Day 45 - Dolgellau and the Sesiwn

Tonight, I went to the session in Dolgellau hosted by Ceri Ffliwt.

Thankfully, Harriet drove there and I caught a lift.  I was going to take the bus but after getting there in the car, seeing how isolated the pub was, I have no idea how I would have done it otherwise.

I met Gwilym there.  He's a great fiddle player, I think about 21 or so but he looks like he's about 12!  And he was ripping through those tunes!  Beautiful player.  He had a nice calm attitude, a great dry sense of humour and was super supportive.  Very cool to meet him and hope to catch up with him sometime to do some playing together.

Jem was there (who also plays flute on Blodeugerdd) and he played flute and pibgorn through the evening.  The pibgorn is a traditional Welsh instrument, I think single reed but I'd have to double check that.  It's basically the chanter of the bagpipe.  The 'bell' of the instrument is made from horn (presumably cow or goat), I think wood for the finger holes and then the reed is covered with a 'mouthpiece' also made of some type of horn.  I expected it to be louder than hell but it wasn't too bad.  Softer than other pipes I've heard.  I really like the sound as well.  Difficult to describe the tone... middle eastern sounding, slightly exotic, maybe snake like...

Jem is from the Wrecsam area and I had met some very peculiar people from Wrecsam early on in Cei Newydd but I'll tell that story another time...

There were a slough of instruments... two harps, at least three mandolins, bouzouki, two guitars, three flutes, at least three fiddles, one timpan (bodhran) and a couple of singers and I think some type of lap steel.  Just the right mix for a party!

Sion, one of the Welsh teachers from the Wlpan cwrs two years ago was there, playing the mandolin.  There was an Irish fellow playing the bodran (of course, can't remember his name) and his partner, a Welsh woman, played the flute.  There was an English ballad singer there, who sang unaccompanied.  He had a sweet voice and his tunes were wonderful and full of humour.  Sille had planned on coming but unfortunately, Martin was quite ill, so she was looking after him.


Ceri Ffliwt sang some wonderful Welsh tunes.  I really dig his voice!  I'm always transported to a small Welsh farmyard when he sings, sitting under the hearth, oak chairs, the smell of cawl on the stove and the fire roaring.  Rustic and earthy, natural and honest... and what a storyteller!

His flute playing is amazing as well.  He plays a wooden flute, not metal which makes for a very vocal tone (Most Celts play the wooden flute).  I've said it before but his music reminds me of a red kite.  I don't think most Canadians would know what a red kite is...

It's a bird of prey, with a broad forked tail, feather of brown red colour, near extinction... they fly in big swooping circles, smooth and graceful, sharp and swift, riding the gentle wind with impeccable timing, completely relaxed and free, full of joy, full of sorrow...

And that's what Ceri's flute playing sounds like.

Everyone was really friendly and it made for a great night.  I think we played for nearly five hours.  I really enjoy the Welsh dance tunes.  They're very quaint and warm, yet still filled with that familiar longing - hiraeth.

I didn't know any of the tunes but tried my best to follow along.  A right proper butt kicking!
Ceri Ffliwt asked me to sing 'Ym Mhonypridd'.  I don't know why but I got pretty nervous in that intimate setting.  It was okay, but I did muck up the third verse pretty good.  Oh well... good to just jump in, full on... best way to learn.  Maybe only way to learn...

Just keep trying and keep failing and then fail some more, and being okay with failing and then trying again and failing again.  Meditation, life and music are all the same thing.  You fall down, into the muck and mud and squalor and the very nano-second you decide to stand your self up again... That's it!  That moment is it, then you stand up, clean yourself off and walk again even though you know you're going to fall again... and then you do fall down into the muck and mud again...  That's it!  There you go!

If you can't do that, if you let fear control you, you'll be paralyzed, you won't move...


Some of the people in the pub looked a lot like Mary Yardley-Jones who was from the Llyn peninsula.  The accents of the villagers sounded very northern.  The north Welsh dialect uses quite a few different words and the accent is more nasally than the west and south.  It's harder for me to understand (have trouble understanding Welsh at the best of times anyway...).  Even my dad says he has trouble understanding people from the north...

I remember visiting my Aunty Susan here years ago, maybe about thirteen years ago.  She took me on this six mile walk around Cader Idris.  Cader Idris is the name of the mountain and the top looks like a large stone seat (Cadair means 'seat'), supposed to be the seat of the giant Idris, where he surveyed his kingdom of Meirionydd.  It is said of this mountain, that if you stay in the seat for the night, you'll return either crazy or a bard.

Same thing, if you ask me...

During the walk, we strayed off the path a little and Aunty Susan said we must have been led by some pixies.  I also remember that I had hurt my knee before that trip so the six mile walk was made doubly difficult but well worth it, trust me!
I remember Aunty Susan showing me an old Neolithic quarry site.  The place was set up to build and sell Menhirs.  You could still see a couple of menhirs in the rock, not completely cut out yet and a menhir on top of the hill off in the distance, to advertise their shop.  I think she said the site was between 5000 to 6000 years old.

I'll never forget that walk...

An aside...
Ceri and Julie play in a group called 'Fernhill' that is everyone must check out.  Again, go to the Fflach site for their CDs (www.fflach.co.uk).

I was able to find the link here on Amazon.  Na Pradle and Whilia are beautiful CDs so all you folks back in Canada should buy as many 'Fernhill' records as you can!

Deal?  Okay, deal!

Next, back to Aber...
Hwyl.