Rugby football in Wales comprises
peaks and troughs, with the euphoria of Grand Slams followed almost automatically by periods of
disappointment and despondency.
One feature stands unchanged and unchallenged
on every occasion the national team takes the field: the performance of “Hen
Wlad Fy Nhadau”. In a new book “The Welsh National Anthem”, Siôn Jobbins traces
the origins of the work, providing some fascinating background along the way.
The tune came to factory owner
Evan James as he walked the banks of the Rhondda river near Pontypridd one
Saturday afternoon in January of 1856. His son James was asked to provide some
words and together they created “Glan Rhondda”, with the intention of providing
nothing more than a popular folk song for performance on stage and in chapel.
This was what it remained for an “apprenticeship”
period of some 40 years. Success at a Llangollen eisteddfod saw it begin
transformation to higher status. With the name changed to the one we know
today, it became first an anthem and then the national anthem, expressing
exactly what it means to be Welsh.
It was at the famous 1905 Wales
versus New Zealand match [when Wales won after the legendary Deans’ “try” had
been disallowed] that it was first sung at a rugby international. In the centre
of the field before kick-off, the Haka war dance was answered by a lyrical song
in four-part harmony. It did not take long for the practice to become firmly
established.
A statue to the two James men
stands in Ynysyangharad Park as a mark of the nation’s indebtedness. “Not bad
for a Pontypridd weaver and his son,” was the father’s reported remark at the
time.
45-year old Geoff Camm [one of
Wales’ most ardent overseas supporters] made the journey from Ottawa in Canada
to Cardiff just for the All Blacks game last November. The match result may
have been a disappointment, but sitting in the stand at the best stadium in the
world listening to 74 thousand ardent fans singing “Hen Wlad” made, he says, his
8,000-mile return journey totally worthwhile.
France and Italy have exciting
anthems. But it is ours, describing what it means to be Welsh, which possesses
the real “Puccini factor”. Most members of the current Welsh rugby squad seem
to have made an effort to learn the words. Perhaps a crash course should be
automatic, in which case this slim volume can be recommended as required
reading. The words, their meaning and
musical notation are all included.
“The Welsh
National Anthem” by Siôn T Jobbins is published by Lolfa
ISBN: 9781847716590
Review by Barri Hurford
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