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Cerddoriaeth Ddefodol Gogledd Sir Benfro (Ritual Music of North Pembrokeshire)

by The Master Musicians of Dyffryn Moor

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    The 2LP physical version of the debut Master Musicians album, lovingly pressed onto two slabs of black vinyl, with two extra tracks not available on any other format! That's 14 minutes of bonus ritual music. With printed inner sleeves featuring extensive explanatory notes to help you observe the rituals, even if you don't live in Pembrokeshire. Limited to 500 copies.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Cerddoriaeth Ddefodol Gogledd Sir Benfro (Ritual Music of North Pembrokeshire) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    edition of 500 
    Purchasable with gift card

      £18.50 GBP

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Also included in the download: a lovingly designed PDF with full colour artwork and extensive explanatory notes to help you observe each of the rituals, even if you don't live in Pembrokeshire.
    Purchasable with gift card

      £4 GBP  or more

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 6 Amgueddfa Llwch releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Music for Hand-Washing, Withdrawn I, Withdrawn II, Music for the National Health Service, Contemporary Protest Music, and Cerddoriaeth Ddefodol Gogledd Sir Benfro (Ritual Music of North Pembrokeshire). , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      £3 GBP or more (50% OFF)

     

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about

[click 'more' for English]

Sir arfordirol yn ne-orllewin Cymru yw Sir Benfro. Fe’i sefydlwyd yn y 13eg ganrif, ar ôl i Edward I oresgyn Cymru, er bod ôl cymdeithasau dynol yno ers rhyw 100,000 CC. Prif ddiwydiannau’r ardal yw amaeth a thwristiaeth. 

Er nad oes yna wahaniaeth gweinyddol rhwng gogledd a de Sir Benfro, mae yna wahaniaethau diwylliannol, ieithyddol a genetig rhyfeddol rhwng y ddwy ardal – mwy, efallai, nag mewn siroedd eraill. Mae’r Landsker yn ffin dybiannol sy’n gwahanu’r sir. Mae’n estyn i’r dwyrain o Niwgwl hyd at Fae Sain Ffraid, yn parhau trwy Arberth ac yn arwain, yn y pen draw, at Dalacharn yn Sir Gaerfyrddin. Mae gogledd Sir Benfro, uwch y llinell hon, yn Gymraeg ei hiaith gan mwyaf, tra bod y rhan ddeheuol yn tueddu i siarad Saesneg.

Mae defodau’n rhan bwysig o fywyd gogledd Sir Benfro. Mae rhai o’r rhain yn tarddu o draddodiadau cyn-Gristnogol tra bod eraill yn llawer mwy cyfoes. Waeth pa mor aml y cânt eu perfformio neu waeth beth fyddo’u sgôp, mae cerddoriaeth yn chwarae rhan flaenllaw ynddynt bob un, bron iawn. Fel cerddoriaeth ddefodol nifer o ddiwylliannau eraill, mae cerddoriaeth ddefodol gogledd Sir Benfro yn dibynnu i raddau helaeth ar guriadau. Un gwahaniaeth pwysig, fodd bynnag, yw nad oes yna’r un offeryn chwyth, yr un bib na’r un offeryn llinynnol yn rhan o’r arlwy; yn hytrach, amrywiaeth o wrthrychau domestig a ddefnyddir (poceri, curwyr llwch, decanteri crisial ac ati), ynghyd ag offer cegin. Tybir bod hyn yn deillio o awydd i sicrhau cydraddoldeb wrth gadw defod. Yn y blynyddoedd diwethaf mae argaeledd technoleg recordio a thrin sain wedi caniatáu i’r ‘domestica’ hwn gael ei ategu gan synau hirion – drôns a synau gong – a grëir â chloriau padelli, powlenni gwydr a hambyrddau pobi.

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Pembrokeshire (Sir Benfro) is a coastal county in south west Wales. Established in the 13th century after the conquest of Wales by Edward I, it has been inhabited since around 100,000 BCE. Its main industries are agriculture and tourism.

Although there is no administrative separation between north and south Pembrokeshire, there are some remarkable cultural, linguistic and genetic differences between the two, significantly more so than is the case in other counties. The Landsker Line is a notional boundary running east from Newgale (Niwgwl), on St Bride’s Bay (Bae Sain Ffraid), through Narberth and eventually on to Laugharne (Talacharn) in neighbouring Camarthenshire. North Pembrokeshire, above this line, is largely Welsh-speaking, for instance, whereas the southern section is largely English-speaking.

Rituals play a significant role in north Pembrokeshire life. Some are relics of pre-Christian traditions, while others are much more contemporary. Regardless of frequency or scope, they are almost all dominated by the use of music. Like the ritual music of many other cultures, that of north Pembrokeshire is heavily percussive. A major difference, however, is that it is entirely free of reed, string or wind instruments, consisting instead of an array of household objects (fire pokers, dust beaters, crystal decanters etc.) and kitchen utensils – a practice thought to have arisen out of the desire for egalitarianism in ritual observance. In recent years, the availability of low-cost pitch-shifting technology has enabled this ‘domestica’ to be augmented with drones and gong-sounds created with pan lids, glass bowls and baking trays.

credits

released November 3, 2017

All music created from source material recorded at Dyffryn Moor, Pembrokeshire, January 2005, and performed by:
Gwydion Gruffudd
Sarah Howells
Richard Llewellyn
Owen Martell
Bambos Neophytou
Simon Proffitt

Edited and mixed by Simon Proffitt, 2005-2017.
Mastered by Dominic Tanner at Bojanić Audio.
Photography, design and layout by A Happy Line.
Circle illustration adapted from Original Art Deco Designs by William Rowe (Dover Publications, 1973).
Sleeve notes by Simon Proffitt.
Welsh version by Owen Martell.

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Amgueddfa Llwch Wales, UK

Interesting and unusual sounds from rural Wales and beyond.

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