0:00:00 > 0:00:00- 888
0:00:00 > 0:00:02- 888- - 888
0:00:07 > 0:00:09- 888
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0:00:34 > 0:00:37- The son of the Mountain am I
0:00:40 > 0:00:43- Away from home, composing a song
0:00:57 > 0:01:01- How often have you heard pieces - like these being sung or recited?
0:01:01 > 0:01:05- "Nant y mynydd groyw loyw" - or "Mab y Mynydd ydwyf innau".
0:01:06 > 0:01:09- Or "Aros mae'r mynyddau mawr".
0:01:09 > 0:01:11- No idea!
0:01:11 > 0:01:14- I know they're as popular today...
0:01:14 > 0:01:18- ..as they were 150 years ago - when they first appeared.
0:01:19 > 0:01:24- Don't you think it's strange - that so many bucolic Welsh songs...
0:01:24 > 0:01:30- ..were composed in Manchester's - industrial melting pot?
0:01:34 > 0:01:38- Bolton, Guide Bridge, - Flowery Field, Newton for Hyde...
0:01:38 > 0:01:42- ..Godley, Hattersley, - Broadbottom, Dinting, Glossop.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50- The famous poems - of John Ceiriog Hughes...
0:01:50 > 0:01:54- ..belong to Wales, - but in particular to rural Wales.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57- On the busy streets of Manchester...
0:01:57 > 0:02:00- ..it was his homeland - that inspired him.
0:02:00 > 0:02:05- One verse after another - creates an idyllic picture...
0:02:05 > 0:02:08- ..of nature - and the old way of life...
0:02:08 > 0:02:11- ..in this area, the Ceiriog Valley.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15- But my heart is in the mountain
0:02:18 > 0:02:21- With the heather and the wild birds
0:02:27 > 0:02:31- Ceiriog was born here, - on Penybryn farm...
0:02:32 > 0:02:36- ..near Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog - on 25 September, 1832.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40- His father, Richard, - was a respectable man.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42- His mother, Phoebe, was clever.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47- She was often called upon locally, - being a skilled midwife.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51- She knew about - the healing properties of plants.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57- Ceiriog was one of eight children.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00- He was a real favourite - with his mother.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04- Some people maintain - that she spoiled him so much...
0:03:05 > 0:03:08- ..that relations - with his father became frosty.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14- Perhaps, later on, - when writing about leaving home...
0:03:14 > 0:03:17- ..that's why the mother - is described as a widow.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20- He denies his father's existence.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23- the boy's widowed mother
0:03:26 > 0:03:28- In spite of this coolness...
0:03:28 > 0:03:31- ..his father - had bought Ceiriog a present.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35- He was a pupil at this school. - It was a book on Welsh grammar.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41- His father had inadvertently - bought the wrong grammar book.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44- It had a section on cynghanedd.
0:03:44 > 0:03:49- Ceiriog began to learn about, - and master, strict metre poetry.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52- Eventually, - he came to love composing poems.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57- I learnt from my father
0:04:05 > 0:04:08- Ceiriog was expected to help - his father on the farm.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12- He idealized the farmer - in his poems.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15- We're familiar - with his famous line...
0:04:15 > 0:04:20- .."I learnt from my father - the first craft of mankind"...
0:04:20 > 0:04:24- ..it seems, however, - that he wasn't cut out for farming.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27- He acknowledges this in an englyn.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30- "Alas, I could not close - the sides
0:04:30 > 0:04:33- "Of hedgerows nor earth banks
0:04:33 > 0:04:36- "It grieves me that I failed to sow
0:04:36 > 0:04:38- "And failed to master horses."
0:04:42 > 0:04:45- Early in 1849, - aged 17 years old...
0:04:46 > 0:04:49- ..he left Penybryn - and set off for Manchester.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05- "John is leaving for England
0:05:05 > 0:05:07- "He sets off tomorrow morning
0:05:07 > 0:05:10- "His widowed mother knows this well.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15- "She packs his country clothes - and folds them on the table
0:05:16 > 0:05:18- "But his chest, to her mind
0:05:18 > 0:05:20- "Has the appearance of a coffin.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29- "He gathers together his books
0:05:29 > 0:05:32- "They're put in a chest - on the floor.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36- "Happily, he contemplates - the wonders of the large towns.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40- "He sees not the silent tear - on the sad widow's cheek
0:05:41 > 0:05:45- "Nor the new little Bible - slipped inside in the chest.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52- "Early the following morning
0:05:53 > 0:05:55- "With all the little ones asleep
0:05:55 > 0:05:58- "By their bedsides - John bids farewell
0:05:59 > 0:06:01- "He would have liked to stay home
0:06:01 > 0:06:04- "But there was nothing for him to do
0:06:04 > 0:06:06- "He could have stayed too
0:06:07 > 0:06:09- "If only he had dared to ask.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14- "To meet the early train
0:06:14 > 0:06:16- "Before daybreak he must go.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18- "Farewell, my dear child!
