Uchafbwyntiau Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol

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-Welcome to a programme looking back

-at highlights of the series.

-Welcome to

-Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol.

-# Soli Deo gloria

-# Soli Deo gloria

-# Soli Deo gloria #

-Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol has

-visited many chapels and churches...

-..across Wales.

-We've travelled

-north, south, east and west.

-We'll be heading back to those

-locations on tonight's programme.

-We begin in South Wales...

-..at the Carmarthenshire National

-Eisteddfod proclamation cymanfa.

-Bethany Chapel was the location.

-Our first hymn is...

-..Yr Arglwydd a Feddwl Amdanaf

-a Dyna Fy Nefoedd Am Byth.

-Llannerchymedd on Anglesey was the

-most northerly point of our journey.

-We were invited to a cymanfa

-in Capel Ifan.

-Rhys Meirion met Evie Jones...

-..a man responsible for organising

-many cymanfaoedd on the island.

-We're inside Capel Ifan, Evie,

-a place you hold dear.

-Yes, indeed, I've been

-a member here for 15 years...

-..although I was originally

-a member of the Methodist chapel.

-The chapel has since closed down

-and been demolished.

-I was warmly greeted here

-from the very beginning.

-Its cymanfa ganu is famous, and

-you've been instrumental in that.

-Yes, I've been

-organizing them for 25 years...

-..for various charities.

-I've hired

-different conductors every year.

-People like Dr Terry James...

-..Alwyn Humphreys, Alun Guy.

-Dr Haydn James from London

-has been here too.

-Soloists like yourself have sung...

-..along with Gwyn Hughes Jones, Leah

-Marian Jones, Mary Lloyd Davies...

-..and Patricia O'Neill,

-to name but a few.

-The cymanfa

-is important throughout Anglesey.

-A cymanfa is held here every Sunday

-from the end of April...

-..to the beginning of November

-almost consecutively.

-What makes the cymanfaoedd

-so enjoyable for you?

-I enjoy singing in them,

-for one thing.

-We have

-a wealth of hymns and hymn tunes.

-I like seeing a congregation

-coming together on a Sunday night.

-That's a good thing.

-From one end of the country

-to the other - Cardiff.

-Rhys Meirion met up with the

-presenter and actress Heulwen Haf...

-..in the gardens of Insole Court...

-..a place that provided inspiration

-during her battle with cancer.

-Well, Heulwen, we're visiting

-another wonderful place.

-These gardens

-with the beautiful colours.

-It's a wonderfully calm location.

-You must have felt that tranquillity

-here when you battled cancer.

-What was most incredible

-about this place...

-..was that I was diagnosed with

-breast cancer during springtime.

-The garden was starting to bloom.

-After six months of chemotherapy,

-my hair had fallen out.

-The weather was wonderful here,

-the colours were very different.

-The geraniums were bright red

-and I was wearing a wig.

-When I visited in the autumn,

-I'd lost a lot of my strength.

-I'd had the operation by then

-and I was weak during the autumn.

-Into the winter, I was tired but

-looking forward to the new year...

-..for another month of radiotherapy.

-This location is so special to me.

-I spent a year here

-with the Fflic TV company...

-..living through

-the seasons of my life.

-I came out the other side

-full of life.

-That's incredible.

-During the year you spent here

-dealing with the cancer...

-..you must have been

-on a special spiritual journey.

-How did affect your faith?

-That's a good question to ask

-having just come from the cathedral.

-I once knocked on the door

-having lost my faith completely.

-Many years later,

-on a stronger journey...

-..realising that there was more

-to life...

-..it wasn't about being

-in a chapel or church...

-..it was about having faith

-and an understanding.

-The body's energy changes

-when you look at things differently.

-You can see the goodness

-every day...

-..and you ignore all the negativity.

-That's how I tried to deal

-with the cancer.

-In doing so, with my family

-and friends at my side...

-..I felt we were together,

-loving one another...

-..completing the journey

-that's brought me here today.

-There are some ancient

-walking paths across Wales.

-Some date back

-to the time of the saints.

-This year, I walked along

-the Cistercian Way in Radnorshire.

-I followed in the footsteps

-of the monks.

-Walking in here

-is like stepping back in time.

-Yes, it takes you by surprise.

-These pews are incredible.

-There was a time when

-all our churches looked like this...

-..after

-the Protestant Reformation.

-Dyserth is situated

-in a very remote area.

-Its name comes from

-the Latin word 'deserto'.

-Since it's located

-deep in the countryside...

-..nobody in the Victorian era...

-..tried to remove the pews.

-It's an authentic church...

-..and its interior

-hasn't changed in 400 years.

-Although the interior

-has been repainted...

-..we can still see

-traces of old murals.

-At one time,

-all the walls were very colourful...

-..like the church in Llandeilo and

-the one in St Fagans folk museum.

-They were painted during a time...

-..when the congregations

-were illiterate.

-It was a way of familiarising

-themselves with the Bible.

-Services are held here

-throughout the summer months.

-How does preaching in such

-an ancient church make you feel?

-You feel as though

-you're going back in time.

-Because this church

-is such an historic building...

-..instead of practising

-modern Church in Wales services...

-..we revert to the traditional

-Book of Common Prayer...

-..which dates back to a time

-when this church was first built.

-As we've travelled around Wales...

-..we've visited some important

-locations...

-..and discovered treasures

-we wouldn't normally see.

-Rhys Meirion

-had a special experience...

-..in the company of Sondra Storch...

-..who showed him some secret wells

-in Carmarthenshire.

-Where are you taking me now, Sondra?

-This is a secret place

-yet a very special one.

-Yes, it looks special. Yes, indeed.

-This is the well.

-What's its significance?

-This is St Anthony's Well.

-Anthony was a famous man

-and people flocked here.

-He came here,

-to this desert by the sea...

-..because he was

-following the example...

-..of the Desert Fathers.

-Men and women who fled Egypt...

-..to take refuge in the desert.

-To be close to God

-and close to nature.

-There are ribbons hanging there.

-Do they bear any significance?

-It's an archaic tradition.

-Pagans thought it strange

-that water sprung from the ground.

-They believed that both

-good spirits and evil spirits...

-..could rise from the ground too.

-So they threw things into the well

-to pacify and please the spirits.

-That need to throw something

-in the water is still in us today.

-If you go to

-the botanic gardens nearby...

-..you'll find

-a pool in the centre...

-..that bears

-no resemblance to a well.

-Look closely and you'll notice that

-people have thrown coins into it.

-There's a need in us to do this.

-Do people still believe

-in the power of this well?

-Yes, they do.

-The fact that Anthony himself

-blessed the water makes it special.

-This water is good for people

-who are broken hearted.

-I'm sure it's busy

-on St Dwynwen's Day.

-Yes, it's teeming

-with broken-hearted people.

-So if someone's unlucky in love,

-this is the place to come!

-I hope you've enjoyed

-our programme...

-..looking at some of the locations

-we've visited over the past year.

-Next week, we'll rejoin

-some of the individuals...

-..who contributed to the series.

-Our final hymn was recorded

-in Cefn Nannau church, Llangwm.

-Daeth Iesu I'm Calon i Fyw.

-Until next week, goodbye.

-S4C Subtitles by Adnod Cyf.

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