DANCING TO A LIGHTER SKY
YEAR: 2024
DURATION: 20′
INSTRUMENTATION: 2.2(II=cor A).2.2 - 2.1.0.0 - timp - strings
NOTES: This work has its origins in the countryside around the villages of Llanarmon-yn-Iâl and Eryrys, Denbighshire, in the Clwydian limestone hills and the valley of the River Alyn. The closing section quotes an ancient Welsh lullaby, Peis Dinogad.
Peis Dinogad
Peis Dinogad e vreith vreith,
o grwyn balaot ban wreith.
'Chwit chwit!' chwidogeith.
Gochanwn gochenyn wythgeith,
pan elei dy dat ty e helya;
llath ar y ysgwyd, llory eny law.
ef gelwi gwn gogyhwc,
'Giff gaff! Dhaly dhaly! Dhwg dhwg!'
Ef lledi bysc yng corwc,
mal ban llad llew llywywg.
Pan elei dy dat ty e vynyd,
dydygai ef penn ywrch, penn gwythwch, pen hyd,
penn grugyar vreith o venyd,
penn pysc o rayadyr derwennyd;
or sawl yt gyrhaedei dy dat ty ae gicwein
o wythwch a llewyn a llwyuein,
nyt anghei oll ny uei oradein.
Dinogad's smock
Dinogad's smock was spotted and speckled,
from the skin of the pine marten it was made.
'Whee whee!' he whistled.
I would sing - eight slaves sang,
when your father went hunting;
a javelin on his shoulder, a club in his hand.
He called on the fast dogs,
'Giff Gaff! Catch catch! Fetch fetch!'
The fish he slays from his coracle,
as a lion kills small animals.
When your father went to the mountain,
he would bring back a roe, a wild boar, a stag,
a spotted grouse from the mountain,
a fish from the Derwent waterfall;
whatever your father reached with his lance
from wild boar and lynx and fox,
nothing escape unless they had mighty wings.