0:06:18 > 0:06:20- "Oh, be a good boy.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25- "May heaven protect you, - my true and precious son
0:06:25 > 0:06:28- "Never forget your home
0:06:28 > 0:06:32- "Nor your country, - your language, your God."
0:06:52 > 0:06:57- Ceiriog's mother had an ambition - for him to become a chapel deacon.
0:06:57 > 0:07:02- She held a sure belief of the way - to attain that elevated position.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06- He should open a shop - and become a successful businessman.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10- It all started quite promisingly.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14- Her son worked in Oxford Street, - Manchester, as a grocer's assistant.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25- There were many Welsh people - here at that time.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27- There were many societies.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31- It's possible that Ceiriog - began to feel at home here.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35- In next to no time, he was - a prominent bard in Manchester.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38- He won literary prizes galore.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41- Many people would call at the shop.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44- Sunday school teachers, - in particular...
0:07:44 > 0:07:49- ..would buy bacon and vegetables, - and order words for hymns!
0:07:53 > 0:07:58- We put pretty and immortal things - In the music of poetry and song
0:07:59 > 0:08:03- The shop in Oxford Street - went out of business.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07- Ceiriog opened his own shop - on the corner of Charles Street.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13- In 1854, aged 22, - he owned his own business.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22- But one November evening, - less than year after opening...
0:08:22 > 0:08:24- ..a visitor called at the shop.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29- This man completely altered - the course of Ceiriog's life.
0:08:29 > 0:08:35- Creuddynfab was the National - Eisteddfod's first paid secretary.
0:08:35 > 0:08:40- Some people described him - as the festival's chief scout.
0:08:40 > 0:08:45- He had come to persuade Ceiriog - to concentrate on poetry.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49- That's where it all started.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53- His poetry became influenced - by the Cymreigyddion.
0:08:54 > 0:08:55- It was a Welsh society.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59- He began to play with an idea.
0:09:01 > 0:09:06- He would become for Wales - what Burns was for Scotland.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11- He would become a specialist - in writing lyrics...
0:09:11 > 0:09:13- ..to accompany popular melodies.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21- Creuddynfab believed - that working as a railway clerk...
0:09:21 > 0:09:24- ..would give Ceiriog - more time to think.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28- There would be - more time to be creative.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31- Ceiriog took him up - on the suggestion.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34- He sold the shop.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37- What did his disappointed mother - say to him?
0:09:37 > 0:09:41- "You know what my heart says" - were her simple words.
0:09:41 > 0:09:46- Ceiriog went on to write a poem, - using those same words of hers.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49- They have stayed with us - to this day.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56- You know what my heart says
0:09:57 > 0:10:00- There was another problem - with this poetry business.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05- He not only gave up the shop, - but also began to drink heavily.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09- The literary circles - shied away from the chapels.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13- Their meeting venues of choice - were hotels and not vestries.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18- The mother's dream of her son - becoming a deacon disappeared.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26- The group - had many colourful characters.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29- There was Alltud Williams...
0:10:29 > 0:10:33- ..ab Ithel, Idris Fychan, - Creuddynfab himself...
0:10:33 > 0:10:38- ..and RJ Derfel, who wrote - The Treachery Of The Blue Books.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42- The title referred to a report - by Her Majesty's Inspectors...
0:10:43 > 0:10:45- ..on the state of education - in Wales.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58- The Welsh were pilloried.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04- Because of that, Ceiriog - wished to elevate the Welsh.
0:11:04 > 0:11:09- The flame was to be lit again, - and a new Welsh culture created.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15- It became a kind of obsession.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18- Ceiriog was part of this new spirit.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20- He wrote poems in praise of Wales.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23- He praised Welsh women...
0:11:23 > 0:11:27- ..who had been lambasted - by the parliamentary report.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30- Ceiriog created - the ideal Welsh woman.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33- He named her Myfanwy Fychan.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36- He wrote of her in this way.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38- "Fair Myfanwy Fychan
0:11:38 > 0:11:40- "Will be a rhyme forever
0:11:40 > 0:11:42- "In the breath of the bard."
