Rhys a Meinir

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-It was cold that night, my friend.

-The winter wind

-roared through the trees...

-..and the rain

-gripped the stream in its fists.

-I was a fool heading for home.

-It was late, and I was ashen...

-..as grey as every place.

-Rhys and Meinir

-is a legend about two lovers.

-I heard it first

-as a child from my father...

-..here at Nant Gwrtheyrn.

-It's a simple five-minute tale...

-..about what happened to them

-when they decided to get married.

-It's a heartbreaking tale...

-..akin to the plot

-of an opera or a ballet.

-It's an epic tale.

-I decided to compose

-a classical piece...

-..to fulfil my dream

-of working with an orchestra.

-Cian Ciaran's unique

-and exceptional piece...

-..Rhys A Meinir.

-I had a collection of records...

-..that included loads

-of field recordings.

-I decided to go to Nant

-and record some of my own.

-Once you stand there

-in the open air...

-..you ingest

-the spirit of the place.

-You hear what's around you,

-nature and wildlife.

-I realized how quiet Nant is.

-It feels as if not much has changed

-over the centuries.

-Maybe it helped me to go back

-to Rhys and Meinir's time.

-Scene 1: Rhys meets Meinir

-Then, sunlight.

-Sunlight shining from somewhere.

-The waves died down so suddenly.

-Then she came

-along the wall of fragile foam...

-..appearing through the light.

-She stood still.

-Stock still,

-as the raging wind eased...

-..with the grey mist between two

-like light in the gloom.

-Then,

-in the biting teeth of January...

-..I heard the bells of a wedding

-feast through the empty night.

-She opened unto me like the sea.

-The offer I got from Cian to retell

-the noted tale of Rhys and Meinir...

-..was a chance to portray anew

-an old, old story.

-It's a truly powerful legend...

-..in that it appeals

-to our most primitive instincts.

-Love and loss.

-The story of Rhys and Meinir

-is so sad.

-Why did you want

-to interpret the story musically?

-Wow.

-Well, it's a story that has been

-part of my life since I was a child.

-The story is a simple one.

-It's about a man called Rhys

-and his love towards Meinir.

-They fall in love

-and decide to get married.

-It was a tradition at the time

-for the bride to hide.

-The ushers

-would then look for her...

-..to bring her back to the church

-or chapel to get married.

-Unfortunately,

-they couldn't find Meinir.

-Rhys couldn't understand

-where she had gone.

-In time, he loses his mind.

-Years later,

-on a stormy night, he goes out.

-A bolt of lightning

-splits a tree trunk.

-Meinir's skeleton,

-in her wedding dress...

-..falls out of the hollow trunk.

-He dies instantly of shock

-or a heart attack.

-My relationship with Nant started

-when I was about three, probably.

-My family

-always went for a walk to Nant.

-If you've never been there,

-it's a striking place.

-It leaves a lasting impression.

-I used to have dreams...

-..about the steepest slope

-that you could imagine.

-It had seeped

-into my subconscious...

-..the walk down

-and back up from Nant.

-My father had a dream...

-..of establishing

-a language centre there.

-That's been a part of his life

-and my family's life...

-..for as long as I can remember.

-Even today,

-Nant Gwrtheyrn is remote.

-On a fine day, it's perfect.

-But when the storm

-bares its teeth...

-..it can be a rough

-and unpleasant place.

-That duality is in Nant itself.

-Maybe Nant Gwrtheyrn

-is the ideal setting for the legend.

-I like the idea

-of traditional legends...

-..being handed down

-from one generation to the next...

-..in either oral

-or musical or poetic form.

-This is our way of introducing

-the legend to the next generation.

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-Scene 2: The wedding

-That night, my friend, I was whole.

-She was there, virginal...

-..and the wine cleansed

-every man of his weaknesses.

-Yes, it was a night

-as long as the ages.

-An era was about to start

-to the sound of the dance...

-..and we were two.

-Meinir was one with myself.

-From the banquet,

-in the embers of morning, she ran.

-The hem of her dress

-was light like a silver web...

-..as she sought to hide.

-I announced that I was coming,

-still counting down.

