Meredydd Evans

Meredydd Evans was born in Llanegryn, Merionethshire and was brought up in Tanygrisiau, North Wales. At 85 years old, his voice has now been affected by recent illness restricting him from singing, but he is still active in his research into the background of Welsh folk songs. As a child he would hear his mother regularly singing folk songs. Then, as a student at the University College of North Wales, Bangor, his interest in the background and history of theses songs was aroused by Mrs Enid Parry. Later, his marriage to Phyllis Kinney, brought him into acquaintance with the folk songs of several countries outside of Wales. His three printed collections of Welsh folk songs, co-edited with his wife and published by the Welsh Folk Song Society are definitive reference-works for this genre of national song.

His first LP was released in the United States around 1954, and was listed in The New York Times among the twelve best folk-songs records of the year. In The Gramophone, around 1961, another of his LP’s was named among the six best records of light music.

Reviews :

Living Tradition Magazine, Issue 65

Mered - Caneuon Gwerin / Folk Songs SAIN SCD2414

Dr Meredydd Evans got sucked into the Welsh language revival spearheaded by SAIN in the 1970's, sitting oddly alongside Welsh rock and roll, protest song and plain pop as well as revival folk. However, he always gave the impression the songs were the most important thing to him. It was a measure of his eminence when the title album in his box set first came out in 1977; it defied the label's Welsh only rule and included an English translation. This is repeated here, the song notes by Roy Saer from the Welsh Folk Museum have been turned into an informative booklet, which has a typeface that makes lyrics and translations far more accessible than they were in the worthy, but cramped, insert of twenty five years ago. The second CD includes Evans other recorded work form various albums, including what must be a very rare one of a concert released back in 1962.

As is often the case with unaccomopanied ballad singers, the CD format brings out the best in their recordings. Evans is recorded as a relatively young man at the height of his singing powers, contrasting him with many of the English and Scottish source singers. In many ways, Meredydd Evans was the Hamish Henderson of Welsh music, certainly in the academic field. With fifty tracks here it is possible to trace the different traditions of Welsh folk song : from the lyrical, more melodic song originally composed in the Welsh language - 'Ar lan y Mor' and 'Myn Mair', to Welsh translations of English language songs, and songs in Welsh but aping the English broadside tradition, which were often produced by printing shops near the border who saw a ready market in both languages.

A review of an entire folk culture. Fasciniating stuff. Bob Hogan