0:11:50 > 0:11:52- At his best, he is truly excellent.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54- He had this lyrical gift.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57- Some of that is found - in Myfanwy Fychan.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00- "Oh, were I a breeze in the wind
0:12:01 > 0:12:04- "Roaming the garden of Dinas Bran
0:12:06 > 0:12:08- "Humming in your ear on my way
0:12:09 > 0:12:11- "Spinning and twirling your hair."
0:12:12 > 0:12:14- Well...!
0:12:14 > 0:12:16- What could be more popular - than that?
0:12:20 > 0:12:23- I treasure the memory of Wales
0:12:27 > 0:12:30- After years in Manchester...
0:12:30 > 0:12:34- ..an opportunity arose - to return to the land of his songs.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36- He was to come back to Wales.
0:12:36 > 0:12:41- In 1865, he was appointed - stationmaster in Llanidloes.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44- He wiped away - the tears of longing...
0:12:44 > 0:12:49- ..and, echoing a famous line of his, - he was homeward bound.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09- "As I was homeward bound one day
0:13:09 > 0:13:11- "I heard a cheery cuckoo sing
0:13:11 > 0:13:15- "It had crossed the oceans - to reach this little isle
0:13:15 > 0:13:19- "It was the first cuckoo - of the season, singing in the trees
0:13:19 > 0:13:24- "Just like that very first one - to have sung the cuckoo's song.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30- "I turned back at that moment - to search the greenwood tree
0:13:31 > 0:13:33- "To look through the branches
0:13:33 > 0:13:35- "To seek out the gentle bird.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38- "I walked on until I returned
0:13:38 > 0:13:40- "To stand beneath my birch
0:13:41 > 0:13:43- "And there it was, the cuckoo
0:13:43 > 0:13:45- "Singing above my head.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50- "Oh, cuckoo, I do thank thee
0:13:50 > 0:13:52- "That here is where we meet
0:13:52 > 0:13:54- "I dried the tear from my eye
0:13:55 > 0:13:57- "And the cuckoo flew away."
0:14:20 > 0:14:20- .
0:14:25 > 0:14:25- 888
0:14:25 > 0:14:27- 888- - 888
0:14:35 > 0:14:38- Thoughts and feelings - form the poet's kingdom
0:14:39 > 0:14:42- Sound and sweetness - form the musician's kingdom
0:14:45 > 0:14:47- Ceiriog Memorial Hall
0:14:56 > 0:14:59- By the time - Ceiriog returned to Wales...
0:15:00 > 0:15:04- ..he had perfected the skill - of writing simple, moving songs.
0:15:04 > 0:15:09- The kind of poems he wrote - could be set perfectly to music.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12- He published five volumes of poetry.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16- Each one sold up to 30,000 copies.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21- The eisteddfodic concert - was becoming increasingly popular.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26- Wales needed more lyrics and songs.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28- Some have asked a question.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33- Was the eisteddfod responsible - for Ceiriog's success...
0:15:33 > 0:15:37- ..or was Ceiriog the reason - for the eisteddfod's success?
0:15:38 > 0:15:41- In the 19th century, - the emphasis shifted...
0:15:42 > 0:15:45- ..away from the literary - and towards the musical.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49- The concerts and the eisteddfod, - in particular...
0:15:49 > 0:15:53- ..were becoming places - that would swallow up songs.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57- There weren't enough of them.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01- That's what Ceiriog spotted, - very, very clearly.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05- His simplicity is his glory, I feel.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08- We continue to sing his songs - to this day.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11- Male voice choirs sing his songs.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16- The common people in Wales - in this era were not very literate.
0:16:16 > 0:16:21- The standard of education - in Wales at the time was very low.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24- Much more so - than his contemporaries...
0:16:24 > 0:16:27- ..he adopted the idea - of teaching the people.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30- He spoke in comprehensible language.
0:16:44 > 0:16:49- At the Aberdare National Eisteddfod, - his pastoral poem was victorious.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51- He wrote a cycle of poems.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55- It was the stormy tale - of a farmer, Alun Mabon.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59- It described his romance with Menna, - their marriage...
0:17:00 > 0:17:02- ..and ultimately, his death.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05- This cycle includes - a host of well-known poems.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09- "Nant Y Mynydd", - "Mi Geisiaf Eto Ganu Can"...
0:17:09 > 0:17:12- .."Os Hoffech Wybod Sut Mae Dyn - Fel Fi Yn Byw"...
0:17:13 > 0:17:16- ..and the closing poem, - "Aros Mae'r Mynyddau Mawr".
0:17:21 > 0:17:24- He belonged in spirit - to the 18th century.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27- If anything traditional beckoned...
0:17:27 > 0:17:30- ..he would embrace it.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33- His feet were there, you see.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38- But his head - was firmly in the 19th century.