-The seconds felt like bullets.

-When I do play or write something...

-..I have to play it over and over

-to get it right to listen back to.

-Or I just sound like Les Dawson!

-The idea in my head

-is totally clear.

-But I don't find it easy

-to transfer it down to the hands.

-But the good thing

-about writing at the piano...

-..when it clicks and I play it

-more than once with no mistakes...

-..I know, that's it, that's the one.

-I'll record that

-into the computer...

-..and start to adapt it, play with

-the structures and add more tracks.

-Cellos, synths, whatever.

-When making a demo,

-there's a record of all the work.

-Over two or three years,

-I'll have enough to make an album.

-That's when I started to learn

-about the classical world.

-How it works,

-who do I need to talk to.

-I left school at 16.

-It was an exciting period.

-In the late 1980s,

-acid house started...

-..and the associated parties.

-I sort of stumbled into it.

-I started getting into synths

-and drum machines and so on.

-Creating music with machines.

-I tried to get into college

-in Manchester to study Music...

-..but I didn't get a place.

-So, I did a film course in Newport.

-I left after a year

-to join the Super Furry Animals.

-Cian was very young, late teens,

-when he joined the Super Furries.

-I know that the Furries

-are all about teamwork.

-Everyone's role is crucial.

-But Cian's influence

-can be clearly heard in their sound.

-No Furries set could end

-without his wild and wacky techno.

-When we recorded Hey Venus

-with the Furries...

-..we got the chance to go

-to a studio in the south of France.

-Miraval.

-This would have been 2006 or 2007.

-It was an experience,

-life in the south of France.

-It was just as you'd imagined

-it would be.

-We spent three weeks

-recording there.

-I was writing a piece

-at the piano...

-..when the idea for Rhys A Meinir

-came into my head.

-Whatever I played

-reminded me of the legend.

-The idea turned into a piece.

-It's a little tune I wrote yesterday

-called Lick My Love Pump.

-I haven't had the idea

-of a legend or a story...

-..combining with music

-like that before.

-I thought

-it might go on the album...

-..but we

-already had about 20 songs.

-The Furries had stopped for a time

-in 2009...

-..so I resurrected

-the Rhys A Meinir idea.

-I was first introduced

-to Cian in 2012.

-He came to me for the orchestration.

-He sent me sketches

-of various things he'd been writing.

-I loved the idea

-of what he was trying to do.

-This Welsh folk tale set to music.

-Fantastic. Sign me up.

-Whenever a composer

-writes a piece of music...

-..it first exists

-as a sort of sketch.

-It's down to me

-to help turn that...

-..into something

-that musicians can play.

-I can hand it to the conductor

-to bring it to life.

-The style of the piece

-is programmatic.

-There's a fine tradition

-in orchestral writing...

-..of pieces that are essentially

-following a story.

-So, we have motifs,

-motifs for the two lovers..

-We hear these during the piece...

-..and they change

-as the two protagonists change.

-And then he changes

-to a different chord.

-Then this wonderful tune starts

-which we'll hear later.

-Meinir!

-There's a link

-between this legend...

-..and other Nant Gwrtheyrn legends.

-One about Gwrtheyrn,

-another about Elis Bach.

-There's also a link

-with the legend about three monks.

-Were his enemies

-given a lease to his land?

-Centuries ago, monks wanted to

-establish a place of worship there.

-But local people

-were vehemently opposed to this.

-They threw stones and protested

-against this kind of institution.

-May Gwrtheyrn

-be afflicted by a curse.

-The monks were disappointed...

-..and they cursed the valley.

-..bones and marrow

-from angry revenge.

-Of course, there was talk

-that Rhys and Meinir were cousins.

-One of the curses

-was that no-one who was related...

-..would neither be allowed

-nor able to marry...

-..in Nant Gwrtheyrn.

-Meinir!

-Then she vanished.

-Yes.

-Like that, my friend.

-Like a moth into the gloom.

-Sinking into the lair

-of the dark night.

-She came, then disappeared.

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-Until the mid-19th century,

-there were three farms in Nant.

-Ty Uchaf, Ty Canol and Ty Hen.

