Gyrru’r Ychen

Traditional, arr Brian Hughes

We recently learned that this was a ploughing song from Glamorganshire, not a droving song as we had previously thought! According to the National Library of Wales, Gyrru’r Ychen and other similar songs were sung to encourage oxen to keep working when ploughing. Some of these were collected and documented by Iolo Morganwg (and we know what that means, don’t we?).

Brian Hughes (b. 1938 in Rhosllanerchrugog) is a composer and conductor who specialises in choral music but has also written orchestral and chamber music. His choral music is dramatic while also accessible, often using vocal effects. Hughes served as choral conductor of the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester.

Edward Williams (Iolo Morganwg, 1747-1826) was an antiquarian and poet. He was born near Llancarfan, west of Cardiff and started life as a stonemason, but became interested in manuscript collection and poetry and the literary and cultural traditions of Wales. He founded the Gorsedd of the bards based on supposed ancient druidic rites and published collections of medieval literature and poetry. Not until nearly 100 years after his death was it realised that he was a massive forger and much of what he had claimed as early Welsh manuscripts was fake, including the rites of the Gorsedd which have nevertheless become beloved traditions used at the National Eisteddfod today. Even today many of his forgeries are better known than the originals. Who knows whether he collected Gyrru’r Ychen or just wrote it? Does it matter much?

Droving is the practice of walking (mainly) cattle from where they are pastured to urban markets often far away. Drovers travelled from all over Wales to London, the Midlands and the north. Cattle, oxen, sheep and even geese would be walked. Geese would have their feet tarred first. The practice ended when it became cheaper to move animals by rail, but there are many reminders of the industry in the names of roads and pubs, for example a Welsh Road between Lillington and Southam.

Gyrru’r Ychen: https://blog.library.wales/folk-songs/
Iolo Morganwg: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iolo_Morganwg
Brian Hughes: https://curiad.co.uk/en/attribute/composer/brian-hughes-en/, www.brianhughescomposer.co.uk