Pererin "Teithgan" 1981****

I'm currently reading (intermittently, among other books) Norman Davies' "Vanished Kingdoms" and recently finished a chapter dedicated to Alt Clud, also known as the Kingdom on the Rock. I consider myself well-read when it comes to history, but this chapter put me to shame. Very few names and facts rang a bell and, more often than not, it was a bell from literature rather than history: I'd swear I've come across these places and protagonists in the pages of J.R.R. Tolkien or G.R.R. Martin: Apparently Dun-Eidyn and Dun-Rheged (I'm pretty sure these places should be somewhere in Middle Earth) stood East and West of the ancient Antonine Wall which used to divide the island of Britain and protect the Christianized Britons from the wild Pictish tribes living north of the wall. Game of Thrones, anyone? Anyway, that onslaught of exotic names left me somewhat dizzy: out of 50 pages (containing at least 10 facts per page) I can probably only remember one or two dozen random facts. Could it be a sign of early Alzheimer's? I know it's not senility, because senile people tend to ramble incoherently, for example when questioned about a music CD, they will tell you about a - totally irrelevant - book they've read and then jump to their favorite subject, the afflictions of old age. Thankfully that's still a long way ahead. Back to the book, these are some of the facts that stuck with me: 1)The Scots came originally out of Ireland, along with their Mac Names, kilts and whisky. Scotland's original inhabitants were the Picts 2)British saints are fairly ridiculous (how seriously can you take someone called St. Mungo, founder of Glasgow?). St. Patrick -who incidentally was British, not Irish as most people think- is the obvious exception, as he's given us St. Patrick's Day which is celebrated with lots of song and beer every March 17th, in the nearest Irish pub 3)The king of Pictland Oengus Mac Ferguson eventually gave way to the Gael (of Irish descent) Cinaed (aka Kenneth) Mac Alpin, who was succeeded by his son -and my namesake- Constantine, the first to rule over a united Scotland (though not yet known as such). How the hell can the first King of Scotland's name be Constantine? It's akin to the first President of the U.S. being called Mutsuhito or something like that. Can you imagine the White House situated at Mutsuhito D.C.? 4)Welsch is Saxon for "foreigner", the name the foreign invaders gave to the local Britons. In the end, the ancient Brythonic heritage (including their language) was sidelined by successive waves of invaders (Romans, Scots, Angles, Saxons, Vikings and Normans) and only kept partially alive in the part of the country known as Wales. Maybe this explains the allure of the Welsh language, at once musical, alien, exotic, and carrier of ancient tradition. Like Gaelic, its distant cousin, songs sung in Welsh assume a dreamy, fairytale quality when played by a band as capable as these guys are.
I've written about Pererin before, when I presented their "lost" album Yng Ngolag Dydd. Compared to that album, this is proggier, although no less anchored to Medieval Celtic folk. It's still dominated by dreamy Welsh singing and acoustic instruments (ac. guitar, bodhran and lots of flute) but also augmented by washes of mellotron, synths, drums and the occasional electric guitar. Opener "Y Drws" starts off with slow acoustic guitar and flute but slowly achieves a fuller sound with the use of drums and mellotron. "Y Gwr O Gefn Birth" is more traditional, with fast acoustic guitar strumming on the forefront accompanied by electric solos in the background. "Ddoi Di Dei" is a Celtic instrumental that'd make the ideal soundtrack for a medley of your favorite scenes from The Hobbit. "Draw Dros Y Bryniau" is a slow, pastoral, ballad that evokes pictures of serene green landscapes. "Mae Nghariad in Fenws" is a typically airy love song. My favorite part is the electric guitar solo, very beautiful but low in the mix so as not to disrupt the romantic atmosphere. "Symffoni Lawen" is a "contemporary Christian song" with a simple melody played on acoustic guitar and soft, warm, synths. "Teithgan" (Journey) is a more traditional tune that changes pace a few times. "Ble'r Wyt Ti'n Myned" is a gorgeous melody blending medieval and modern prog-rock elements, while "Diferion" is a short instrumental and "Mynydd Parys" (introduced by the sound of winds blowing) a prog tour-de-force, with masterful playing and thoughtful lyrics on the preservation of nature and tradition. A real gem of an album, highly recommended for friends of progressive rock (Yes, Genesis) and folk (Strawbs, Dubliners). And did I mention it's completely sung in Welsh? Nothing transports you to mythical times better than Welsh...

***** for Y Drws, Y Gwr O Gefn Birth

**** for Ddoi Di Dei, Teithgan, Ble'r Wyt Ti'n Myned, Mynydd Parys

*** for Draw Dros Y Bryniau, Mae Nghariad in Fenws, Symffoni Lawen, Diferion

Pererin "Yng Ngolag Dydd" 1985****

...Talk about rarities, it doesn't get much rarer than Pererin's 4th album, whose very existence was debated for years, since almost no-one had ever seen it. Only a handful of copies were originally released - copies, but not records, because no record company had shown the slightest interest in it. The band self-funded a cassette release and then began seeking for distributors but no-one would even go near this album, so most of the cassettes were left to rot in some warehouse. Now, if that fate befell a bunch of kids on their first attempt, it'd be understandable. But this band were already veterans, having released 3 albums as Bran (1975-1978) and another 3 as Pererin (1980-1982). Their style was progressive-folk and (here's the rub) they sang in Welsh. Still, for such an established band to be totally snubbed by everyone, it would have to be a very poor album indeed, right? Well...no. As the world (if by "world" you mean a few hundred persons, that is) found out in 2008, when the album got a very limited CD-release, "Yng Ngolau Dydd" is a perfectly charming and well crafted piece of folk music that stands up very well compared to modern-day folkish pop stars like Midlake and Devendra Barnhart. The musicians made minimal use of electric instruments and opted instead for the warm and natural sound of mandolins, violins, flutes, bodhran and hand percussion. None of the synthesizers and loud snare drums that were all the rage in the 80's. Opener "Yng Ngolau Dydd" ("In the Light of Day" according to google translate) sets the blueprint for the whole album, as it brings together medieval, celtic and country influences. "Mab y Saer" and "Cyntaf Dydd O Fai" are familiar traditional tunes, while "Dacw Nghariad i Lawryn y Berllan" offers a change of pace, as it's an almost funky song with driving electric bass and a short whistle solo. "Ar Gyfer Heddiw'r Bore", "Can Job" and "Y Ddraenen Wen" are gentle, introspective ballads and "Jasmin" is as close as the album comes to pop (not very close at all). "Hogia Llandegai" and "Mae gen i farch glas" are a couple of good-natured, upbeat songs. I can imagine them raising hell at an inn in Westeros, maybe as a medley with "The Bear And The Maiden Fair". The pastoral "Bachgen Bach O Lyn" and the melancholic instrumental "Henffych I Ti", on the other hand, would sound more at home at the closing credits of The Hobbit. Well, not only did I really enjoy listening to that album - now I'm also intrigued to learn Welsh: What kind of language sounds as strange as this and how did it survive in the British Isles when English is threatening to sweep away lesser-known languages all over the world?

**** for Mab Y Saer, Cyntaf Dydd O Fai, Dacw Nghariad I Lawryn Y Berllan, Hogia Llandegai, Mae Gen I Farch Glas, Y Ddraenen Wen

*** for Yng Ngolau Dydd, Ar Gyfer Heddiw'r Bore, Can Job, Jasmin, Bachgen Bach O Lyn, Henffych I Ti