0:17:38 > 0:17:43- His work was to respond - to the fashion and trend of the age.
0:17:43 > 0:17:48- The eisteddfod, the concerts, - the evenings of entertainment.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50- All events of this kind...
0:17:51 > 0:17:53- ..would be held - in the Welsh language.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04- All of Wales is a sea of song
0:18:07 > 0:18:10- Ceiriog was unique in one sense.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14- He actively promoted - the idealized ordinary Welshman.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16- But he was a Briton.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19- It was he who wrote these words...
0:18:19 > 0:18:21- .."It is I who cares for the baby
0:18:21 > 0:18:23- "It is I who rocks the cradle."
0:18:24 > 0:18:26- It was a lullaby he composed...
0:18:27 > 0:18:30- ..for Albert Edward, - the son of Queen Victoria.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33- He was the English Prince of Wales.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36- He says in the poem - that he would like the baby...
0:18:37 > 0:18:40- ..to have the language - of the Welsh kings on his lips.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44- But, according to - Professor Hywel Teifi Edwards...
0:18:44 > 0:18:47- ..Ceiriog's children - didn't speak Welsh.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50- This was surely - a bitter blow to the bard.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01- I know he was an imperialist.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04- Who wasn't in that period?
0:19:04 > 0:19:07- But he saw a chance for Wales...
0:19:07 > 0:19:12- ..to make a contribution - to the world through the Empire.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14- In reading Ceiriog...
0:19:14 > 0:19:17- ..and appreciating Ceiriog...
0:19:17 > 0:19:20- ..one cannot fail - to see his utter dedication.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24- He was committed - to his language and his Welshness.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27- We must view Ceiriog - as a man of his time.
0:19:27 > 0:19:32- Our concept of Welsh nationalism - didn't exist at that time.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35- His love is for the Welsh people.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39- He wants to lift them up - to play an all-important part...
0:19:39 > 0:19:45- ..in this huge British leviathan, - a worldwide phenomenon of that era.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56- But the task of elevating Wales - became too much for him.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59- What lies above? - A black despair!
0:20:02 > 0:20:06- His return to Wales - prompted a realization on his part.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09- It wasn't his Utopia after all.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12- He began to yearn for Manchester.
0:20:12 > 0:20:17- His drink problem had set in - before he left the city.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20- By the time he reached Wales...
0:20:20 > 0:20:23- ..poverty became a further problem.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32- Even so, on his deathbed, - Ceiriog was confident of one thing.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35- His country loved him.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38- He told his wife, - "My country will take care of you".
0:20:39 > 0:20:43- Indeed, she received 50 a year - as a pension.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47- The Civil List paid it, - after Ceiriog's death.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49- He had died at the age of 55.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58- The englyn that he wrote - as his epitaph...
0:20:58 > 0:21:02- ..suggests disillusion - with his own poetic message.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06- He loved musical words and bards - He loved to live naturally
0:21:07 > 0:21:11- He loved music with passion. - Here are his ashes - and no messing.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17- But succeeding generations - didn't see it that way.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22- OM Edwards said that Ceiriog - had done more for Welsh poetry...
0:21:23 > 0:21:27- ..than all the cywydd - and cynghanedd writers put together.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30- The appeal of his work...
0:21:31 > 0:21:34- ..like the mountains - about which he wrote so much...
0:21:34 > 0:21:36- ..has stood the test of time.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55- "The great mountains still stand
0:21:56 > 0:21:58- "The wind roars over them
0:22:00 > 0:22:02- "As dawn breaks, again is heard
0:22:03 > 0:22:05- "The song of shepherds as before.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10- "Daisies grow once more
0:22:10 > 0:22:13- "Around the base - of the rock and the hill
0:22:14 > 0:22:17- "But there are new shepherds
0:22:17 > 0:22:19- "On these old mountains."
0:22:24 > 0:22:28- But there are new shepherds - On these old mountains
0:22:28 > 0:22:32- There was no one in his era - who matched his popularity.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37- The songs were the reason.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41- They held an instant appeal - for the bulk of Welsh speakers.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44- He knew the Welsh speakers well.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47- He knew his audience.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49- He knew what they wanted.
0:22:49 > 0:22:54- He was a great one - for meeting their needs.
0:22:57 > 0:23:03- # But the old language
0:23:04 > 0:23:08- # Remains in the land
0:23:10 > 0:23:18- # And the ancient melodies
0:23:19 > 0:23:30- # Live on #
0:23:52 > 0:23:54- S4C Subtitles by Adnod Cyf.
0:23:54 > 0:23:55- .