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Post by Admin on Feb 19, 2014 16:24:48 GMT -5
My Great - Grandfather was a Welsh coal miner who immigrated to America and moved to Appalachia. Since he was a blacksmith in Wales, his job in the mines of the Cumberland Mountains was also a blacksmith, and the trade was passed down to my Grandfather. I still recall many of the songs sung by these miners, most of whom were also from Wales. I found this article which may be of interest: www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/folk-traditional/pages/about_folk.shtml
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Post by lroyb on Feb 19, 2014 18:42:22 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing that family history sounds like a good music foundation too.
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gipsy
Gold
Posts: 14
Musican: Harp
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Post by gipsy on Mar 3, 2014 3:32:18 GMT -5
Do you know whereabouts in Wales they lived? I might not be too far from there as it's a small place. The folk/traditional music scene here in Wales is difficult to define. There are quite a few traditional musicians playing pieces from our long literary and musical heritage. They very often perform and record in Welsh and as such many peeps here ( me included ) who are not Welsh speaking, feel somewhat excluded from the genre. This is in no way due to the artists trying to exclude non Welsh speakers, it is the natural result of government in England banning Welsh as a medium of education way back in the 20's. This decision has only been reversed in the relatively recent past ( 30-40 yrs ). For instance my father was born in 1921 in a Welsh mining village called Cilfynydd. He spoke Welsh as his first language until aged 11 when he attended Grammar School and was forced to speak English. If caught speaking Welsh he was beaten. Not surprisingly in a short while both he and his family spoke English at home to help his education. In this manner a whole generation and more of Welsh speakers was lost to us. The artists who perform in Welsh are helping us to treasure and preserve and expand our long literary heritage, and also helping reverse the trend away from Welsh ( a trend which is now belatedly being supported by central government ). They are providing a sterling service to our nation, and I applaud them for it, even if sometimes I'm not quite sure I understand the piece I'm applauding. My apologies. I'm not sure where that came from! If you want more ie, about the brass bands or choral tradition let me know.
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Post by Admin on Mar 3, 2014 18:22:10 GMT -5
Do you know whereabouts in Wales they lived? I might not be too far from there as it's a small place. The folk/traditional music scene here in Wales is difficult to define. There are quite a few traditional musicians playing pieces from our long literary and musical heritage. They very often perform and record in Welsh and as such many peeps here ( me included ) who are not Welsh speaking, feel somewhat excluded from the genre. This is in no way due to the artists trying to exclude non Welsh speakers, it is the natural result of government in England banning Welsh as a medium of education way back in the 20's. This decision has only been reversed in the relatively recent past ( 30-40 yrs ). For instance my father was born in 1921 in a Welsh mining village called Cilfynydd. He spoke Welsh as his first language until aged 11 when he attended Grammar School and was forced to speak English. If caught speaking Welsh he was beaten. Not surprisingly in a short while both he and his family spoke English at home to help his education. In this manner a whole generation and more of Welsh speakers was lost to us. The artists who perform in Welsh are helping us to treasure and preserve and expand our long literary heritage, and also helping reverse the trend away from Welsh ( a trend which is now belatedly being supported by central government ). They are providing a sterling service to our nation, and I applaud them for it, even if sometimes I'm not quite sure I understand the piece I'm applauding. My apologies. I'm not sure where that came from! If you want more ie, about the brass bands or choral tradition let me know. Thanks gibsy. No, I don't know just where. We have a dna project going to try to locate others who are in Wales. afaoa.org/dna.html
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gipsy
Gold
Posts: 14
Musican: Harp
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Post by gipsy on Mar 4, 2014 8:18:08 GMT -5
That's a very interesting and ambitious project. I hope you have a successful outcome. If grandfather was a coal miner he more than likely came from South Wales, as most all the coal was mined from this area. If you get any clues you'd like me to follow up, please let me know. My wife has done a fair bit of research into our family history ( including finding long lost 2nd cousins in New York State about whose existence we had no knowledge ) and I'm sure she would help out if needed.
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