-But in the 1860s,

-the quarries began to open.

-Granite quarries.

-The local granite

-is extremely hard, apparently.

-This granite was needed...

-..for pavements and streets

-in distant cities.

-They operated for several decades.

-About 200 people lived here

-when they were in their heyday.

-It was self-sufficient,

-more or less.

-Most of the cargo was transported

-by sea.

-Then, with the advent

-of the car and tarmac...

-..demand for the granite dropped.

-The quarries declined,

-the numbers employed there fell.

-One by one, the families left.

-I want to introduce Cian Ciaran.

-Cian, do you want to come

-and say a bit about the story?

-Give him some love!

-Where shall I start?

-It's a love story,

-a tragic love story.

-Boy meets girl.

-I was worried

-at the rehearsal in January...

-..about presenting the work

-to the musicians for the first time.

-How they'd react to it.

-How they'd react to me.

-You start to doubt yourself.

-Why you're here,

-what you're doing in this room.

-Let's go from the beginning then.

-Cian, how was that

-in terms of sound and balance?

-I was just questioning the woodwind.

-Was it just the woodwinds...

-..or any time we got

-those chord shapes in the orchestra?

-The third note in the triple

-has an accent on that.

-So, if they slur it?

-So, if they slur it?

-

-A little bit of shape as well.

-Closer?

-No, not for me, sorry.

-I don't know what to suggest

-how to fix it.

-Sometimes, it feels like sixteenths.

-I realized quite soon

-that it wasn't right.

-It didn't sound as I wanted it.

-If I didn't say something now,

-it wouldn't change.

-I had to clearly define

-what I wanted from the performance.

-There's no crescendo over it,

-each bar is like...

-To think that no-one

-had seen or heard it before...

-..it was still a good rendition.

-At the time, reaching that point

-felt a bit of a miracle in itself.

-Cool.

-As a location, Nant Gwrtheyrn has

-a definite place in Welsh folklore.

-It won a corner in Welsh history

-by simply being so inaccessible.

-It was linked to the outside world

-solely by one narrow winding road...

-..that was also extremely steep.

-When the quarries and social habits

-reached a turning point...

-..Nant Gwrtheyrn

-ceased to exist as a village.

-I remember coming here in the 1970s.

-Tourists

-would sometimes stop and ask...

-.."Could you tell us

-where the ghost village is, please?"

-After that night, my friend,

-the winters were bitter.

-The rain like spears on a cloak.

-The memories nauseating.

-Like a nightmare, a ritual,

-I went back into the mist...

-..my conscience a gimlet..

-..yet knowing that she wasn't,

-that she wouldn't come.

-In one respect,

-the englynion tell the story.

-They reiterate the familiar legend.

-But if you scratch the surface,

-you might find deeper meaning.

-The theme of affection...

-..and subsequent loss...

-..is common

-to so many aspects of our lives.

-It doesn't just happen with love.

-It's possibly relevant

-to this patch of land.

-This patch of land that we love...

-..but which is rapidly disappearing

-in front of our eyes.

-The language which is so dear to us

-losing ground slowly.

-I moved to a medical practice

-in Llanaelhaearn, a solo practice.

-So, when I wanted time

-out of the house...

-..I couldn't roam too far.

-Coming down to Nant

-was an escape from all that.

-We brought the children with us,

-of course, more often than not.

-Cian was one of our four children.

-We told them about the place

-and about the legends.

-They were also well aware

-that we wanted to buy it...

-..to create something of note,

-as regards jobs and the language.

-Finally, a new era seems set

-to start in Nant Gwrtheyrn.

-Should this idea be realized...

-..it could become

-a quiet and creative haven...

-..to resist the drop in the number

-of Welsh speakers in Wales.

-We bought it in 1978.

-I established a trust...

-..and the rest,

-as they say, is history.

-We started to raise funds in earnest

-to begin developing the site.

-Could I speak to Mr Elwyn Jones?

-Nant Gwrtheyrn Language Centre.

-Our aims were to create jobs

-and to promote the Welsh language.

-I think we've created

-a centre of excellence...

-..where both those initial aims

-have been achieved.

