction of an addition to it and to have donated an altar with a large sapphire. Later, King Henry VIII, during his confiscation of church properties, looted Glastonbury Abbey, coming away with the sapphire altar. It is amazing that anything was left for Henry after raids by Vikings which resulted in the loss of many precious artifacts.

The best-known miracle ascribed to St. David was that while he was preaching a hill rose up under him and a dove came to light on his shoulder.  His is usually depicted in this way - on a hill and with the dove on his shoulder. He is reputed to have restored a blind man’s sight and brought a child back to life by splashing his face with tears.   It is said that in his last sermon before he died he admonished his parishioners to “do the little things” as they had seen him do, to show their faith. When he died it was said the room was filled with angels.  

He influenced other Celtic regions - notably in Brittany, but he is best known for his association with Wales and the Welsh people.  His symbol was the leek, which is mentioned as a part of the observation of St. David’s Day in Shakespeare’s Henry V by the Welsh captain, “Fluellen”.

Inasmuch as St. David’s Day is the special day of Wales, it is only fitting that we have some Welsh music - for Wales is known as the “Land of Song”.  

The incomparable Sian James (“A Ei D’r Deryn Du”).  I discovered James in a little Celtic shop on a tree-shaded street in Winnipeg many summers ago.  Her incredible voice paired with her own harp here is exquisite

Plethyn is a really interesting Welsh traditional group.  Listen to their stiring open harmonies, the mix of traditional instruments with guitar and front and center the Welsh language (“Breuddwyd Glyndwr”)

Star of opera, Bryn Terfel - no introduction needed.  Here he sings the lovely traditional Welsh song, “Ar Hyd y Nos” (“All Through the Night”)

Some of us remember the 70s and Tom Jones.  Here is on the Ed Sullivan Show performing one of his signature songs, “It’s Not Unusual”.  Takes you back, doesn’t it?  And here he sings with the Treorchy Choir.

The harp is the national instrument of Wales - technically speaking, the triple harp, a harp strung with three courses of strings, the middle course set off and tuned a half-step up, rendering the triple harp completely chromatic, as opposed to pedal harps which rely on changing pitch with the pedals or lever harps which require fast hands to flip the levers to change pitch.  Here triple harp player Robin Huw Bowen tells us - in Welsh - about his instrument.  And plays some traditional Welsh tunes

And speaking of the harp, Welsh harpist Catrin Finch is exemplary - she is unexcelled in all kinds of harps.  Here she is playing “Solstice”, a Celtic piece based on music from the Isle of Man on a concert harp.  Here she plays an electric harp in a particularly ethereal sounding “Lisa Lan”.

Welsh tenor, Steffan Rys Hughes, “Hawl i Fyw”

Meinir Gwilym, “Fi Fi Fi”.  Welsh language, alive and well and living in Wales.

Mezzo Soprano Kathryn Jenkins, “Hallelujah”.

A young Welsh woman from Australia, Siobhan Owen.  She sings “Black is the Colour of My True Love’s Hair” and then something different - “Counting Goats”

Was King Arthur a Welshman?  It seems so. Here the great actor, Richard Burton, brings us the vision of Camelot.  And who can read poetry like Burton?  Here he is reading Robert Graves, with a touch of the Welsh accent and Edward Thomas.

The Welsh know how to tell a story.  Here is John Rys-Davies retelling the story of Christmas.

Trebor Edwards - you might not have heard him, but you should.  You will, however, recognize the tune - “Un Dydd ar Y Tro”

A bunch of guys singing.  There is NOTHING like a male Welsh choir.  Here the Cor Meibion y Brythoniad sings “Mor Fawr Wyt Ti” - and again, you know this song.

This is a clip from the iconic Welsh-themed film, How Green Was My Valley  coalminers sing on the way to their work - it is said that the Welsh sing everywhere and about everything.  I think this is true. I was married to a Welshman.  

This is the great Welsh music hall entertainer, Ryan Davies.  I’ve linked his videos here before.  A delightful musician. Here he sings “Over the Rainbow” in Welsh.  A versatile artist, he also played the harp and was a comic actor.  He would have been a great dinner guest.

One more visit to Sian James, this time she is singing the great Welsh hymn, “Calon Lan”, (“A Pure Heart”) strangely a favorite at rugby games in Wales.

It seems kind of fitting to close this out with what amounts to people just turning into a choir in front of our eyes.  They might not all be entirely sober but it doesn’t seem to matter.  This kind of behavior is characteristic of the Welsh. There was a comment in passing by Inspector Japp in an episode of the BBC’s Poirot, where he was glad to escape his wife’s family at Christmas.  It was endless, nonstop singing he said. For my part, I think I’d love it!

Yeah, I know.  I just finished.  But I need to add the Welsh National Anthem, “Hen Wlad fy Nhaddau”, here sung by Only Men Aloud, with the added bonus of a panoramic and dramatic view of Wales.  It was impossible to pick the “best”. I admit that it was finally the photographic video that compelled me to choose this one.  I hope you will google some more.  

Note:  If you are looking for a movie to complete your St. David's Day celebration, here are two entries: for a bittersweet, somewhat melancholy classic (b/w) try How Green Was My Valley, a real tug at your heartstrings staring a very young Roddy McDowell, the venerable Sarah Allgood and the beautiful Maureen O'Hara.  Now, if you want something very quirky, somewhat sentimental and a most improbable love story set in Wales during WWI, starring Hugh Grant and a great Welsh cast, check out The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill and Came Down a Mountain.

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