-Scene 3: The search

-After that night, my friend,

-the winters were bitter.

-The rain like spears on a cloak.

-The memories nauseating.

-Like a nightmare, a ritual,

-I went back into the mist...

-..my conscience a gimlet...

-..yet knowing that she wasn't,

-that she wouldn't come.

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-This is the wine

-that the Pope drinks, apparently.

-If it's good enough for him...

-Does it feel strange,

-being alone in a dressing room?

-I hadn't thought about it.

-Do you feel lonely?

-Do you feel lonely?

-

-Yes.

-Cian has wanted to do this

-for about 20 years.

-You were here back in January.

-I'm not good at speaking publicly,

-to be honest.

-Stumbling over my words and so on.

-But there we are.

-In under half an hour...

-..the BBC National Orchestra

-of Wales will perform Rhys A Meinir.

-Anything to share with the nation?

-Anything to share with the nation?

-

-Just that I'm excited.

-The doors have opened,

-and the audience is coming in.

-It's all a bit more real, I take it.

-Sounds from behind us.

-Going back to January...

-..how do you feel tonight

-compared to then?

-It's hard to put into words.

-January was a rehearsal,

-tonight is a performance.

-There's no room for errors.

-Break a leg!

-Break a leg!

-

-Let's do it.

-For anyone to write a piece of music

-for an orchestra and choir...

-..that lasts an hour

-is an astonishing achievement.

-I'm fairly experienced

-at writing music now.

-Even for me, that would be daunting.

-I really loved

-seeing the audience come in.

-Clearly, people who'd been big fans

-of the Super Furry Animals...

-..were really excited to see

-this development in Cian's writing.

-It was a revelation for them...

-..to hear what the orchestral

-sound world was like.

-Legends are an integral part...

-..of our awareness

-of who and what we are as a nation.

-A legend

-should be more than history.

-It should be alive

-on the nation's tongues.

-It should be just as relevant

-to the future as it is to the past.

-When we recite a legend...

-..we should be drawing on the past

-in order to nourish the future.

-Scene 4: Summary

-It was cold that night, my friend.

-The winter wind

-roared through the trees...

-..and the rain

-gripped the stream in its fists.

-I was a fool heading for home.

-It was late, and I was ashen...

-..as grey as every place.

-Then, sunlight.

-Sunlight shining from somewhere.

-The waves died down so suddenly.

-Then she came

-along the wall of fragile foam...

-..appearing through the light.

-She stood still.

-Stock still,

-as the raging wind eased...

-..with the grey mist between two

-like light in the gloom.

-Then,

-in the biting teeth of January...

-..I heard the bells

-of a wedding feast...

-..through the empty night.

-She opened unto me like the sea.

-That night, my friend, I was whole.

-She was there, virginal...

-..and the wine cleansed

-every man of his weaknesses.

-Yes, it was a night

-as long as the ages.

-An era was about to start

-to the sound of the dance...

-..and we were two.

-Meinir was one with myself.

-From the banquet,

-in the embers of morning, she ran.

-The hem of her dress

-was light like a silver web...

-..as she sought to hide.

-I announced that I was coming,

-still counting down.

-The seconds felt like bullets.

-Then she vanished.

-Yes.

-Like that, my friend.

-Like a moth into the gloom.

-Sinking into the lair

-of the dark night.

-She came, then disappeared.

-After that night, my friend,

-the winters were bitter.

-The rain like spears on a cloak.

-The memories nauseating.

-Like a nightmare, a ritual,

-I went back into the mist...

-..my conscience a gimlet..

-..yet knowing that she wasn't,

-that she wouldn't come.

-One night, as the storm

-gathered in the stream...

-..I returned.

-I heard the thunder

-among the oaks...

-..then, alone, I saw her in exile.

-In the light of the bolt,

-I saw her, I saw her.

-The hollow tree

-cradling her like a leaf...

-..her white dress

-encased in bark...

-..and her empty skull gaping.

-Through the rain,

-I could hear a banquet.

-I swore.

-She was ever more...

-..there for me...

-..like the sea itself.

-S4C Subtitles by Testun Cyf.

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